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ACNA NEQ – HPDE – Palmer Motorsports Park

June 17 - June 18

NEQ returns to Palmer for a two-day high-performance driving school on Monday & Tuesday, June 17-18, 2024

“Epic Roller Coaster Ride in your own car! Turns, Elevation & Speed, Oh my!”  – Simon Chan
Join your fellow NEQers for an awesome event at the  “Whiskey Hill” in Palmer, MA.  With more elevation change than Laguna Seca, this is not one you’ll want to miss!

Learn to drive your car on a real racetrack.

At an NEQ Audi Club Northeast driving school you’ll join a friendly community of individuals – of all ages – who share a passion for driving their cars. We know what it’s like to drive on a racetrack for the first time: exciting, unique, maybe a bit overwhelming. So we work with you to make your experience as fun and enjoyable as OUR first day! Your classroom teacher and personal in-car instructor will make you comfortable and give you the confidence to explore the performance of your car.

From first-timer through novice to experienced performance driver, NEQ has a run-group and coaching experience just for you and your car. Jump at this opportunity to learn and develop your driving skills in a safe, controlled environment, learning from some of the finest instructors in the area. It will also allow you to explore your capabilities as a driver and those of your vehicle in a controlled environment.

And what a track to do it on!!! Palmer Motorsports Park is 2.3 miles long, 40-feet wide, and has over 190 feet of elevation. Designed by grassroots racers and professional track designers and carved out of Whiskey Hill granite, the road course is a 15-turn rollercoaster ride around a scenic and secluded alpine wilderness.

Registration Fees

Students:  $450 per student for one day or $650 per student for two days.
Instructors:  Event fees are waived in appreciation of your instruction.

What is a High Performance Driving School?

The purpose of a driving school is quite simple: to improve your driving skills. We conduct the school on a racetrack under the close supervision of experienced and trained instructors. You will learn how to handle and control your vehicle at speeds not normally attained on public roads. This will help to prepare you for emergencies in normal driving. It will also allow you to explore your capabilities as a driver and those of your vehicle in a controlled environment. At no time will you be encouraged to go any faster than is comfortable. All participants will be organized into run groups in accordance with experience, skill, and type of vehicle.

What you learn on the track depends on your driving skill. Beginners are taught driving style (smoothness, consistency, the ability to read the track), more experienced participants continue to work on consistency, while developing new skills such as trail braking and threshold braking. As a beginner, every time you are on the track, you will have an experienced instructor with you in the passenger seat.

For experienced drivers, you can be “signed off” and drive solo when you have proven to your instructor and the Chief Instructor that you understand the basics of high speed driving, you can consistently drive the correct line, and you show proper etiquette on track. Maturity, good judgment, skill, and significant experience will lead to being signed off for solo driving.

Though you are on a racetrack, other drivers of similar driving skills, it is not a race. Passing in corners is not allowed, and you are not expected to shift at redline, or go screaming through each corner with the tires squealing. Safety of the event is of the utmost importance. Driver conduct will be diligently monitored throughout the day by the staff, instructors, and corner workers.

Track Time

You will have four on-track sessions each day varying from 20-30 minutes each. At the end of the 2-day event, you will have had between 3-4 hours on-track over the two days. That’s a lot of driving time and a lot of personalized high-quality instruction.

Classroom

Your day is divided between driving on the track, classroom sessions, and free time. Yes, this is a school, and there is mandatory classroom time. All participants are required to attend classroom sessions throughout the day to learn vehicle dynamics and driving techniques.

In the classroom, you learn a lot of high-speed driving theory. Learn about the difference between an early and late apex. You’ll get a better understanding of car dynamics so you understand what is really happening when you brake or why your car understeers or oversteers in certain circumstances. Each classroom will also include an opportunity for Q&A.

Do I need to own an Audi?

We welcome all makes of cars  — you don’t have to drive an Audi to enjoy our events.  This school is an excellent way for you to improve your driving skills and have fun, too!

All participants must simply be members of the Audi Club of North America (ACNA).  There is a $49 fee for annual membership. To join or update your membership, please go to the ACNA website (http://www.audiclubna.org/) and click on “Join ACNA” at the top of the page.

First Time Students

Our club is a friendly community of individuals who share a passion for driving their cars.

We know what it’s like to drive on a race-track for the first time and we customize your experience to make it an enjoyable as possible. We love welcoming first-timers to our events and we have a good number of first-timers at each one – you will not be alone.  Your novice classroom teacher and your personal instructor are ready to make you comfortable and give you the tools and confidence to enjoy driving your car on the race-track. Don’t forget – this is not competition driving. There is no overtaking in corners or racing other cars. This is all about having a safe and enjoyable experience.

We have some restrictions on driving convertibles and you will need a helmet. Requirements are on the next page. We have rental helmets available if you need one. Should you have any questions which are not answered on this page, please contact us and ask. We want to make you comfortable and we’re happy to talk with you.

92db Sound Restriction

Please note that Palmer enforces a strict sound limit of 92db.  If you have a modified car (street cars are not an issue) it is your responsibility to ensure you do not exceed this number.  The volume is monitored at various fixed and random spots around the track.

This YouTube video shows even more about events with our club.


High Performance Driving Schools: Save the dates!

That’s right! We’re already getting our ducks in a row, and we’re getting close to going live with HPDE events early for 2024. But lets not wait for that – pencil these dates in your calendars now. It will be a GREAT year with NEQ.
January 27: Car Control Clinic – Lime Rock Park Skid Pad – Lakeville, CT
March 9: Car Control Clinic – Lime Rock Park Skid Pad – Lakeville, CT
May 16-18: HPDE & Advanced Solo Day – Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, CT
June 17 & 18: HPDE – Palmer Motorsports Park – Palmer, MA
July 15 & 16: HPDE – Club Motorsports – Tamworth, NH
August 12 & 13: HPDE – Watkins Glen International Raceway – Watkins Glen, NY
September 16 & 17: HPDE – New Jersey Motorsports Park Thunderbolt Circuit – Millville, NJ
Date to be finalized:  Advanced Solo Day – Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, CT

As soon as we go live – we’ll let you know!
NEQ Club.

Details

Start:
June 17
End:
June 18
Event Category:
Event Tags:
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Website:
https://www.neqclub.org

Organizer

Audi Club NorthEast Region
Email
audiclubnortheast@gmail.com
View Organizer Website

Venue

Palmer Motorsports Park
58 W Ware Rd
Palmer, MA 01069 United States
+ Google Map
Phone
(413) 967-3560
View Venue Website