About this event
Welcome to the Motor City Chapter BMWCCA!
It’s time for our flagship high-performance driver’s education (HPDE) weekend at Grattan Raceway. This is your chance to explore and hone your driving abilities on one of the most entertaining courses in America. Grattan’s 2.0 miles of exciting and challenging corners (including a 160 degree hairpin and a downhill reverse camber turn) make it one of the best around. A recent track resurfacing only further enhances the experience.
All drivers—young and not so young; novice, intermediate, and advanced—are welcome.
This year, the event will be held the weekend of September 17-19, 2021. Approved advanced students and instructors are also invited to drive on Friday, September 17.
*You must contact our chief instructor, Ken Rutyna, prior to sign up for Friday if you are a SOLO/Advanced Student and have not been pre-approve for Solo driving.
Motor City BMWCCA prides itself on offering some of the best instruction in HPDE. No matter your driving level, we will help you improve!
Click "Continue" below to start your registration now!
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Fast Facts
- Location. Grattan Raceway in Belding, MI. About 30 minutes northeast of Grand Rapids
- Event Type. High Performance Drivers Education (HPDE). This is a non-timed, non-competitive driving event. Participants safely learn and develop (a) high performance driving techniques, (b) the driving lines at Grattan, and (c) situational awareness through on-track experiences.
- Driving Groups. Participants will be organized into one of four driving groups (Beginner, Intermediate, Advanced, Solo) based on experience. Passing rules are more lenient for more experienced students, including open passing with a point-by for the Advanced and Solo driving groups. Our goal is to foster a safe and invigorating environment for everyone!
- Host hotel. We’ve designated the Holiday Inn Express & Suites in Cedar Springs (14190 White Creek Ave NE, Cedar Springs, MI 49319) as our host hotel. They’ve reserved a limited number of rooms for us at discounted rates, and members calling for rooms in our block will also receive a gift at check-in. To reserve a room in the block, you must call the hotel directly at (616) 696-0450 and ask for a room in the Motor City BMW block.
- Camping. We plan to have camping available at the track on Friday and Saturday night.
- Volunteer Options Folks wishing to volunteer may now sign up via the event registration page.
- Additional Information. You can find more detail about our driving schools in general at our website on the page About Our Drivers Schools under the heading "Our Events."
- Questions? Just send an email to our chief instructor at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org
- What’s Next: Click “Continue” to begin your registration!
Event requirements
Event requirements:
- Drivers. By the date of the school, all drivers must be 16 years or older and have a full driver’s license that does not require another qualified party to be a passenger in the vehicle. Note: For students under the age of 18, the student and a parent or guardian must sign a Parental and Minor Release Waiver (see Forms below).
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Vehicles. All vehicles must be titled and have a valid automobile insurance policy at the time of the event. No vans, minivans, trucks, or similar vehicles are permitted. Capable SAVs (such as a BMW X1, X3, etc) are permitted in the beginner run group. If you have an SAV and are interested in the beginner run group, please contact our chief instructor, Ken Rutyna, at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org for approval to bring it. Our apologies, but per the BMWCCA Driving Events Operations Manual, we cannot accommodate convertibles (soft or retractable hardtop), targa, or T-top vehicles.
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Tech inspection. All vehicles must pass a pre-school technical inspection performed by a licensed mechanic and complete the Vehicle Technical Inspection form (see below for the required forms). This is to be completed before the school. No onsite technical inspections will be performed.
- Helmets.You will need a Snell SA or M-rated helmet (2010 or newer).
- Forms: All participants will need to read and complete the following forms and bring them to the event, where they will be collected by Motor City Chapter staff. All forms are available on our website HERE.
- Vehicle Technical Inspection
- BMW CCA adult waiver
- BMW CCA communicable disease waiver
- Helmet certification
- Parental and Minor Release Waiver (if the student is under 18)
Note: We no longer require a medical form. If you have a medical condition you would like the track's safety crew to know about, you can communicate with them directly. We'll also have available paper wristbands on which you can write a medical condition you'd like the crew to know about.
For questions or additional information regarding any of these requirements, please contact our chief instructor at drivingevents@motorcitybmwcca.org
Note that a separate application form must be submitted for each driver, even if you are sharing a car!
Please monitor the Motor City Chapter BMW CCA web site for up-to-date information.
