BMW Drivers Club NSW

Introduction to Supersprints & Licence Requirements

Introduction to Supersprinting.

Our Club runs Supersprint events so that club members can experience driving their BMWs on a race circuit. It may appear to be a bit of a challenge to get involved and I hope that this introduction may assist.

Many BMW models were designed and built to be able to be driven faster than allowed on the public roads of Australia. In fact, all models are more capable than the speed limit. Your BMW, no matter what model, will perform nicely on a race track and you will experience the excitement.

Supersprinting is entry level motorsport and we run our Supersprint under regulations and licence from Motorsport Australia (CAMS Confereration of Australian Motor Sport). It is time-based motorsport with you in your BMW against the clock, not door handle to door handle racing. 

There is a full description of our Supersprint and MotorKhana rules and regulations to make a competition with trophies out of our motorsport events.  There is also a link to the CAMS Standard Regulations as well as Supplementary Regulations for the day, Disclaimer, Scrutineering Form and Annex C.  You register to enter and pay the entry fee for an event on the club’s website http://www.bmwclubnsw.asn.au/events. There is a bit to know about all this but it is really easy and I hope these points help.

If you feel that you are not ready for the challenge of Supersprint we do run Driver Experience / Come & Try days where we accept members with Motorsport Australia Speed and, from 14 years of age, Junior Speed Licences.  These are available from Motorsport Australia website https://motorsport.org.au/licence/introduction  

 

Preparation:

  1. You need a CAMS L2S licence. You get that by filling in the online form on the CAMS website and paying the CAMS joining fee. This is your contribution to the CAMS insurance arrangements. When you take out that licence, apply for the CAMS Manual of Motor Sport. That manual fully describes all the requirement and it is also available on the CAMS website.
  2. You need an approved helmet. Appropriate helmets are available from suppliers like Revolution Racegear.
  3. You need non-synthetic clothing, neck to wrist to ankle and non-synthetic shoes. Jeans and a shirt are ok. You don’t need a race suit but that the best and most comfortable garment.
  4. Your car needs a fire extinguisher that is less than 3 years old. It is to be on a metal mounting bracket that is to be attached to the car within reach of you, the driver. Most drivers attach the fire extinguisher mount bracket under the passenger’s seat front mounting bolts. Solid fixed installation not screwed to the carpet. Easy to do yourself or there are service companies that will mount the fire extinguisher for you. Bunnings have appropriate fire extinguishers for less than $20. We may run an “install your fire extinguisher day”.
  5. Your car needs front and rear tow couplings. The car comes with one tow coupling and you can purchase a second one from a BMW Dealer or one of the BMW Dismantlers like Parramatta Prestige. They screw into sockets on the front and rear of the car and are there so that your car can be towed if it breaks down or becomes stuck in a gravel pit. 
  6. Your car needs valve caps on each tyre. These caps are to have a secondary seal. Metal valve caps are easy to get and do the job.  Some plastic caps don’t have the secondary seal so are not approved.
  7. On the entry on the website there are some forms: Print the Scrutineering Form. Use it to do your own check of your car, sign it and bring it with you to the track.
  8. Print the Disclaimer, sign it and bring it with you.
  9. All the rules for the competition are in Motorsport on the website. If you are entering the Annual Supersprint Championship you need to have your car in one of the 10 classes.  The rules describe the classes and there is a modification declaration called Annex C. Download that document, fill it in and bring it with you. Once we have your Annex C we will include you in the competition.
  10. If you have any questions, contact or chat with one of the experienced club members.  

On the Day:     

(Using Sydney Motorsport Park Druitt Circuit as an example. The other circuits are all similar.)

  1. Arrive at Sydney Motorsport Park North Circuit around 7:30 AM. Enter is via the back gate and if challenged by the gate guard, just tell him/her that you are in the BMW day on North Circuit.
  2. Choose a North Circuit garage or carport. Garage hire is included in your entry fee. Meet other competitors, prepare your car for the track, remove all the loose stuff from your car, tighten the wheel nuts, check tyre pressures, attach your tow couplings and drive your car to Scrutineering. It is at the east end of the pits beyond the tower. It opens at 7:30 and closes at 8:45. Don’t be late.
  3. Line your car up in the queue with your scrutineering form, track apparel and helmet. You need a battery location triangle for scrutineering. They are blue stickers 150mm on a side. If your car is dark you may need a white background triangle as well to make the blue tringle visible. Triangles are for sale at the Sign On desk in the scrutineering bay for $1. Stick the triangle on the car to indicate the position of the battery.
  4. Stay with the car. A scrutineer will check your car then please move the car from the bay.
  5. Go to the Sign On desk, present your disclaimer, scrutineering form, club membership card and CAMS licence.
  6. Sign On staff will provide your speed group sticker. Groups are numbered 1, 2, 3 etc. It is to go on your windscreen top right corner.
  7. If you are a regular you will have your own numbers so have then attached to the car. If not then Sign On will issue your numbers. They are $2 each and you need them for both sides of the car in either black or white to contrast with your car’s colour.  Have cash ($8) with you.  Stick your car numbers on the door panels or side windows. 
  8. Pick up your timing transmitter from timing on second level of the tower. Mount the transmitter on your car. Timing may have a bracket or may supply cable ties but be prepared to sort out attachment of the transmitter to the timing groups requirements.
  9. 8:45AM Attend Driver Briefing.  Location will be announced. Usually at the base of the tower or in the Hinxman room on 2nd level east end of Grid Building.  Sign the driver’s briefing attendance sheet.
  10. The Clerk of the Course will provide briefing on the running of the day, describe the rules and the flags that will be used. 
  11. All session will be timed. 
  12. Each speed group will run in turn. The turns will be announced and may not be in order. There will be Speed Group number signs posted at the Dummy Grid.
  13. When your speed group is called, drive your car to the Dummy Grid at the western end of the grid building.
  14. You will be in a set position on the grid and the Grid Marshal will have that position number.  Your starting grid position has been determined by the time that you gave for this circuit, your previous form or just a guess, maybe your car type/model.
  15. If you are new to the Druitt Circuit you can take one of the experienced Supersprint drivers with you as your coach for the first session. 
  16. The Grid Marshal will send you out on the track spaced apart from other drivers. The session is around 12 minutes depending on temperature.
  17. Take it easy, warm up your car, tyres, brakes and find your way round the circuit. Learn the lines, turn-in point, apex, exit. For corners – “Slow in fast out”.  It is not a race.  This is Supersprinting – you against the clock.  Take your time to learn the circuit and build speed. You have a whole day to get up to speed.
  18. Sessions will continue until lunch time.  There will be two or three sessions before lunch. You can move around in your speed group by arrangement with the other drivers and the Grid Marshal. The aim is to have fastest to slowest positioned within the group.
  19. Session times will be on Natsoft. Check them on your mobile phone.
  20. At lunch time, using the times from the morning sessions, drivers will be regrouped in speed groups from fastest to slowest and those new grid positions will be used for the afternoon sessions.
  21. In the afternoon there may be another 2 or 3 sessions. You will get plenty of laps during the day. The number of sessions on the day depends on incidents and breakdown. 
  22. At the end of the day, around 4PM, or when you are finished, return your timing transmitter to timing in the tower. If you take it home there is a problem and a cost for you so please return it before you leave.   
  23. Enjoy the day.

LICENCE REQUIREMENTS

Our club runs motorsport with a high regard for the safety of everyone involved. We run events under CAMS and hence FIA regulations. This means that only members of CAMS Affiliated Clubs, like ours, who have CAMS licences can enter and run in our events. Each standard club membership is one person and that is the registered member, not a friend or associate. Family Membership allows for 2 family members living at the same address to be included within the one membership and both of these members can use that membership to take out a CAMS L2S licence. At some of our events we sometimes allow members to purchase a CAMS Day Licence under the same one licence per standard club membership and two under family or gold membership on the club member living at the same address. No friends or relatives or other associates can have a CAMS L2S licence in our club so can not enter or run in our events. This is also the arrangement for CAMS L2NS licences that are approved for non-speed events such as MotorKhana. Please read and accept these rules for event entry.    

If you are looking to enter any of our Motorsport events this year, you will require a CAMS licence. Please submit your application for the applicable type of Level 2 licence on the CAMS website HERE. Or if you are already a CAMS member, renew your licence at the CAMS portal HERE.

Having an appropriate CAMS licence is an event requirement and, regrettably, we will no longer be processing CAMS licence forms on the day.

You will require:

  • Level 2, Non Speed (L2NS) is required for Motorkhana Events ($80 for 1 year);
  • Level 2, Speed (L2S) is required for Supersprint Events ($125 for 1 year)

We would like to encourage people to opt for the L2S licence, as it covers both types of events. Especially if having tried a Motorkhana, you are then tempted to see how you and your car performs in our supersprint environment.

Remember, supersprint isn’t door handle to door handle racing and you don’t need a fast car with all the go fast goodies. Nor do you need to be the next Juan Fangio! It’s about having a great day out and learning some car control skills with like-minded individuals. Hope to see you on the skid pan and the race track.