F I R S T - A N D - A - B I T H P D E : W H Y I C A M E O U T ... A N D C A M E B A C K ! ■ Yas Marina Blue F82 M4 with an E36 M3 and E46 M3 preparing for HPDE. Photo by Alan Olson. that your under-the-hood work has (hopefully) made available. I try to avoid saying it is a 400 hp car. It's more accurate to say it has 400 hp (available) - it is only 400 hp when you know how to drive it that way. So where could I go to learn what to do with all that power? I live out in the country and the roads out here tend to call one towards the more spirited side of driving. BUT it's not a great idea. Really. There are deer, there are houses near the road, there's farm equipment sharing the lane, there are cyclists (I was one of those and know it's not fun to get passed by cars doing even the speed limit on roads where that could mean 50 mph)...So where could I go to safely push the limits without all that risk? As winter (and my work on the car) was drawing to a close, these were my questions. I'd never heard of an HPDE but what the BMW CCA's National Capital Chapter was describing in my Google search sounded just like what I was ■ Black F87 M2 in the apex, leading a black E46 and black E36. Photo by Alan Olson. looking for. The emphasis on safety, learning, and having fun - specifically in that order - checked all the boxes. I wanted an environment where ample prep, precautions, and conditions were in place so that it was reasonably safe to push the envelope. I wanted a program that would teach me just how much performance driving was about the driver's knowledge and skills rather than having gobs of power and no idea how to use it. And I wanted a place that would also be where " a good time was had by all " . From helmets to the pre-track inspection to the at-track tech it was clear safety was tops for an NCC HPDE. Learning was clearly a priority seen in the combination of on-track and classroom (not to mention finding out just how much instructors go through before they're in the seat next to you coaching you one on one) - it all pointed to a commitment to actually learning the technical aspects of how to handle a performance vehicle. The happy hour Saturday night and encouragement to join those who were camping out in the July I August 2024 17