Matt Ammon Memorial Lapping Days '20
Audi Club NA - Northwest Chapter
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY: This event is quite different compared to our typical HPDE events.
Due to the current COVID-19 restrictions, Audi Club Northwest (ACNW) presents a modified version of the Matt Ammon Memorial Driving School (MAMDS), called Matt Ammon Memorial Lapping Days (MAMLD), to take place Saturday, May 16th and Sunday, May 17th at Ridge Motorsports Park (RMP). If possible, we are looking into repurposing the QuattroCross event, scheduled for June 14, to be a Driver Skills day in order to replace the Driver Skills portion of our usual MAMDS schedule.
On April 2, Washington state Governor Jay Inslee extended the “Stay Home, Stay Healthy” emergency order through May 4th. Assuming this emergency order is lifted on May 5th, we believe that that the most likely scenario going forward is that there will be a gradual lifting of restrictions on social gatherings. Referring to previous restrictions imposed, it’s likely that gatherings of more than 50 people will be banned for a period of time, and gatherings of 50 or fewer people will need to adhere to strict social distancing guidelines.
With these assumptions, we are structuring the Matt Ammon Memorial Lapping Days event as follows:
- Only solo drivers that have previously driven solo at an ACNW event may register. There will be no in-car instruction. Only the driver will be allowed in the car.
- The number of participants will be limited to 50. No guests will be allowed. If updated guidance from the state of Washington is provided that allows this number to be increased, we will cap the event at 60 participants. If the guidance is for a lower number of people allowed at a gathering, we will adjust the numbers as appropriate by canceling registrations in order of latest time registered. If the number is too small to make this event financially viable, we will cancel the event.
- We will NOT be renting helmets at this event, so you will need to bring your own helmet that meets the minimum requirements. See next page for details.
- The format will be open lapping. Each day will start with half the participants driving for the first 30 minutes of the day, and the other half will drive for the second 30 minutes of the day. After that, anybody may drive whenever they want, for as long as they want; but we will meter the total number of cars on track to about 25. The track will be hot from 9:00AM-12:00PM and then 1:00PM-5:00PM both days. That's over 3.5 hours of driving time if you can manage to be on track for half of the time the track is hot!
- Everyone who registers will first be placed on the waitlist, as we have been doing for the past year or more. We will then confirm up to 50 people into the event in order of registration time but prioritizing 2-day registrations first. We will NOT charge your credit card until we can confirm that the event will take place.
Note that it is very possible that national and state guidelines for social distancing may be extended and therefore we may need to cancel the event. It is possible that RMP may not be able to staff enough corner workers or may not be able to reserve an EMT crew for the event, which also could cause a cancellation. So why are we opening registration now? From the club’s perspective, it would be extremely difficult logistically to open registration a week or a few days before an event and work with the track to make the event happen. In addition, we believe that participants would want to make arrangements (car prep, lodging, etc.) for an event that they believe is happening versus an event that just opened a few days before. We appreciate your understanding and flexibility, and hope that you will register with the knowledge that last-minute changes may occur.
Driving fees for this event are $550 for two days, $325 for one day. As mentioned above, two-day registrations will be confirmed first. Note that these fees are roughly 10% more than our usual fees, but you will get substantially more driving time than our typical event. As always, it is the Club’s intent to structure fees so that, on average, we break even financially for a given event. Our calculations show that we should be able to (barely) break even for this event provided that we fill it at 100% capacity.
Lunch is not included these fees. We recommend that you bring your own lunch, but there will be an option for a $20 boxed lunch for each day which can be selected during registration.
There are two recommended hotels for MAMLD but note that we cannot guarantee that these hotels will be open at the time of the event, so please check with the hotels on their availability.
Shelton Inn, 628 West Railroad Ave, Shelton, WA 98584. Call (800) 451-4560 and mention "Ridge Motorsports Park" for a special discounted rate.
Super 8, 2943 Northview Circle, Shelton, WA 98584. Call (360) 358-3793 and mention "Ridge Motorsports Park" to receive a discounted rate.
If you have any questions about registration, your qualifications or anything else, send a message to the registrar or the event master Adrian Power.
