About this event
Rocky Mountain Thunder HPDE
RMR/PCA High Performance Driver Education Event at High Plains Raceway
Saturday and Sunday Sep 20-21, 2025
The Rocky Mountain Region’s Club Race will be held Sep 20 – 21, 2025
The September HPDE is run in coordination with Porsche Club Racing. Solo-approved drivers can participate. We invite anyone with HPDE experience to volunteer for corners or grid. If you or anyone you know wants to volunteer, please sign up at https://www.motorsportreg.com/events/2025-rocky-mountain-thunder-volunteers-high-plains-raceway-pca-923788.
Our Rocky Mountain Region hosted the very first PCA Club Race in 1992 at Second Creek racetrack. Members of the Rocky Mountain Region take pride in this historic event. The Region has run the race at Second Creek, at Pueblo Motorsports Park and now at High Plains Raceway.
New This Year – Time Trial on Sunday afternoon session. The format will place 3 cars on track separated to minimize passing. Drivers will have hot lap conditions upon entering track and complete two full laps plus a cool-down. Prizes or awards in 3 competitions, including fastest lap, most consistent of two laps, and predict-your-time.
This event is an opportunity to support a very worthy charity:
University of Colorado Health Burn & Frostbite Center is the first and longest-standing American Burn Association-verified burn center in the Rocky Mountain Region.
Donations will be made in memory of Jerry Schouten, a long-time RMR member and avid club racer. Jerry was a patient at the UC Burn Center prior to his untimely passing in 2013.
You will be able to contribute to the charity during registration and, as always, there will be lunchtime charity rides on both days of the event.
Location: High Plains Raceway, 17 miles east of Byers on US-36 (Deer Trail)
Registration: Opens Aug 4th at 9:11am
Event Registration fees:
Either day: $250 Each Driver
Both days: $395 Each Driver
- The club will provide refreshments for Beer:30 on both Saturday and Sunday.
- Lunches for volunteers will be provided.
- Lunchtime charity drives - drive the track at highway speeds for a $20 donation to our charity
- Saturday evening group dinner available for an additional cost of $25/person. You can select this dinner option when you register
This Event will be using Deferred Billing, your credit card will not be charged until Wednesday, Sep 17th.
Dates: Gates open by 11:30 am Thursday Sep 18th, before the event and remain open 24hrs/day until after the event ends on Sunday (the paddock is closed Sunday night). HPR offers open lapping 1-5PM on Thursday and all day Friday. You can register for this on MotorsportReg.com. These open lapping days are a separate charge from the HPDE event.
Check-in: 7:00 AM - 7:55 AM Saturday and Sunday Please check-in before the mandatory 8:00 AM drivers' meeting.
Drivers’ meeting: Starts at 8:00 AM (each day) in the Pavilion (or alternate meeting place).
Event Co-Chairs: Vicki Earnshaw & Dave Nelson clubrace@rmrporscheclub.com
Lead Chief Driving Instructor: Dave Stribling davestribling@porschedenverwest.com, Co-Chief Driving Instructor: Scott Henderson sshjd@aol.com. They are in charge of confirmation to participate and run group assignments.
Race Registrar: Vicki Cox-Jones vickijns@gmail.com
DE Registrar: Rex Kennedy rexk@4kennedys.com
Sponsored by:
Porsche Denver West
We look forward to seeing you in September!
Event requirements
This HPDE is an Advanced Solo DE held in conjunction with the PCA National Club Race on the same weekend. Only advanced solo drivers are allowed to participate. There will be no cones marking turn-in/apex/track-out or passing zones. Driver participation is subject to approval by the HPDE Chief Driving Instructor.
To qualify, the driver must meet the following criteria:
- If local to RMR,
- You MUST be signed off as a Solo driver by a member of the RMR CDI team
- If an out-of-town HPDE participant
- You MUST be an HPDE instructor, or an intermediate or advanced driver, having driven Solo for at least 4 days on at least 2 different tracks
- You MUST provide a track driving history documenting you meet the criteria above and/or contact information for your local Region’s Chief Driving Instructor.
Shared-driver cars will be allowed provided that one driver has previously run in the Expanded Passing run groups (and is approved by the RMR Chief Driving Instructor) and the co-driver qualifies for Solo HPDE participation.
We will have two Solo HPDE run groups. There will be one Solo run group with designated passing zones. There will be one Solo run group with PCA Expanded Passing rules (further defined by RMR passing zone rules). For passing, a point-by is mandatory in both run groups, and only one car per point-by!
National PCA membership number and membership status will be verified as part of the registration process. If you do not include a valid PCA membership number (or forward a pending membership confirmation from PCA to the registrar), a $10 non-member fee will be assessed.
You are required to use a Snell-certified SA2015 or M2015 or newer helmet. You will need to wear clothing made of natural fibers such as 100% cotton. Short-sleeve shirts and shorts are now allowed. Closed toe shoes are required while driving. Helmets will be checked at Pre-Tech or Tech at the Track where you may obtain an RMR/PCA helmet sticker confirming th Snell rating. A limited number of loaner helmets and HANS devices are available.
Your priority in being confirmed for an event will depend on the date and time you register. Priority will be given to PCA members.
All cars must pass a tech inspection within 120 days prior to the date of the event. If your car has been driven in an event since the date of your pre-tech form, your tires and brakes may have worn enough that they may need attention prior to this event. Tires and brake pads should be checked by the attendee prior to the event regardless of when the car was last pre-tech'd.
Please be aware that for 2025 tech inspection locations and times have changed. Tech inspections can be requested prior to the event at the following locations, ordered from north to south. Additionally there may be scheduled evening and/or weekend inspections at TBD locations before the event. Look for subsequent email notifications ahead of those when they are announced.
Poudre Sports Car
5806 S College Ave
Fort Collins 80525
970-229-0990
Wed Sep 10th 5:00-6:30 pm (no charge)
Avanti Autobody (Grant Kennedy)
540 Main St
Fort Lupton, CO 80621
303-798-5767
Wed Sep 10th 5:00-7:00 pm (no charge)
SimplyEuro Boulder
5749 Arapahoe Ave
Boulder, 80303
720-739-7018
By appointment only (no charge)
3R Performance
6404 E 39th Ave
Denver, CO 80207
720-760-5804
By appointment only ($100 cost, can be credited towards future service)
Porsche Denver West
9201 West Colfax Ave
Lakewood, CO 80215
303-238-8101
By appointment only (no charge)
SimplyEuro Castle Pines
7520 Village Square Dr
Castle Rock, CO 80108
720-580-2900
By appointment only (no charge)
Big Mission Motorsports
579 County Line Rd
Palmer Lake, CO 80133
719-375-1527
By appointment only (no charge)
If you do not have your car inspected before the event there will be a $50 fee for Tech at the Track. This option should only be considered as a last resort and not for convenience. The challenge with the "morning of" option is there is little to no time to correct any issues if one pops up. It also cuts into the time you have available in the morning to complete the steps needed to prep your car for the track.
2025 tech inspections will now be good for 120 days from the date of the inspection. This change will reduce the number of times you need to have your car inspected during the season. There is a new inspection form available on the forms page of the RMR website (https://rmr.pca.org) under the Files and Forms heading. The new form has more details about the changes including the exceptions to the 120-day period that the inspection is good for.
Lodging is available in Byers at the Longhorn Budget Host Motel contact # 303-822-5205.
Lodging is available in Watkins at the Country Manor Motel. Contact # 303-261-9650
Lodging is available in Bennett at the Comfort Inn.1097 Cedar Street, Bennett, CO 80102. Contact # (303) 629-6332.
