Newsletter: September 2020
Message from the Prez
Twenty-twenty has been a challenging year to say the least. With the arrival of the pandemic and the ensuing lockdowns, social distancing rules, border closures and constantly changing provincial restrictions and staged openings, it has been extremely difficult to plan anything. We had to cancel our first event of the year in April, and then cancelled everything in May as well.
We managed to pull off some track events, a racing event and some AutoSlalom events, but our plans for Street Survival School, social events, fun rallies, wine tours etc. have all gone out the window for 2020.
Our sponsors have taken a financial beating this year as well, so if you are thinking of spending some money on goods or services that our sponsors provide, please give them some consideration. Our sponsors are: Pfaff BMW (Mississauga), BMW Markham, Braidan Tire, Bavarian Motorsport and Rudolph’s Bakeries.
What is important is your health and safety – please do continue to follow the guidelines of our health professionals, both at Trillium events and also when you are at home or in your community.
Let’s hope that 2021 will bring us a normal year.
Below we have listed some events, which still remain on the calendar for 2020.
The Derek Hanson Memorial Advanced Driving School
The August 28-30 Advanced Driving School was in memory of Derek Hanson. On Saturday at lunchtime, we all gathered to reflect on the impact Derek had on all of us and to share a few stories, memories and good-byes.
We also presented Derek's son, Peter Hanson, with a trophy in honour of his father's endless support, teaching and commitment he gave to our club. Whether you knew Derek for a minute or a lifetime, his impact was immense.
To continue Derek's legacy, we are announcing that the early September Advanced Driving School each year will be named the Derek Hanson Memorial Advanced Driving School.
October's Advanced Driving School - Oct 23-25th
There is one Advanced Driving School remaining in 2020, it will be held on Oct. 23-25, at the CTMP (Mosport) Grand Prix track. This event is open to students at all levels provided you have had previous experience driving the Grand Prix track.
Due to the pandemic, the format will be lead-follow, meaning there will be no in-car instructors and no in-class sessions. Classroom material will be disseminated by each instructor in the paddock. This format was applied to our late August event at CTMP and also in July at Calabogie, and worked well. While in-car instruction is ultimately preferred, the lead/follow format has some unique learning aspects as well:
- You are following the instructor car to see the preferred line. Your goal is to follow them exactly while keeping the same distance between the two cars,
- You will be driving alone in your car. This will elevate your thinking about the turn in, apex and exit of each corner. You will be managing the brake points and the brake pressure to maintain the line and the distance to the instructor car,
- You will work on specific exercises throughout the weekend such as: the line, early apex, late apex, to name a few,
- There will be instructor/student briefings before and after your sessions. This is your one-to-one classroom, which is very interactive and a personal learning experience.
Come on out for one last dose of fun, adrenaline and learning before winter!
Student Registration click here!
AutoSlalom
There are two AutoSlalom events remaining in 2020: Sept 13 and Sept 20.
A fun way to improve your skills on a Sunday morning! To be held at the CAA Centre (formerly Powerade Centre) in Brampton.
Registration Links
Sept 13, 2020 at the CAA Centre
Sept 20, 2020 at the CAA Centre
Sept 27, Moved to Sept 13
Report On The Trillium BMW CCA Racing Weekend - August 7-9th 2020
Every year, Trillium’s race event is held in conjunction with PCA UCR as part of the Can-Am Challenge Club Race event.
Due to COVID-19 and the border closure for non-essential travel, PCA UCR had to cancel the event. With the border closed, shutting out some 60% of our “regulars” who come from the US each year, the race looked like it was a no-go. Instead of giving up, we created the “Munich-Stuttgart” Challenge and invited our Canadian based PCA racer friends to join our Canadian based BMW CCA racers. To add some spice, we invited our Maranello (Ferrari) friends to race with us.
The Munich-Stuttgart Challenge Club Race weekend was a huge success and we have received some great feedback from the BMW, PCA and Ferrari racers.
Many thanks to the three race sponsors — Pfaff BMW, Braidan Motorsport and Bavarian Motorsport. Pfaff provided two beautiful BMWs, an M5 and an 850i as pace cars.
Also, many thanks to the many volunteers who helped make this event a success: Allan Lewis our race chair, Ray Pleasance (pace car), Abe Reinhartz (track doctor), and to the many volunteers at registration: Peter Neely, Les Carter, Eileen Arnaud, Daria Khachi, Rob Carr, Laurie Johle, and Debbie Marrotta. From PCA: Terry Cassan, Larry Funnell, Jackie Metcalfe (grid captain), Don Richardson and John Van Atter.
The sunny and hot weather was perfect for racing throughout the three-day weekend. The weekend included a 60-minute enduro race on Friday and three 30-minute sprint races (two on Saturday and one Sunday). Besides the regular BMW CCA Club Race classes at the race, we created a separate Ferrari class and a time-bracket classes for the Porsches:
- P-GT1 1:25 and faster
- P-GT2 1:25 to 1:30
- P-GT3 1:30 to 1:35
- P-GT4 1:35 to 1:40
- P-GT5 1:40-plus
It was a great weekend and one that we would like to repeat in years to come.
Here’s to your health and safety!
Sincerely,
Isi Papadopoulos
President, Trillium Chapter BMW CCA