Details of the 2017 Bridgestone BMW CCG Track Days

Following on from a few changes to these events in 2016, most notably the absence of our race series, a few elements of our track days needed a review for 2017. This outlines the plans for the 2017 Time Trial season.

Season Ticket Entry

To encourage consistent participation we are offering a season ticket entry for the year. The combined entry fees for all 5 track days amounts to R6500. If you register for the season in January you will qualify for a 15% discount on your entry fees which amounts to R5525 (not refundable in full or pro-rata if you miss an event). It also means you will be pre-registered for each event and will not have to complete an entry every time. Your registration and season ticket payment must be completed by 31 January 2017.

Time Trial Classes

The time trial classes we used for the last two years have been reviewed. We have created classes according to the majority of what has been entered in the last two years, not what is possible. We have had many classes far too empty and some classes where the differentiation between cars is too vast. We hope that these new classes will remedy this. We have also made them more appropriate for Race Series drivers that want to enter their cars in the Time Trial Championship as well. If for any reason your car does not comply completely within the new classes, the organizer reserves the right to place you in the applicable class. Please take note of the attached Time Trial Classes document for further info. If you are not sure of anything, please feel free to contact Michael Broom.

Time Trial Championship

We will continue to run a season championship. Points are scored as follows at each event:

1^st                                   10

2^nd                                   8

3^rd                                   6

4^th                                   5       

5^th                                   4

6^th                                   3

7^th                                   2

8^{th onwards}                       1

Where only two cars are entered into a class:

1^st                                   6

2^nd                                  5

At the end of the season, bonus points will be awarded per event entered. This means we will not have a repeat of 2016 where someone could enter only 1 event and win a class championship. We hope that this change along with the new classes will bring about a more fair and realistic Time Trial Championship result.

Program

We have made adjustments to the template program we use. These will naturally vary on the number of groups we use for each event and the time constraints we have at each circuit. What we used to call sessions (the way cars were grouped on track) are now called groups. Sessions are now the block of time on circuit so that we ensure we always have at least 6 sessions for each group, excluding the open session. The number of groups used will be determined by the number of entries received and the on-track capacity for each circuit.

Sponsors

We have fortunately retained Bridgestone as the title sponsor for all the track days in 2017. At each event, we will have different dealer sponsors as hosts of the event. We have once again incorporated our Race Series sponsors into the track days to give them further exposure and to improve the viability of the events themselves. Because of this, we are able to plan for 5 events in 2017.

Calendar

We do our level best to plan the calendar as carefully as possible. We as best we can have set the dates out according to what was available from the circuits, for them to be pre-cursors to Inland Championship dates and to fit with the rest of the club calendar.

The dates for 2017 are as follows:

Sunday 5 March                                    Zwartkops

Saturday 3 June                                    Midvaal

Saturday 12 August                              Red Star

Friday 15/Saturday 16 September        Phakisa

Saturday 28 October                            Kyalami

Track School

We are currently re-evaluating the Track School program. Our consideration, subject to the approval of BMW Driving Experience, is that it be offered exclusively to drivers who have completed a BMW Driving Experience High Performance Course, and want to enter the Track Days in their own vehicle. It will therefore no longer be offered as a standalone option open to anyone.

Hot Laps

The hot lap program should continue in 2017 as before. We are currently negotiating this with BMW Driving Experience and Bridgestone South Africa.

Photography and Media

We will continue to contract the services of Racepics for all photography and post event media. They crucially understand the importance of sponsor branding being carried through all media. We urge that members continue to support them by both purchasing images and promoting their social media albums post-event so that we can measure the club’s footprint and give meaningful feedback to our sponsors.

Administration

The track days will be run by Michael Broom with guidance and assistance from the club committee, the drivers and the sponsors who have a vested interest in its success. Desre Broom joins the fold to handle a large part of the administration so please do your utmost to help her in this transition. In 2016, a strong emphasis was placed on ‘following the rules’ which has paid dividends to running a fair time trial series. This will continue in 2017.  

Click here to register for your Time Trial Season Ticket Entry

Click here to download the guideline program

Click here to download the 2017 Time Trial Classes Document

We thank you for your participation in the 2017 season. Any queries or questions can be directed to Michael Broom on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kind regards,

Michael Broom

Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series

Inland Championship

084 325 2744

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.BMWCarClub.co.za

www.inlandchamps.co.za

Details of the 2017 Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series

2017 is gearing up to be a busy and exciting season for our series. This aims to enlighten our members of what is in store and officially opens entries into the championship. Please see attached the provisional club calendar including race dates, as well as the 2017 series regulations.

Regional status

We will continue as a regional championship in 2017 and will again crown a regional BMW Champion.

Inland Championship

Our race rounds will continue to form part of the Inland Championship. In 2016 we helped rejuvenate and build the Inland Championship and this work will continue in 2017. We are proud that we have played a substantial role in improving both the identity and quality of the regional tour.

Marketing and PR

The club has retained the services of Racepics.co.za to handle much of the PR and marketing for the race series. Paul Blackburn and the rest of the team have proven themselves to be professional and accountable and we consider them an integral part of what we do. Should you be looking to attract a sponsor for your own car, we are able to provide stats for you that will help in justifying value to a potential or existing sponsor.

We will also betelevising 6 rounds of the series on Ignition TV. We are integrally involved with the production team in order to mould and package a TV show that does justice to our series, our sponsors and all our drivers. Equally we are involved at ground level in promoting and marketing the Inland Championship tour events to ensure the home of our race series has an even brighter future.

Sponsors

We are in a fortunate position to have retained most of our race series sponsors and partners. At your earliest opportunity, be sure to thank the teams behind Bridgestone South Africa, Viking Mining Solutions, Roof Surgeon, Big Boss Auto and Tri-Cor Signs SA. We also take great pleasure in welcoming EZAIR Air Conditioning as our new associate-primary sponsor! 

Classes

We will still be running a breakout-time based classing system which is detailed in the regulations. We have added Class A+ as an invitational class for certain events that allow for cars much faster than the Class A crop. Our regulations state that classes will be determined on your first qualifying session, but you may nominate your class upfront as part of your annual registration. If your nominated class is lower than your best previously recorded lap time, you will be urged to reconsider.

BMW Car Club Gauteng Track Days

We will be driving for greater participation in the club track days from the race series drivers. These are great opportunities to treat sponsors, friends and family to a track experience without the pressure of a race day. The calendar has been planned as far as possible for the track days to precede race series rounds to offer additional practice time. The traditional Phakisa track weekend has also returned by popular demand.

As an incentive for race series drives to participate, all drivers who have paid their annual race series entry fee by 31 January will be eligible for a 15% discount on all track day entry fees.

Administration

The series will be run by Michael Broom with guidance and assistance from the club committee, the drivers and the sponsors who have a vested interest in its success. Desre Broom joins the fold to handle a large part of the administration so please do your utmost to help her in this transition. In 2016, a strong emphasis was placed on ‘following the rules’ which has paid dividends to running a fair series. This will continue in 2017.  

The annual entry fee for the race series is R1500 which includes your annual club membership. This is the first time it has been increased since 2011. As above, it carries with it additional benefits. It is imperative that you enter the championship as soon as possible to give us enough time to get the correct sponsor decals in time and plan for other administration needs.  

We will kick off with a drivers meeting at The Italian Club Johannesburg in late January. Final details will follow in due course.

Click here to register for the 2017 Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series Championship

Click here to download the calendar

Click here to download the regulations

We thank you for your participation in the 2017 season. Any queries or questions can be directed to Michael Broom on This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

Kind regards,

Michael Broom

Bridgestone BMW Club Racing Series

Inland Championship

084 325 2744

This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.

www.BMWCarClub.co.za

www.inlandchamps.co.za