About this event
Welcome to the Motor City Chapter BMWCCA!
It’s time for our flagship high-performance driver’s education (HPDE) weekend at Grattan Raceway. This is your chance to explore and hone your driving abilities on one of the most entertaining courses in America. Grattan’s 2.0 miles of exciting and challenging corners (including a 160 degree hairpin and a downhill reverse camber turn) make it one of the best around. A recent track resurfacing only further enhances the experience.
All drivers—young and not so young; novice, intermediate, and advanced—are welcome.
This year, the event will be held the weekend of September 19-20, 2020. Approved advanced students and instructors are also invited to drive on Friday, September 18.
Taste of the Track. Drivers who have never been on the track but would like to experience what track driving is like are invited to drive in our Taste of the Track group on Sunday afternoon, September 20. For just $50, you get two sessions on track with experienced Motor City instructors in a lead-follow environment. No helmets or car tech inspection necessary. And for this group, convertibles and SAVs are welcome!
*You must contact our chief instructor, Ken Rutyna, prior to sign up for Friday if you are a SOLO/Advanced Student and have not been pre-approve for Solo driving.
Motor City BMWCCA prides itself on offering some of the best in-car instruction in HPDE. No matter your driving level, we will help you improve!
Click "Continue" below to start your registration now!
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Fast Facts
- Location. Grattan Raceway in Belding, MI. About 30 minutes northeast Grand Rapids
- Event Type. High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE). This is a non-timed, non-competitive driving event. Participants safely learn and develop (a) high performance driving techniques, (b) the driving line(s) at Grattan, and (c) situational awareness through on-track experiences.
- Driving Groups. Participants will be organized into one of four driving groups (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Solo) based on experience. To comply with BMW CCA's current guidance prohibiting in-car instruction, the beginner and intermediate groups will be lead-follow; the Advanced and Solo groups will be run without in-car instruction (although before- and after-session coaching will be available). Passing rules are more lenient for more experienced students, including open passing with a point-by for the Advanced and Solo driving groups. Our goal is to foster a safe and invigorating environment for everyone!
- Taste of the Track. In addition to our regular driving groups, on Sunday afternoon we're offering drivers who have never been on the track the chance to experience what track driving is like without the restrictions that apply to our other driving groups. For just $50, you get two sessions on track with experienced Motor City instructors in a lead-follow environment. No helmets or car tech inspection necessary, and convertibles and SAVs are welcome.
- Camping. We plan to have camping available on Friday and Saturday night.
- Volunteer Options Folks wishing to volunteer may now sign up via the event registration page.
- Additional Information. You can find more detail about our driving schools in general at our website on the page About Our Drivers Schools under the heading "Our Events."
- Questions? Just send an email to our chief instructor at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org
- What’s Next: Click “Continue” to begin your registration!
Event requirements
Event requirements:
- Drivers. All drivers must be 18 years or older and have a valid full driver’s license. Note: A student under the age of 18 can participate in the school if he or she and a parent/guardian have executed and signed a Parental and Minor Release Waiver (available on our website). The minor student must have a full driver's license that does not require another qualified party to be a passenger in the vehicle in order for the license to be considered valid.
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Vehicles. All vehicles must be titled and have a valid automobile insurance policy at the time of the event. No vans, minivans, trucks, or similar vehicles are permitted. Capable SAVs (such as a BMW X1, X3, etc) are permitted in the beginner run group. If you have an SAV and are interested in the beginner run group, please contact our chief instructor, Ken Rutyna, at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org for approval to bring it. Our apologies, but per the BMWCCA Driving Events Operations Manual, we cannot accommodate convertibles (soft or retractable hardtop), targa, or T-top vehicles. Note: For our Taste of the Track group only, a tech inspection is not required, and convertibles and SAVs are welcome without further approval.
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Tech inspection. All vehicles (except for the Taste of the Track group) must pass a pre-school technical inspection performed by a licensed mechanic and complete the Vehicle Technical Inspection form (see below for the required forms). This is to be completed before the school. No onsite technical inspections will be performed.
- Helmets.You will need a Snell SA or M-rated helmet (2010 or newer). We have some helmets available to rent, but supplies are limited, and availability is first come, first served. Note: for this event only, if you rent a helmet, it's yours to take home! If you'd like to rent a helmet, please indicate your interest on the next screen.
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Forms: All participants will need to read and complete the following forms and bring them to the event, where they will be collected by Motor City Chapter staff. All forms are available on our website HERE.
- Vehicle Technical Inspection (except for the Taste of the Track group
- BMW CCA adult waiver
- BMW CCA communicable disease waiver
- Helmet certification (unless you are renting a helmet from us or are in the Taste of the Track group)
- Parental and Minor Release Waiver (if the student is under 18)
Note: We no longer require a medical form. If you have a medical condition you would like the track's safety crew to know about, you can communicate with them directly. We'll also have available paper wristbands on which you can write a medical condition you'd like the crew to know about.
For questions or additional information regarding any of these requirements, please contact our chief instructor at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org
Note that a separate application form must be submitted for each driver, even if you are sharing a car!
Please monitor the Motor City Chapter BMW CCA web site for up-to-date information.
