i'm from the new england area and want to get into track racing. i have a 92 325i. what circits are avaliable in this area? where can i find out what i need to get started? any info would be greatly appreciated.:)

http://www.nasanortheast.org/

Have you done any drivers schools? Are you looking for wheel-to-wheel racing or high performance drivers education?

www.SCDA1.com and www.boston-bmwcca.org

Both great groups to run with. The closest road course to you is NHIS in Loudon. There's also Limerock in the northwest corner of CT.

First thing you need to do before even thinking about driving on a race track is to make sure your car is in perfect shape mechanically. The Boston BMW CCA site has a good page on preparing for a DE.

You may also want to try some autocrossing first to get a feel for the car in a safe environment.

i'm from the new england area and want to get into track racing. i have a 92 325i. what circits are avaliable in this area? where can i find out what i need to get started? any info would be greatly appreciated.:)
Well, it's a bit late in the season, but you do have one of the best new england BMWCCA chapters, the White Mountain Chapter (http://www.whitemtn-bmwclub.org/calendar.html), right in your region. Just join BMWCCA and sighn up for their next track day which is a 3 day event I believe is at the end of October right at New Hampshire International outside of Concord.
There is also SCDA (http://www.scda1.com/schedule/) which is a great HPDE club. They will be at NHIS this month.

ooppss, ... guess I should stop watchin TV while I post.... =)

the bmw chapters up there also run at Mont-Tremblant.

Have you done any drivers schools? Are you looking for wheel-to-wheel racing or high performance drivers education?

no i haven't done any driving schools yet. do i need them to do all the racing? where do i find driving class to get a license to race?

how do i register for these chapters and events and do i need driver school experience? i'm from the manchester New Hampshire area and doing one of these events in loudon would be great. it would give me a taste of it for next season. All the info is awsome thanks every one!!!

how do i register for these chapters and events and do i need driver school experience?

Start reading at www.boston-bmwcca.org and www.wmc-bmwcca.org. Follow the registrations insructions, which will differ with each group. You should go to an Advanced Driving Safety School (ADSS), which is held in a parking lot to get some skills before your first time on the track.

Also, try searching this forum for threads about first time at the track -- there are several and are PACKED with tips.

I think your next event with these two groups would be at Watkins Glen in September. Or wait for the 3-day at NHIS in October.

Don't think about racing yet -- you are probably several years or more away from that (unless you count autocrossing or time trialing as racing, but I inferred that you mean wheel-to-wheel racing).

Yes, Dan, that's the normal route...but there have been some notable exceptions to folks taking that long to race wheel to wheel.

If you really want to "fast track" the process, SCCA is likely to be your best bet. Google the local chapter and search around for their race schools. You can get up and racing with them pretty quickly.

Or, if you have the resources, you can go to a Skip Barber type race program; not cheap, but three intense days.

Keep in mind, however, that to race/safety prep your presumably street trim 325 is no simple task, and will be both expensive and time consuming. You can, however, autocross and skid school prior to that process...and you can do DE (non competitive track-school days) once the car's been made "track worthy", i.e. safe and sound, enough to pass an inspection.

One approach would be to do a few autocrosses, a skid school or two, and a couple of DEs...all of which can be done locally before winter. If you still want to go racing, I'd look for a car that's already "built". For what you'll spend prepping your current car, you can literally buy a track car, complete. For what you'll spend on a proper roll cage, seats, harnesses, fire system, shut offs alone you can buy a variety of SpecMiatas or even low budget BMWs, esp. in the fall. That's not counting all the suspension, engine, cooling, etc. upgrades, all the labor (your's or someone's) lightening the car down to class specs, or the value of your current 325.

Good luck...always nice to hear about new blood coming in!

Thanks for all the info guys its been a huge help. i registered to bmw cca and now i just need to join a chapter. i'm debating between the white mountian chapter and the boston-bmw chapter. Are any of you members of these? which one would you recomend? if one has a younger age group of members that would be more for me. thanks again every one!!!

It doesn't matter much whether you join WMC or Boston. Boston runs more events since it was the original chapter. It runs an event at Watkins Glen and Tremblant, and several at NHIS. WMC runs a couple at NHIS and does the end-of-year event with Boston at NHIS (3-4 days).

You get the same rights in terms of registration with both chapters, and they coordinate dates. There are a lot of the same faces at both events (at least the track events), but they are run by different people. Both groups are very friendly. Both have comparable (and highly overlapping) instructors.

I'd look at the calendars for both and see what events you might be interested in. I joined the WMC e-mail list, even though I am a Boston Chapter member. I can go to any of their events, except maybe the annual party, and I can't vote for their officers.

You can join other chapters for a small extra fee. This gives you the opportunity to register early for their events. This used to be a big deal when events sold out on the first day, but I think this is much less common. If you want to do this, I'd do GVC (Genessee Valley Chapter -- central NY), which runs events at the Glen. You could also check out Patroon and NJ chapters.

But for now, probably either Boston or WMC would be just fine.

You will get $100 off at your first track event with either chapter.

There will be some younguns at track events, but there are lots of middle-aged men (boys -- men don't drive round-and-round for fun). We don't bite. Now eat your vegetables.:D

Welcome aboard!