2010/2011 HPDS Suspension
Dear members,
I have no regrets in giving this club my time, efforts, blood, and money for the past years for it has brought the world to me in ways you can't imagine. I have made friends for life through the Club of like-minded enthusiasts, and it has put us on the global map of BMW car clubs. That's something for all of us to be proud of.
One of our most attended events is the Middle East's only racing training school to be hosted by an enthusiasts car club; the High Performance Driving School (HPDS). We are well through our second season with more success in every round, and it's only an uphill route from there. Which leads me to the topic of this post.
The Club has never generated any form of profit from the entry fees paid by HPDS students in the last season, nor until now in this season. Needless to say that paying AED400 for a race car, food and beverage, 6-hour track rental, and instructors is too good to be true. And it is.
The board has purchased 2 cars , prepared one of them extensively, and continues to bail out the program in the case of no shows or low turnouts. Not to mention the situation when we need to fix or replace something on the Club car, which I deeply thank Falcons Garage and Pirelli Tyres for their endless support stemming from their passion to all that's motorsports. The economics behind a program like the HPDS are not simple, and we were successful in securing special track rental rates so long we commit to a minimum number of entries in every round. Ofcourse, sometimes the entry list does not cover the minimum required number, and that's when I and other board member jump in to pay the deficit willingly and happily. Also, and as most of you who've been out with us many times, assets like chairs and tents must be replaced with new ones every now and then, hence adding more costs that need to be met. And we continue to do it, willingly and happily.
So why then don't we increase the entry fee? Because while it may be feasible for some students, we know it will be the biggest reason we'd lose more drivers who won't be able to afford it on a continuous basis. We have made a commitment toward you when we announced the launching of every HPDS at the AED400 per class mark because we never thought of it as a business. We want everybody to be able to race, and by God it's what we've been doing so damn well.
Now and after the last round, held on Saturday December 12th, with a turnout of 8 students, which has been a record low due to variable reasons such as the rain, the holidays season, or even the financial crisis, we did incur a deficit which I compensated like always. All well and fine as long as everybody had a great time racing in a rainy weather, which was a first for everybody, and money comes and goes for me. But to go back and read on these very same forums that I'm lying and that no money was paid in compensation, and the suggestion that I have probably bagged home some profit was, in honesty, too much for me to bear and I'm a very relaxed person. Never in 3 years has any suggestion of the kind been made regarding anybody in the board, and it has caused us a turmoil on how to best deal with it without causing any dramas. We have decided the following:
1- Deleting all posts of such nature for their detrimental effect on the Club's hard-built reputation and for attacking individuals work ethics with baseless hints and accusations.
2- The suspension of the 2010/2011 HPDS season indefinitely.
3- Shall HPDS resume activity later on, certain individuals would be deprived the privilege of attending classes until further notice.
4- If said individuals are willing to rectify the situation, a public apology letter is required addressing the board members on these forums.
5- We are openly welcoming to send anybody interested the actual financial day accounts for Round 3, clearly showing the incurred losses. We will not post these accounts publicly, but we can email them to whoever is interested.
We have set out and accepted the responsibility to be the ones making all the effort to ensure our fellow drivers can enjoy good days at the track with the least possible cost figures without sparing anything. But as humans, I personally cannot keep doing it now that hints based on deformed informations and figures were sadly raised on these forums.
With my deepest apologies for any inconveniences my decision might ensue,
Ayham Al Daqqa,
BMW Club UAE President
I have no regrets in giving this club my time, efforts, blood, and money for the past years for it has brought the world to me in ways you can't imagine. I have made friends for life through the Club of like-minded enthusiasts, and it has put us on the global map of BMW car clubs. That's something for all of us to be proud of.
One of our most attended events is the Middle East's only racing training school to be hosted by an enthusiasts car club; the High Performance Driving School (HPDS). We are well through our second season with more success in every round, and it's only an uphill route from there. Which leads me to the topic of this post.
The Club has never generated any form of profit from the entry fees paid by HPDS students in the last season, nor until now in this season. Needless to say that paying AED400 for a race car, food and beverage, 6-hour track rental, and instructors is too good to be true. And it is.
The board has purchased 2 cars , prepared one of them extensively, and continues to bail out the program in the case of no shows or low turnouts. Not to mention the situation when we need to fix or replace something on the Club car, which I deeply thank Falcons Garage and Pirelli Tyres for their endless support stemming from their passion to all that's motorsports. The economics behind a program like the HPDS are not simple, and we were successful in securing special track rental rates so long we commit to a minimum number of entries in every round. Ofcourse, sometimes the entry list does not cover the minimum required number, and that's when I and other board member jump in to pay the deficit willingly and happily. Also, and as most of you who've been out with us many times, assets like chairs and tents must be replaced with new ones every now and then, hence adding more costs that need to be met. And we continue to do it, willingly and happily.
So why then don't we increase the entry fee? Because while it may be feasible for some students, we know it will be the biggest reason we'd lose more drivers who won't be able to afford it on a continuous basis. We have made a commitment toward you when we announced the launching of every HPDS at the AED400 per class mark because we never thought of it as a business. We want everybody to be able to race, and by God it's what we've been doing so damn well.
Now and after the last round, held on Saturday December 12th, with a turnout of 8 students, which has been a record low due to variable reasons such as the rain, the holidays season, or even the financial crisis, we did incur a deficit which I compensated like always. All well and fine as long as everybody had a great time racing in a rainy weather, which was a first for everybody, and money comes and goes for me. But to go back and read on these very same forums that I'm lying and that no money was paid in compensation, and the suggestion that I have probably bagged home some profit was, in honesty, too much for me to bear and I'm a very relaxed person. Never in 3 years has any suggestion of the kind been made regarding anybody in the board, and it has caused us a turmoil on how to best deal with it without causing any dramas. We have decided the following:
1- Deleting all posts of such nature for their detrimental effect on the Club's hard-built reputation and for attacking individuals work ethics with baseless hints and accusations.
2- The suspension of the 2010/2011 HPDS season indefinitely.
3- Shall HPDS resume activity later on, certain individuals would be deprived the privilege of attending classes until further notice.
4- If said individuals are willing to rectify the situation, a public apology letter is required addressing the board members on these forums.
5- We are openly welcoming to send anybody interested the actual financial day accounts for Round 3, clearly showing the incurred losses. We will not post these accounts publicly, but we can email them to whoever is interested.
We have set out and accepted the responsibility to be the ones making all the effort to ensure our fellow drivers can enjoy good days at the track with the least possible cost figures without sparing anything. But as humans, I personally cannot keep doing it now that hints based on deformed informations and figures were sadly raised on these forums.
With my deepest apologies for any inconveniences my decision might ensue,
Ayham Al Daqqa,
BMW Club UAE President
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