Real world HPC costs

[LandingSpot]

I've long considered signing up to HPC club but have always thought it would be too expensive.

Having just looked on the website, it seems that membership is an annual amount of £30! Is this true? I'd heard costs of up to a grand mentioned and had dismissed it as a viable next step for my driving career.

Can folks who are members confirm what the actual annual costs are (for driving weekends and all the rest of it) as I'm considering it and want to be able to consider further or dismiss it for now. I don't want to sign up then find out that i can't do anything!!!

Cheers!

[Strangely Brown]

It's not quite as simple as just "signing up". Before you can become a member and take part in club events, you would need to be recommended for membership following the successful completion of an approved entry course.

http://www.hpc.org.uk/guestjoin.html

An example of such a course is here:

http://www.cadence.co.uk/index.php?option=com_cont...

[LandingSpot]

Thanks for both links.

I knew it wasn't quite as simple as sending a cheque off, which Is kind of the reason i started this thread. I'm quite confident in my road driving at the moment, having known a Class 1 driver for the last year and been lucky enough to get out for several sessions. The IAM Special Assessment beckons and I'm wondering where to go from there. Perhaps RoSPA, maybe not.

What kind of club events are there? Sort for the n00b questions!! I'm only looking to find out if I can afford to do it. Thx for the help so far

Edited by LandingSpot on Sunday 24th October 20:52

[Strangely Brown]

YHM.

[LandingSpot]

Strangely Brown said:

YHM.

Nice one, thank you.

[Kinky]

LandingSpot said:

Strangely Brown said:

YHM.

Nice one, thank you.

Anything that could be shared? I'm following this thread closely in the hope of getting some useful info

[51mes]

Kinky said:

LandingSpot said:

Strangely Brown said:

YHM.

Nice one, thank you.

Anything that could be shared? I'm following this thread closely in the hope of getting some useful info

Likewise, wondering where to go past my IAM...

Thanks,

Simes.

[Strangely Brown]

Gentlemen, YHM. There are others here who would be able to extol the benefits and relatively small costs associated with HPC membership far better than I.

[StressedDave]

In short, membership of the Club is £30 per annum, but to become a member you have to successfully complete the qualifying course with one of the three gatekeepers at a cost of roughly £1000 (a lot of which is facilities fees).

However, you may not necessarily be at a suitable level to rock up, pay your cash and do the course (I certainly wasn't when I did it 17 years ago), so there may be other costs attached. I can only speak for one of the gatekeepers (because I work for him), but the first 1/2 day of his course is an assessment as to whether he'll be able to get the necessary skills and judgement in pace in the remaining 2 days or not.

In terms of events, the club generally runs driving holidays (both in the UK and on the continent), track days (we've exclusively hired Oulton Park for a day in the last few years and have done similar with a lot of other circuits as well), on- and off-road driver improvement events and the like. As many members will tell you, entry to the Club is just that and one of the aims of the Club is to improve further.

[Vaux]

StressedDave said:

.... but the first 1/2 day of his course is an assessment as to whether he'll be able to get the necessary skills and judgement in pace in the remaining 2 days or not.

Freudian slip?

maybe not...........

Edited by Vaux on Tuesday 26th October 10:00

[StressedDave]

Nope - a missing 'l' rather than anything Freudian. That said, it's not a bad thing to say anyway - too many people think that its all about driving like a copper on a shout when it's much more about getting the natural ebb and flow of a drive correct.

[Vaux]

StressedDave said:

Nope - a missing 'l' rather than anything Freudian. That said, it's not a bad thing to say anyway - too many people think that its all about driving like a copper on a shout when it's much more about getting the natural ebb and flow of a drive correct.

I thought it was a spelling mistake, but then I thought you were being clever!

[SVS]

Stressed Dave explained it nicely. There's a large investment up front in money for training (around £1k) and time/effort to reach entry level. However, the cost is easily spread over time, as you should pay only for a day's training at a time. IMO, there's benefit in spreading out the training over a few months, so that you've time to digest it and incorporate it into your driving.

Once in the Club, it's relatively inexpensive. £30/year, informal events are largely free and many formal events are inexpensive. (You can choose to spend more, of course, such as foreign trips, further training, track events. Though there's no pressure to do so.)

The Club offers some truly unique events and opportunities. E.g. ice driving in Sweden with trainers from the likes of the Swedish Royal Protection service. Club members also offer you the chance to drive their car on formal and informal events - from humble daily drivers to top-end Porsches and once even a Maclaren ...