Here is some new information on additional events taking place in the days before the JCNA Challenge Championship. This will be of interest to those spending extra time in Arizona and who want to make the most of their trip.

April 26 and 27 is the fabled, in Arizona at least, British Euro Auto Tour, the BEAT (registration form and more information available at www.beataz.com). You'll be joining about 200 other British and European motorcar enthusiasts as we snake our way from the 1100 ft. floor of the Sonoran Desert in Phoenix to the mile-high cattle country around Prescott to the base of the 12,000 ft. San Francisco Peaks north of Flagstaff. There are snacks and stops all along the way.

From there, you have a couple options. You can explore scenic Northern Arizona for a couple days, perhaps taking a side trip to the Grand Canyon. Or, you can return to Phoenix, where we are organizing three events at special rates at the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving (www.bondurant.com). With at least twelve students, the three-day High Performance Driving Course will be held especially for the JCNA Monday, April 28 through Wednesday, April 30. If we reach minimum group participation of six, there will be at least a 10% discount off the listed prices. This course is taught in the Bondurant-modified sedans. It begins with the relationship between shifting and handling and progresses through things like heel-toe downshifting and the proper way to apex a corner. At the end, you put it all together on the road course. There's a lot in between so see the Bondurant web site for a complete course description. Having done the course myself, I can say that I have never learned so much about something that I thought I knew a lot about in such a short period of time.

In addition to that, I have given Bondurant the JCNA slalom layout and they are excited about the prospect of teaching us the fastest way around the course. For those new to the slalom, this would be the perfect opportunity to get some experience before doing it "for real." If you are a seasoned slalom veteran and wonder what else you could possibly learn, consider this: Two years ago Tony Stewart, reigning Nascar champion went to the Bondurant School specifically to improve his road-racing skills in the Winston Cup cars.

The final Bondurant offering would be the shifter-karts. When I took my course there last fall, Bob related a conversation he had with Michael Schumacher of Formula 1 fame. Bob asked why Michael, who raced the most exotic machinery on the planet, spent his off-season in shifter-karts. Michael replied that they were the closest thing to driving the F1 Ferrari.

The BEAT will be available no matter what, likewise anyone can sign up for the High Performance Driving Course and the shifter-karts on their own. If we want a discount, especially a sizeable one, we need to have some idea of levels of participation. Whether we hold the JCNA Slalom instruction and it's price will depend on the number of participants.

So I need feedback as soon as possible on how many people are interested in attending the Bondurant offerings. Please e-mail me at marks@jcca.us or use the links on this page. Details on the Slalom School and Shifter Kart session are available with Paypal sign up on the Highlight and details page!

Mark Stephenson
Jaguar Club of Central Arizona