Summer Solstice Driving School 2022

The Boston and White Mountain Chapters are proud once again to present the Summer Solstice, High Performance Driving School at Palmer Motorsports Park's Whiskey Hill Raceway. 

This Track Day event is open to all skill levels and our intention is to run with in car instruction.

JUST ADDED - POP UP EVENT (Track Orientation) - Saturday Parade Laps! It's what's for lunch!

Track Orientation: We will be hosting a small number of people curious about what driving on a race track is all about. We will be running a low speed, helmets off lead follow orientation of the race track in conjunction with a simple orientation meeting and debrief.. This will be held around the lunch hour and is open for registration below. (No BMW, No Helmet, No Tech inspection and No Membership needed for Parade laps). But you do need to register..

COVID Guidelines - (Revised 3-12-22) The club is matching state and local guidelines and so while a vaccination is not required we will follow a mask recommendation for those not vacinated in indoor settings. Once again, we expect that this situation will continue to evolve through the course of the year and we will review this policy and provide updates as we receive them.

Club Membership: Please note: due to BMW CCA compliance requirements, you must be a BMW CCA member to register for and attend this event. You can join the club HERE

TRACK DIRECTION  - We will be running the track in the PALMER  ANTI-Clockwise direction

What is a Boston/WMC BMW CCA Track Day? 

Our track days are operated as high performance driver schools. The purpose of a driving school is quite simple: to improve your driving skills and have a lot of fun doing it. We will emphasize the relationship of driver and machine, making them function in unison and giving you, as a student, the opportunity to learn your limitations and expand your capabilities, thus creating safe driving skills and habits in a controlled situation.

We conduct the school on a racetrack under the close supervision of experienced and trained instructors. You will explore control of your vehicle at speeds not normally attained on public roads. This will help to prepare you for emergencies in normal driving. It will also allow you to explore your capabilities as a driver and those of your vehicle.

At no time will you be pushed or encouraged to go any faster than is comfortable for you. All participants will be organized into run groups in accordance with experience, skill, and type of vehicle.

What you learn on the track depends on your driving skill. Beginners are taught driving style (smoothness, consistency, the ability to read the track), more experienced participants continue to work on consistency, while developing new skills such as trail braking, and threshold braking. Every time you are on the track, you will have an experienced instructor in the passenger seat.

For the most experienced drivers, you can be “signed off” and drive solo when you have proven to your instructor and the Chief Instructor that you understand the basics of high speed driving, you can consistently drive the correct line, and you show proper etiquette on track. Maturity, good judgment, skill and significant experience will lead to being signed off for solo driving. Even if you are a solo student, you are still highly encouraged to learn new skills from your instructor. In fact, National BMW Club rules require an instructor be in-car for at least part of the event for all students.

Drivers in other chapter's advanced programs, such as A-Solo/S-Group, may apply to drive in ISG by emailing the registrar with their driving resume.

Independent Study Group. For advanced students who want to extend their skills in a safe, fast-paced coaching environment, the Boston/WMC chapters of BMWCCA offers its Independent Study Group (ISG)

To promote continuous advanced skill development for experienced, independent drivers, ISG encourages students to identify the areas in which they want to improve, then allows them to create a personalized curriculum for achieving their goals. 

At each event, every ISG student is assigned a coach who will work with them to achieve their goals. ISG drivers are often offered additional solo track sessions and the opportunity to drive in the instructors’ run group.

ISG Qualification - Soloed drivers with substantial experience and the skills to drive a consistent line, at an advanced run-group pace, on a variety of race tracks are eligible for consideration. After passing a thorough checkout drive with an ISG instructor, which emphasizes awareness, safety, consistency, and pace, the ISG candidate is admitted into the group.

ISG on Track, Classroom and Exercises - On the racetrack, ISG drivers spend working sessions with their assigned coach to execute their personalized plan. Classroom sessions comprise lively discussions of driving lines, corner approaches, speeds, data analysis, and a wide range of additional topics. Specialized exercises are offered to improve situational awareness, increase comfort levels in close-quarters driving, and practice passing.

Classroom

Your day is divided between driving on the track, classroom sessions, or free time. Yeah, this track day is still a school, and so we need you in the clasroom sessions too. All participants are required to attend classroom sessions where the sessions are tailored to your group experience and are intended to be interactive and fun. 

What is a Driving School NOT?

Though you are on a racetrack, with 20-30 other drivers of similar driving skills, it is not a race. Passing at the apex is not allowed, and you are not expected to drive at 10/10ths everywhere.

Safety of the event is of the utmost importance. Driver conduct will be diligently monitored throughout the day by the staff, instructors, and corner workers. Infractions of the rules will not be tolerated, and will likely result in dismissal from the school.

Registration Fees

Weekend - All drivers may register for two day weekend (Saturday and Sunday). Saturday and Sunday are not available as standalone days.

The driver registration fees for this event are as follows:

NOTE: Pricing is based on limiting the number of cars on track so that you're not sitting in a traffic jam and includes a dedicated instructor/coach based on your level of experience.

Wait-List Rules

Due to the limited number of student slots available for Boston/WMC Chapter driving events, it is common for us to receive more registrations than we can admit, hence a Wait-List will be created. Applications will be admitted from the Wait-List on a first come, first serve basis. 

Questions?

For questions regarding registration or Driving Schools in general, please email the registrar using the "Contact Host" button on the right side of this page.

NOTE: Single event insurance is not available for Palmer Motorsports Park from Lockton. If you're interested in purchasing HPDE insurance for this event, please contact Lockton about bundling this event with other events you may be attending this year, or contact one of the other HPDE insurance providers, such as OnTrack Insurance