Hampton Roads Club Mini

As I mentioned a few months ago during a Se7en Cities MINI quarterly club meeting, I have been in the early discussion stages with famed race driver from the UK, Phil Wicks, who is the owner/operator of the Phil Wicks Ultimate MINI Driving Academy. Phil and I have been brainstorming about the possibility of him bringing his renowned MINI specific performance driving program to Virginia International Racewey (VIR), near Danville, Va., sometime in 2008.

Depending on the number of participants we are able to sign up, he will structure the program in either a one day or two day format. We would need at least 40 participants to make it economically feasible, and the more drivers signed up, the lower the individual cost will be. I gauged interest during our c7m club meeting and had an encouraging response from those in attendance.  I'd like to poll you at this time to see who amongst us might have an interest in participating. This program has been specifically designed and develpoed by Phil for drivers of Classic and new MiNi's, and runs on a continuous basis all over the U.S.. The driving academy consists of numerous hours of classroom instruction and on-track driving time. For those who would be interested in learning on an enclosed racetrack in a controlled environment, how to drive your MINI better, faster and safer, you should give this program strong consideration.

I mentioned to Phil that I would post the information on the forums at various MINI club sites throughout the Mid-Atlantic region to invite folks from all around the area to participate.

If you are interested and would like additional information on both the MINI Driving Academy and VIR itself, please check out the following two web sites:

http://www.minidriving.com

http://www.virclub.com

VIR usually stays pretty well booked up on the weekends year after year, therefore Phil envisions that his Academy program may need to coincide with another previously scheduled club event. MINI's however will be given first priority, and depending on the participation rate, exclusive enrollment in the program.

If you have any questions or would like to enter into discussion about this exciting opportunity, please post here.

Thank you,
Howard Collins
Vice President, Se7en Cities MINI
Founding Member Mid-Atlantic Mini's
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We are definately interested!  Can two people come & run the same car?

Well, I've certainly received an overwhelming response to this in a very short amount of time.
 
After posting on the discussion forums at Se7en Cities Mini, HRMINI, River City MINI's, DCMetro MINI's, Tarheel MINI's, Mini Mania, Cooper Tune, and on the Mid-Atlantic Mini's email list, we quickly surpassed the target of 40 positive responses that Phil was looking for in order to make this event economically feasible.
 
With that, I'll be corresponding with him immediately to let him know the Mid-Atlantic region has spoken loud and clear with a resounding "YES". Assuming he will be able to secure a date and make the arrangements with VIR, stay tuned for further announcements.
 
Thank you for your immediate and positive responses. Your interest is what is responsible for bringing this event this close to us.

Howard Collins
Virginia Beach, VA.
 
 

Steph and I are in.

Don

Can't pass up Phil Wicks.... I'm in pending price, dates....

damn... i'm in also pending money and dates...

Just a quick update on this:

I heard back from Phil Wicks last Sunday and he appears very encouraged by what I told him, and he's indicated that he has now started working on the feasibility of coming to VIR. With that, we'll sit tight for a while until I hear back from him.

For the record, I've been keeping track of the interest level on this during the first week after my initial posting and the tally shows we have 60 "yes" or strong maybe votes, with the most coming in from DC Metro, followed in order by Tarheel, HRMINI, Se7en Cities, River City, and as a result of private emails. I don't plan to keep track of the numbers beyond this point, but suffice to say, it appears we have demonstrated enough preliminary interest to surpass the initial quota set by Phil.

Strayed tuned, for as things develop I'll get back to everyone.

Howard Collins
Vice President, c7m
Virginia Beach, VA.

Thanks Howard for getting this all the way from an idea to reality!