BMW CCA CLUB RACING
		From the Chair - Steve Olsen

On a Clear Day

   Grand Am Cup

The 2003 season is now in full swing. This weekend we’ll have an historic first for BMW CCA Club Racing with our Grand Am Cup support race at Homestead . Thanks in large part to the efforts of Bob VanEpps, we are discussing a larger tie-in to the Grand Am series for 2004 with five or six support races including a possible event at Daytona. The tie-in offers to open some dates for us at hard-to-get-at tracks and offers a dramatic increase in our national exposure to the media. That, in turn, is a big plus to our sponsors.

   California 

Our first race in California follows the following week as we have Premier Events at VIR and Infineon Raceway ( Sears Point for all you diehards). We have a definite presence in California and are working hard to build relationships that give us the track dates we need. In that regard we are working hard to get the chapters to see the many advantages of offering a club race once a year in conjunction with their driving schools. While the inertia is substantial, I do believe we are beginning to see some signs of movement in that regard.

A special thank you to Larry Resnick, who has stepped up to assume the point position in keeping Club Racing moving forward in California. Larry is also taking an active role in working with the Golden Gate Chapter to include a club race with one of their driving schools.

   Money and Sponsors 

Club Racer and North Central Regional VP Scott Blazey pointed out in his quarterly newsletter to his constituents that Club Racing receives ZERO funding from BMW CCA. If you hear a fellow club member grumbling about the club spending money on racers, you should point out the fallacy of that position. Additionally, Club Racing does not receive any money from chapters who host races. All of the travel costs associated with providing stewards to the events is borne by Club Racing which relies on national sponsor funding to pay those bills. That’s reflected in lower entry fees for racers and lower costs for hosting chapters.

 In that regard, if you have good, solid leads for a potential national sponsor please contact Scott Hughes or Rick Dirks on our Marketing Committee. The Committee is always looking to add to our sponsor base and needs your help with quality contacts to expand that base.

   Rules (again?) 

 Hard to believe, but the rules process will be upon us shortly. Get your thinking hats on and start gathering your suggestions. I expect the rules changes to be minimal. We have a stable platform now and will continue to work in our efforts to firmly encourage compliance.

   Growth of the program 

 The number of BMW CCA club racers continues to grow in spite of a very challenging economic environment. We are rapidly approaching 1000 licensed racers. While I know there are improvements to be made, the marketplace is telling us that we are doing a lot of things right. We have a half dozen or so spec MINIs in various stages of construction and expect to see them competing soon. There is considerable interest in the MINIs and as the less expensive, used chassis become available I expect to see more rapid growth in the new series.

 Be sure and support our sponsors … thank them with your business and thank them personally when you get the opportunity.

 Happy Trails,

Steve

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