Regera

Make
Koenigsegg
Segment
Compact

This isn't exactly the most surprising news, but it is likely the start of a new trend nonetheless. According to Bimmerfile, a New York BMW chapter has banned all cars equipped with collision avoidance systems from track day events. The Genesee Valley Chapter of the BMW Car Club of America made the decision because it believes cars with "automatic emergency braking" and/or "lane keeping assistance" systems can make vehicles "behave in unpredictable and undesirable ways on a racetrack."

But what if the driver can disable these systems, as is often the case? Nope. GVC made clear that as long as the BMW in question has an avoidance system, it's no longer welcome, and that's going to be a problem for many – even BMW itself. For starters, most new BMWs come standard with these systems and there's no factory delete option. In fact, beginning in 2022, BMW will very likely make these systems standard in all of its models. Does this mean clubs like GVC will no longer take in new members? We don't see that happening, but it will require major changes to how these track day events are run.

For example, one possible solution could be to separate the vehicles based on whether or not they have these systems. In other words, two separate track day events. Fortunately, there's still time to decide, but advanced safety technologies are already changing the way car clubs and their organized track days operate. UPDATE: The BMW Car Club of America has announced that it's overruled the Genesee Valley Chapter's decision to ban BMWs with certain driving aids. It made clear BMW North America is working closely with the national BMW CCA office to "educate and develop a nationwide procedure for including BMWs with Driver Aids." The Photos courtesy of GVC via Facebook