> Nor is it correct for a car owner to do that, IMO. This thread
> has come up before, and it has been established that State Farm's
> coverage includes "gymkhanas," so it appears that a Solo II
> incident would be covered by them. This is a far cry from a
> driving school held at a racing facility, however.
In many ways, yes. An autox is a timed competitive event, whereas a high
performance drivers school is an untimed noncompetitive learning
environment. The chance of damage to your car is less at the lower speeds
of an autox, of course, but it could be argued that if this type of
competition is covered, why shouldn't an advanced driving school, which many
insurance companies encourage people to take?
> If you're counting on your insurance company to cover damage your
> car might suffer at racing speeds on a race track, I'd say you're
> already in line to have your fun ruined. This sort of
> expectation - that damage suffered in high-speed events should be
> covered by normal collision coverage - only serves to make
> insurance adjusters more suspicious and all of our premiums
> higher.
It's a fine line, sure. However, the idea of a school is NOT to drive at
10/10ths - especially if you're driving your street car. Despite the
significantly higher speeds involved, you're supposed to be further away
from your car's limits than you are at an autox, where you're pushing them
regularly. The schools are held on a racetrack because it's a relatively
safe place to achieve speeds that would be impossible to drive safely on the
street. At least that's the official story - it's true, but of course it's
also fun to run hot laps at tracks where you've watched races...! I'm not
arguing or denying any of your points here - just presenting another side to
it.
> It never ceases to amaze me that people will take their street
> driver to an event like this, wad it up into a ball, and expect
> people to pity them when the insurer won't pony up.
Though I'd like to try my SC2 on the track, due to its superior power,
refinement, and reliability over my old BMW (it's nice to not have to stress
over whether the car will pass tech), this is the car that has to get me to
work every day. In fact, autox and schools were the major reason I got the
old Bimmer in the first place - so that if I broke something during one of
these events, I'd still have a decent car to drive.
- Justin
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