UPDATED --- DE at Heartland Park in May

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 2:00 pm

UPDATE!!!!!

The BMW DE is not going to happen this year. I encourage everyone to sign up for the AUdi Club DE at Heartland Park May 17-18.

Registration and information are here:
http://www.motorsportreg.com/pap/eventl ... 36BCAF917F

The BMW Club's negotiations fell through so we are taking a pass this year bu the Audi event is on in May!!

The BMW and Audi events are essentially run and instructed by the same people and have the same "learning first" attitude as described above. Let me know if you have any questions. I do not know if they will offer discounts for a large group, but it is well worth it for everyone to attend that has a willingness to learn and have AN ABSOLUTE BLAST!!!

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(Previous message before update)
As I stated in the thread on Mini Club events, I am a new convert to the Mini Community from the BMW Club. Personally, I don't think there should be a difference and that Mini should be included in all events. Technical issues aside (like actual membership to BMWCCA) we are of like minds when it comes to car enthusiasm and wanting to do all sorts of fun events.

On that note, I want to gauge your interest in attending the KC BMW Club driver's ed event at Heartland Park in late summer. More importantly, I want to know what you want out of such an event and what your concerns may be. I understand many of you are hooked on the Touring Club lapping days once a month on weekday nights, and for good reason! Track events are a blast!!! We wnat to help cultivate that interest and show you what a full track weekend is all about, for both novices and experienced drivers. We are wide open to ideas and suggestions to make it more attractive to the Mini Club.

Talk about your full car enthusiast weekend:
1) Driving your car on a race course.
2) Receiving top level instruction on the track and in the classroom.
3) Car control exercises
4) Hanging out together in the paddock admiring cars and just being social
5) Going out to dinner as a group and whooping it up
6) Hanging out at the hotel (if you don't drive home each night) telling war stories and sharing ideas.
7) Road tripping together to and from the event

Learning more about you, your car, and your friends than you could ever imagine
9) Etc., etc., etc. . . .

So give us your ideas. If there are enough Minis, we can set up a Mini-only run group. We are working on pricing options aware of the bottom line, but also recognizing that this isn't Touring Club lapping days by any means.

Thanks!!!

MiniJayhawk
'07 MCS Dark Silver/Black

Punk_Mini · Post by **Punk_Mini** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 3:31 pm

I am totally up for it.

RojoCohete · Post by **RojoCohete** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:08 pm

minijay,

while i enjoy the car (and I also have a 325ic too), i have no interest in driving in circles.

i am sure many, many here are interested though. i am responding because you asked.

welcome to the mini-side of the german family.

LittleRed · Post by **LittleRed** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 6:18 pm

Heartland is a road course not a circle or oval.

Having done one track day, I'm interested but cost maybe an issue. I did way better with an instructor than without. What's the time brake down class room time versus track time? What's typical instructor to novice ratio?
Thanks

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:09 pm

Our events are much more structured than the weeknight lapping sessions. All novices have an instructor, so it is a 1-to-1 ratio. A typical day for a novice:

8:00am Drivers meeting -- All drivers attend to doscuss rules, flag meaning, and any other issues that all need to know

8:30 Classroom - Learn the rules of the track, driving etiquett, basic car control, and what to expect from your instructor

9:00 - First 20 min. session on track. Slower speeds, learning the turns, the line, where the flag stations are located, hand positions, etc.

9:45 - Car control exercises in paddock. Threashhold breaking, slalom, emergency lane change. All geared to educate you on everyday defensive driving techniques. Additional classroom time to work on more advanced driving skills.

10:45 - 20 min session on track. Higher speeds, more instruction. Pick up pace at your own individual comfort level.

11:30 - More car control exercises.

Lunch

Afternoon - You will get 2 30-minute runs on track with more in-car 1-on-1 instruction. You will also have more classroom time to talk about what you are learning on the track and more advanced driving techniques. You will also have more defensive/everyday driving skills exercises in the paddock.

Whenever you have free time you are encouraged to grab your helmet and jump into any instructor's car for hot laps. This is when you can REALLY learn how to do it the right way (and have one he!! of a time!).

I still learn just as much, or more, riding with other instructors. Plus, finding a guy with a 911 race prepared twin turbo to take you out is a balst!

5:00 - Track goes cold. Everyone winds it down and usually heads back to the hotel for a shower and to regroup. By then, everyone has picked a mutual spot for dinner and drinks. Sometimes we have a buffet planned with giveaways, etc. Sometimes it is less formal. We always have a great time and people "new" to the DE experiaence are always made to feel welcome and tell war stories from the day's driving.

We do it all again Sunday!!!! Except the run seesions usally are longer and there is more on-track time as the day goes on and run groups are combined. By the end of the weekend you are fully satisfied that you have had enough time on the track, trust me.

(Oh, and most have learned to go in on Friday night to avoid the early morning drive to Topeka and to get in on the pre-weekend fun on Friday night.)

We are still working on a pricing plan. We are trying to attract more people which means starting with a lower price than usual. However, Heartland Park raises the price on us each year which makes it harder to keep prices down. THAT IS WHERE YOU GUYS COME IN. The more new people we can get interested, the lower the price. Typical prices are around $300-$325 for the weekend. That is a ton of driving and high quality instruction for the money. If we can get enough people, we might be able to drop the price for the weekend to $250 or less.

So, is that something that looks like a good investment for you guys? If you could brainstorm and bring some sponsors to the event, we could probably get you discounts as a group to defer costs. We are trying to think outside of the box to attract more new people to the hobby we love so much. Any ideas are welcome.

Thanks!

MiniJayhawk
'07 MCS Dark Silver/Black

sliboa · Post by **sliboa** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 9:38 pm

It is certainly something I would love to do. I would say that $250 would probably be the limit of what I could spend, though.

hctiev · Post by **hctiev** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:18 pm

I committed to myself last summer (after a couple trips up to HPT) that I would attend at least two HPDE classes in '08. I believe I'll find it highly enjoyable and challenging. The BMW and the Audi ones were recommended (Porsche - not so much). I'd like to do one at HPT and another somewhere else.

As for being with a group of Minis - I'm open. It's fun be part of the flock (I guess that's what you call a group of Minis), but it's also fun to be around and mingle with other makes and models.

Count me in and please keep me posted.

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Wed Jan 23, 2008 10:30 pm

Cool! The BMW and Audi DE's are run by many of the same people and we have similar approaches to DE's . . . top quality instruction and safety while having the fastest time of your lives!

The more I think about a Mini-only ruin group, the more I think that is cheating you. It is fun to compare cars, learn that they each take different lines, and that being aware of other cars around you with different handling characteristics is all a part of the learning experience. But hey, if enough of you join in and want your own run group, who are we to say no?

sundance · Post by **sundance** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:34 am

I'm in for joining up with the BMW club for a weekend at HPT. The last two years I planned on coming but I was in Vegas one year and London the next year so timing was the only reason I did not attend.

That being said, MINI USA is planning MINI Takes the States II sometime this summer. That would be my only conflict and there is currently no date set for that.

From someone who has been to numerous Driver Education events and having driven a MINI on six different road tracks around the globe in the last 18 months I would highly recommend this to any MINI owner. It is THE BEST way to get to know your car and how it handles in all kinds of driving situations. And don't feel like you have to have a fully modded MINI to participate. This is as good for a stock Cooper as it is for a fully decked out Cooper S.

speed_racer · Post by **speed_racer** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 8:48 am

Work (I often have to work weekends) and money pending, I would be very interested in this. I think the real world applications could be invaluable.

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:07 am

I am always up for some HPT track time, how can I work this so that my spouse can get some track time too with only the one car between us?

Or, should she bring her Audi allroad 2.7 TT?

I think I'd rather she did this in the MINI tho, the Audi's out of warranty now........

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:33 am

Awesome guys!!!! The real world applications are the primary goal while still allowing you to scratch your itch for speed. I can't count the number of real world situations I have been in that I could not have handled as well as I did without my DE experience.

We always allow people to split a car and have specific fees set up for that scenario. It always helps when one of you has enough experience to get out of Run Group 1 because we haven't figured out a safe way for two people to drive one car at the same time.

petek · Post by **petek** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 11:32 am

Sign me up too. Let me know the dates as soon as you can so that I can (try) to make sure there is no conflicts.

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 12:08 pm

I held an SCCA license once upon a time a long time ago in a galaxy far, far away and I've done plenty of Touring Laps at HPT and hot laps at other tracks around the country, I could probably run in the "intermediate" group while she went in the novice.....

The touring laps work pretty well for me because of the low cost and the fact that I'm not trying to get ready for a race season, I just want to go out and "stretch" my MINI's and my legs a bit. For true novices I think the DE is a much better idea, and I would prefer that to just sending a novice out onto HPT and telling them to "be careful".........which is pretty much what happened the last time a bunch of us MINI club members went up there for Touring Laps. I'm still not happy about the way they ran that last session.........

This year they promised it would be run different, much more along the lines of a true DE, but when I emailed Ed Osment at HPT about their plans for this season in that regard, I never heard a wordy back, which leads me to think it will be business as last year.

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 1:22 pm

Minidave wrote:This year they promised it would be run different, much more along the lines of a true DE, but when I emailed Ed Osment at HPT about their plans for this season in that regard, I never heard a wordy back, which leads me to think it will be business as last year.

Hmmmmmmm . . . that sounds familiar.

RojoCohete · Post by **RojoCohete** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:03 pm

is it true, no station wagons allowed? just checking.

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:07 pm

If it passes tech inspection, it is in!

Minidave · Post by **Minidave** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 5:37 pm

My wife works nights, and has informed me that there is no way she'll be attending something that starts at 8 or 9 am - nor should she be driving anything except a coffee pot at that time of the day! So, I guess it'll just be Touring Laps (that start at 3 pm ) for her.

I'm still interested tho...........

And Alex, I'll do the Audi club event also - since I'm a member and have an Audi I wonder if they'll let me bring the MINI?

Marlow Main · Post by **Marlow Main** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 7:04 pm

I would be interested, it sounds like a great learning opportunity.

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 9:10 pm

Excellent! None of the DE's I am involved with/instruct have any limitations on what car you drive, as long as it passes tech inspection. In other words, you can drive a Mini in any of the driving schools put on by BMW, Audi, and Porsche.

hctiev · Post by **hctiev** » Thu Jan 24, 2008 10:19 pm

Hey Dave - Do you think we could disguise my wife's Volvo V70 to look like an Audi? If so, we could both drive the family trucksters to the Audi DE!

Could be fun!

dimini · Post by **dimini** » Sat Jan 26, 2008 9:36 pm

Hey Minijayhawk, count me in. If possible, let us know asap when the dates are so I can get it on the calendar and not book any jobs that weekend. And... I agree that it would be fun to do this with BMW or Audi clubs. I'll pass on Porsche club events, though.

MiniJayhawk · Post by **MiniJayhawk** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 12:54 pm

It looks like it will be sometime during the first couple of weekends in August. Most likely the first weekend in August. We are meeting with Heartland Park next weekend to try and finalize our spot on the calendar.

Thanks for the interest! We are really pushing hard to get more involvement between the BMW and Mini Clubs. If you have any ideas on how to cultiate more interest and participants for the August DE, we are all ears. We typically get a block of room set aside at a discount at the hotel just minutes from the track so as we get closer I will update you on those prices and arrangements. That hotel is typically party central Friday and Saturday nights and it is much easier to crash and get up in the morning to a free breakfast and be just minutes from the track, if your budget allows.

Marlow Main · Post by **Marlow Main** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 4:45 pm

MINI in the Mountains is scheduled for Aug 6-10 this year. If the DE event is over this weekend, I will have to pass

LittleRed · Post by **LittleRed** » Sun Jan 27, 2008 7:59 pm

Marlow Main wrote:MINI in the Mountains is scheduled for Aug 6-10 this year. If the DE event is over this weekend, I will have to pass

Same for me. I plan to try and attend MITM this year. Any reason why it couldn't be scheduled earlier in the summer? Ideally, I'd like to do the DE weekend before too many of the track days have passed.