Driving Schools HPDE

[Aminipour]

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I have been in talks with MBCA and want to have them put High Performance Driving Schools (HPDE) for Mercedes-Benz Drivers. Every other mark has these types of events such as Audi, BMW, Ferrari, Porsche and other marks. I'm looking for Mercdes-Benz drivers that want to do these events.

Why should you do HPDE?

It’s legal, safe, and controlled. No Cops giving you tickets, No Kids/ Animals running into your path, everyone is heading the same direction, with flagers to alert what’s a head, instructors in the car to teach you and classroom time to get a deeper understanding.

Its better way to use your money than moding your car. Trust me a guy in mini cooper that is trained will fly by you in your C63, SLK55, CLK 63 Black, SL 65 Black and even you’re SLR on track through the turns. Its all of fun if have a need for speed it’s the best way of doing this. Driving your Benz on Road Course is the best feeling ever.

Contact me if your intrested for doing these type of events or have any questions more people that show interest more likely that MBCA will provide these events to us.

[gerkebi]

Great post. Having attended these events with various Porsche Club chapters (which by the way anyone can attend with any car, visit pca.org), I can tell you that the most likely way we'll end up on a road course with other MB enthusiasts is to go local.

We need to get active, get out there and make it happen.

Get with your local section and some adjacent sections, and see how much interest is out there. MBCA isn't going to provide this, WE have to go and organize a track day and sell it to members in the area. If there is enough interest, rent a track and sell the weekend.

Your section may lose money at first but if there's genuine interest eventually it will catch on and you'll actually make some money.

Attend a few Porsche (or Viper, or Corvette, or BMW) track days and start to make some friends. Take some MBCA section buddies. See how the other clubs do it. Network with them, they will attend your track days (and you'll need them to). Ask their instructors to help at your track days. Get the rates for the tracks.

There's only so much MBCA is going to provide. Good luck...I hope you can get something started! Thanks for the post.

[davewmi01]

I've tracked my 2000 SL 500 3 times at Watkins Glen in NY with the Niagara Region Porsche Club of America Performance Driving Education School with thrilling results. So much so i've become a fanatic. I now have a 944 that I'm modifying for track spacific use.
Cutting holes in the floor to add race seats and harnesses didn't appeal to me with my SL. But I really got to find out what these cars are made of and capable of out there. You'll never experience the true capabilities of these cars on the open road. Anyone can go fast in a straight line but cornering at 80mph takes skill, focus, and concentration which is all taught at these types of events. NRPCA allows for 2 days at the track driving 8 - 26 minute runs of fullout hot laps with an instructor in the car, and 8 classroom sessions between runs taught by instructors who have thousands of track miles in high performance street and track cars. All this for around $325 and some brake pad and tire rubber. I havn't seen another MB in the 4 events I have driven in yet. 3 in the SL and my last in the 944, which by the way will have a silver star on the hood my next event. So what if those 911 guys can't take a joke!

[Chris Foreman]

I think this would be a great idea. I have an SL500 that I would like to track after some modest suspension tuning. Maybe it is heavy but I believe it would still do well. SLKs might do even better perhaps. I have been doing track events in my 911 and 928 for about 8 years, both cars stock, and have not ever seen a Mercedes on the track. I have always thought it would be nice to see them, even before I owned one, and I have heard others say the same.