Information

Would you like to drive your car on a race track? Please join us for the fun and camaraderie at one of the HPDEs that the club hosts every year.

HPDE stands for High Performance Driving Experience.
These are not competitive events but an opportunity to learn performance driving on a racetrack, where safety is the primary concern, and fun is a very close second.
An HPDE event is not about how fast you go but how well you drive. The key to performance driving is smoothness.

Participants will drive in groups that are classed by track driving experience. Therefore, you will be driving on the track with others of the same general skill level.

Conditions and circumstances permitting, you will get at least three sessions on the track a day. You get about 2 hours on the track. When you are not driving, there are mixed media workshops that will explain the finer points of vehicle dynamics. You also get plenty of time for lunch and to socialize with other members.

We staff our events with enough experienced in-car instructors for everyone. The instructor will help you learn the best path or line to take on the track for your skill level and will be a second set of eyes and ears in the car for you. This instructor will help you refine your skills and build your confidence as you climb the ladder from novice to intermediate to advanced driver.

These events are quite an adrenaline rush and more fun than humans should be allowed to have behind the wheel.

Present your materials to the Registration Desk (Tech Inspection form, Medical form, Helmet inspection), sign the Waiver of Liability and receive an envelope with your schedule for the day, colored wrist band, your Car/Run Group number to affix to your windshield. Park in the paddock and empty your car of all that extra stuff you carry around.

Attend the Safety Meeting which covers passing rules, corner workers’ stations and your responses to their flagging, procedures for entering/exiting the track, the daily schedule, etc.

The track goes “hot”. The fun begins…Your run group will have scheduled times for driving on the track, participating in mixed-media workshop discussions (track analysis, vehicle dynamics, driving techniques, etc.) performance de-briefings with your in-car instructor, and resting. . During rest times, you can eat lunch, watch other run groups drive the track or check over the mechanical systems on your car.

The tracks we drive on usually go “hot” about 8:30 am and we can drive until 5:00. The length of each track session is 25 – 30 minutes, so you will generally have about 2 hours of driving time each day. Plus, “Track Touring” while the track is “cold” for the professional corner workers to get their lunch, is a time when you can drive yourself or any spectator friends around the circuit at a controlled speed – no helmets required, no passing.

At the end of the day you and your instructor can talk about how well your goals for the event were met. Things done well or not so well and how to progress your performance to the next level. We also request that you critique the event overall so that we can continue to improve our HPDEs.

See the registration web site for event pricing. This is a great way to spend the day driving and socializing with the rest of the HPDE participants.

Windy City BMW Club 2022 HPDE Schedule

May 14th & 15th 2-Days at Autobahn Country Club
August 19th at Blackhawk Farms raceway – Instructors & Experienced drivers only

• Autobahn Friday May 13th: Open Track Training for Instructors and Advanced Drivers

• Sat & Sun: all Drivers have 2 hours scheduled on track each day

• Advanced Drivers: Run with Instructors for Extra Track Time

• 1-Day and 2-Day Packages available

• In-car Instruction available all weekend at Autobahn