derBayerische March/April 2023 - 11

N C C M E M B E R P R O F I L E ; S A U L G O O D R A C I N G - A N E 3 6 F A M I L Y
■ Mike driving #141 Liberty Autosport MX-5 Miata at Summit Point September 2019. Mike Saul driving #017 Spec E36 at Summit Point July 23, 2017.
(Photo by eTech Photo)
obsessed, logging thousands of laps per year until 2015 when the track
closed.
Mike won multiple karting league championships, first in the lightweight
class (2010), then overall champion (2014) and Super Kart champion (2015).
Anne started by winning the Lady Racer ( " Sabine Schmitz " Award) trophy in
2008 and 2010, then winning the lightweight class in 2011 and 2014.
dB: How did you get more involved in the Chapter over the years?
SR: Mike got involved assisting karting program coordinator Steve Tenney,
volunteering as the " registrar " tasked with creating the MotorsportReg event
pages and managing registrations. Back in those days, events would sell out
in less than 24 hours! We attended some New Member Social events to
promote the karting program and share our enthusiasm for the club.
We checked out the DIY program. In 2010 we helped out with Chapterfest at
Bowie Baysox stadium. Anne got involved as a Coach with the Tire Rack Street
Survival Program and put her teaching and driving skills to use in developing
safer teen drivers. We also began attending the Chapter Annual Meetings and
met more friends along the way. Anne got more involved in the HPDE
program and served on the Driving School Steering Committee (DSSC) as the
Student Rep from 2016 to 2017. After graduating from IA in 2017 she has
found her niche as a Classroom Instructor since 2018. After graduating from
NCC's HPDE Instructor Academy in 2016, Mike joined the DSSC as the
HPDE Registrar from 2018 to 2019. He later served as the Driving School
Coordinator from 2021 to 2022. It's cliché but it's true. We came for the cars
and stayed because of the people!
dB: Tell us about some of your first BMW memories
SR: (Mike) My first BMW memories are sitting in the E36 M Coupe
( " Clownshoe " ) at the Baltimore Auto Show at the Timonium Fairgrounds in the
late 1990s. I distinctly remember feeling like this was the perfect car for me!
To this day it is still a dream to own one. However, as a college student at the
time it was not a reality and my interest remained in more affordable European
cars like the Mk4 VW GTI (my first car). My first BMW driving experience
came in 2008. I rented a Spec E30 for an HPDE with the New Jersey BMW
Chapter at the newly opened New Jersey Motorsports Park Thunderbolt
Circuit. With instructor and Club Racer Bill Mellot, I got a taste of things to
come while driving a fully prepared race car after several years of HPDE
progression in my GTI.
After taking a hiatus from HPDE (2009-2012), following the birth of our
daughter we got back into HPDE in 2013. We had recently purchased our first
" family " car with 4 doors, a 2012 VW Golf R (aptly named " Rolf " ). HPDE
weekends became our couples time where we could drop off our newborn with
her grandparents and disappear for a few days for some rest and relaxation
(yeah, right!). In 2013, we dove deep and attended events at Summit Point,
■ Mike Saul driving Zip Tie Racing #695 Spec E46 at NJMP November 2021.
March I April
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