HPR media preview
 

Last week I had the opportunity to visit High Plains Raceway (HPR) for some of the first laps of this brand-new circuit. It's located east on I-70 near Byers (take a left off the exit and go NE for another 18 miles) about an hour drive. On hand was two-time Indy 500 winner Arie Luyendyk to take a Corvette Z06 around at 6-7/10ths. And while I was the first journalist to jump into the passenger seat, that only lasted a few corners. Every time Luyendyk put the hammer down, the rear would dart sideways and an evil rattle would emerge.

We agreed that neither of us would take a shakedown lap in a racecar like that, so we short-cutted the track and headed back to the pits. Once there, the owner took a closer look and decided that his rebuilt diff needed some work. Another Z06 was procured, but unfortunately I was "back of the line" at that point. I did get to ride in the course designer's BMW later in the day, but never got to ride with Luyendyk.

I can only give first impressions of the 2.5 mile HPR course from my brief two lap experience. First is that this is going to be one tough course to learn! There's a variety of linked turns with either positive and negative camber to trick the unwary. Add to this a straight about a 100' LONGER than PMP and it'll be fast! The elevation changes throughout the circuit are enough that you'll feel like you're on a rollarcoaster ride every lap. It's got sections that remind me of Mid-Ohio, Road Atlanta and Road America-good company to be in! In short, this is going to be one helluva ride for Colorado Z drivers!

Unfortunately, it looks like every weekend is booked in 2009 and the rental rates/requirements will be expensive enough that we won't be able to do a HPDE there on a weekend. But the good news is that several car or race groups would love to have local Z drivers come out. SCCA will kick it off April 4-5th with a comp school, race and Performance Driving Experience (PDE). NASA is next up on April 18-19th with their HPDE program. SCCA has another PDE May 2-3 and is actively looking for corner workers to EARN some discounts for driving the track! July 4-5th should be burning hot with a Double National race weekend and another chance to earn credit towards track time at HPR. Sept. 5-6th is another SCCA PDE at the track and I'm sure there will be other dates with other clubs as well.

While HPR is a reality, there's still a need to put in any loose change you have towards a better paddock (which is pretty barren) and facilities. There's only one port-a-john out there and we could use more! There's also hundreds of tires to be banded and put out around the concrete barriers that line the circuit (don't worry, there's plenty of runoff area as well). It's going to be a tough, fast circuit that will really test the skills of Z car drivers. So get your car in good shape NOW and start planning for the time of your life in just a few months!

The last SCCA PDE I was at was great! Id love to do that again! Work corners after the track time! Ill be trying to make as many of these as I can, its gonna be a great season! Although I do have to get back to PMI, she may be old, but she is my favorite!

Ran into a couple of sport bikers at a neighborhood gas station last week and they were very excited about HPR. We chatted a while and it got me thinking about this track even more so. HPR may very well end up being my first track experience. Since I'm a newbie, how much do tracks generally charge on a weekday; is it by the hour? Do you share the track (I suppose) or get solo access?

HPR will probably require some type of certification for any of their open track days. Be forewarned, getting that certification may take most of the summer, unless you go to a pro school and pay over a thousand. I'd suggest going to the aforementioned SCCA, NASA or a ZCCA track days for the most cost effective route. Generally you share the track with other drivers and get 3-4 20 minute sessions throughout the day.

Don't forget the z club track events.

The first one is in May, but not sure exactly which day. The schedule may be wrong on the HPR web site.

The second one is Sept 12th which will also coincide with a regional z club event.


www.zccc.org for more info as it becomes available.

David, I was out there helping bolt tires together. I didn't get out there till 11am. I didn't notice your z, unless it was hidden.

I cant wait. I hope I get a chance to try this track....

Darrel- Sorry I missed you last Friday. My red Z was parked next to the motorhome that served as the media center that frigid day. Good info on the ZCCC track days. Any idea what the Z car club is planning to charge as an entry fee for either the May or Sept. events?

Thomas- don't wait- PLAN! HPT will truly be mind blowing. If you'd like to see it, you can come out on a Sunday and help bolt some tire walls together. Then you can choose from SCCA, NASA or ZCCC events (or mix and match) to begin learning this complex circuit once race season starts.

At what time Sunday?

Bolting tires together usually happens friday, saturday and sunday.

Register here for times and days etc. http://hprtireguys.yuku.com/ They get a semi load of tires in every Friday, It usually takes a couple of hrs to unload the 900+ tires. After that they usually start bolting them together on friday and continue on saturday and sunday.


David,

Preliminary estimates put the amount for members at about $140. With that you will have 2 20 min and 3 15 min sessions throughout the day along with corner working to talk about the track experience with fellow drivers.

The days of $65 a day event with the z club is in the past.

I also heard that PMI will only be open if you are able to rent the entire track. No more driving down there with a few people to run the track, unless you have enough for an exclusive rental.

I'm jealous! Sometimes I wish I hadn't moved from Colorado. Oh well.

Wow, I definitely have to plan on some of these. I may just join ZCCC to get some times too.

Good info and I think $140 is pretty close to what SCCA and NASA have been charging for their PDE/HPDE entries as well. File the $65 ZCCC entries with the $35 LaJunta HPDEs we had up though 2005--GONE!

As for Pueblo, the new management company is still putting together their policies and procedures for track rentals. The picture remains unclear for track rentals, unless you're a race sanctioning body with insurance, corner workers and EMS requirements.

...said the man who lives down the street from LAGUNA SECA! :icon18: Don't worry Dave, HPR will still be here by the time you get back from Cali. We'll just break it in a little for you! :icon17:

BTW- I'm writing a two-part article about HPR in the upcoming March and April issues of SportsCar magazine. It will be published under my Rocky Mountain Divisional column (called Pony Express) and will include many more of Luyendyk's comments on HPR. Sorry for not being able to reprint any of that here, but SportsCar holds first rights to both pieces.

I just signed up for tire bundling for Feb. 1st and maybe 15th. Can't wait.

I cant wait to get out on a track again, it has been too long. Going to have to get a couple things done on the car and try and get out for a Sunday tire bundling session!!

Went today to help with tire bundling. It was actually a lot of fun. It was very nice to just do hard labor again. You also get a sense of pride that you're working on something that many people will be able to enjoy for a long time.

I highly recommend everyone who's gonna use the track pitch in. There's still a lot of work left to be done. Also met some really nice people.

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a333/bamyi/HPR006.jpg

http://i14.photobucket.com/albums/a333/bamyi/HPR014.jpg

Lots of tires left!

another 2k coming in this friday and that will be it for tire deliveries. I was out there friday and saturday. We bundled 650 tires on friday, saturday we lost count as they were starting to place the completed bundles.