An Overview of the ORPCA HPDE Program for 2009
Notice we have a major schedue change. The July 24 ad 25th HPDE have been rescheduled as fllows We have reduced this event to a single day, on Sunday July 18th HPDE at ORP. The September 18th Lapping day at ORP have been rescheduled as follows: Saturday September 11th Lapping day at ORP Sunday September 12th HPDE at ORP Season Pass holders still get the same numberof event days they are just rearranged.
WHY HIGH PERFORMANCE DRIVER ED?
The reasons for Driver Education are to help make each of us who participate, more skilled and safer drivers, to provide us with the opportunity to learn about our automobiles and to experience "driving in its purest form".
WHAT IS DRIVER ED AND IS IT RISKY?
We conduct our driver education program at Portland International Raceway and Oregon Raceway Park. Our program is designed to give participants the opportunity to develop their car control skills at speeds and cornering forces that cannot be achieved on the street, at least not legally or safely. People of various skill levels attend our events because they have a good time and learn from their experience. But bear in mind...
High Performance driving is an inherently risky activity. You can lose control of your car and damage it, perhaps extensively. And while we haven't seen this happen yet with our program, it is possible that you can be injured or killed, even while using the required safety equipment. It is your responsibility to operate your vehicle within your skill level and to make sure that you have adequat e insurance coverage to protect you against excessive loss.
Note that many insurance companies have added coverage exclusions for events of this type. Make sure to read your policy carefully and check with your agent to make sure you are covered.
The folks that operate the reigstration system (motorsportsreg.com) provide you a connection to an insurance underwriter that will cover your vehicle for collision loss at each HPDE event that you register for. Make sure to check out this coverage if you are uncorfortable with the financial risk.
HOW DOES THE HPDE PROGRAM WORK?
Each new participant begins in the Novice/Beginner group.
First time Novice drivers will have an instructor in their car and should request this at preregistration time. Instructors are assigned based on driver experience level. Novice students are encouraged to drive at speeds at which they and their instructors are comfortable in order to learn the 'line'. The goal is to teach better car control. Students are discouraged from traveling at speeds which could place them or their cars in jeopardy.
As your skill level develops you will progress from the Novice/Beginner group to more experienced run groups. You will be "signed off" as you progress. Being "signed off" means that your instructor feels confident that you can drive "solo" for novices or that you are ready for the next run group level. He or She will inform the Chief Driving Instructor of your changes in status.
Be patient. There is no need to rush driving "solo". In fact all drivers from "signed off" to instructor will be "checked out" periodically. We do this using various observational methods. It is one way for us to help you become a better driver, and it allows us to measure your progress and the success of our program.
Each of our instructed events is designed to provide the maximum track time while keeping the run groups at a reasonable size with car and drivers of similar skill level out on the track. In general you will get 4 run sessions of between 20 and 25 minutes during the day. This is variable depending on incidents that happen during the event that may be beyond our control.
OUT OF REGION DRIVERS WILL BE ASSESSED BASED ON EXPERIENCE AND MAY BE REQUIRED TO HAVE A "CHECK" RIDE IF THEY HAVE NOT DRIVEN WITH US PREVIOUSLY.
It is important to note that ORPCA Driver Education is not racing, nor any form of competition. There are plenty of other venues if you wish to drive competitively. Our program is not one of them.
REGISTRATION, TECH INSPECTION, AND TYPE OF CARS ALLOWED DURING ORPCA DE EVENTS
Checkin and tech inspection is held at the track. We strongly recommend pre-registration if you can do it - you have first chance at an instructor, and you won't get turned away at the gate if we're over the maximum number of cars we can handle. Also, you may run just about any type of car during our Drivers Education Event provided it is track worthy. If you have a question about your vehicle qualifies, please call the HPDE Chair to gain clarification.
WE OFFER FOUR RUN GROUPS FOR DRIVER EDUCATION
For more detailed driver benchmarks see the Advice, Guidelines and Rules page.
Novice/Beginner - The driver has no to some experience at High Speed Driving on a Track and will require or probably need instruction
Intermediate - The driver has some DE experience, typically 5 or more DE days and is in the process of improving their fundamental skill set. May need some instruction.
Advanced - The drivers are experienced, usually several years (10 to 20 events) of track experience, they are generally working on perfecting advanced driving skills and have the ability to drive off the line safely.
Instructor - These are individuals approved by ORPCA's Chief Driving Instructor (CDI) to teach the other participants.
As event organizers our worst nightmare is the student that registers for a run group that is over their head in skill and experience. Not only does this diminish your as well as the other participants enjoyment of the event but it poses a potential safety issue. In order to help us improve everyones day we are tracking run group signoffs in the registration system. We will verify your registration against our records. If we do not find appropriate approvals we will ask you for justification to be in the run group you registered for.
NOTE: IF THE HPDE STAFF FINDS THAT YOU HAVE REGISTERED FOR A RUN GROUP THAT IS DIFFERENT THAN OUR OPINION OF YOUR SKILL LEVEL WE RESERVE THE RIGHT TO MOVE TO YOU TO AN APPROPRIATE RUN GROUP IF THERE IS SPACE AVAILABLE. IF NOT WE MAY ASK YOU TO SIT OUT THE REST OF THE DAY.
There will be no credits or refunds for folks that register for the wrong run group and are asked to sit out.
Our guidance is to register conservatively and if you find you need to move up to a more advanced class you can request a check ride.
More than once in 2009 I heard the words, well the intermediate class was full so I registered for the advanced run group. Please don't take this risk because you were late registering for an event.
Note: if you have a fluid spill or an incident that damages the track facilities you are liable for the cost of cleanup or repair to the facility.
An ANNUAL TECHNICAL INSPECTION is REQUIRED for all PARTICIPANTS CARS
