Mar 12, 2007

New-Look Racing School Breaks Ground

How would you like to have the same kind of racing instruction that honed the skills of Formula One driver Scott Speed, 1995 Indianapolis 500 champion Danny Sullivan and two-time NASCAR Nextel Cup champion Tony Stewart? Well, you can't. Emotive Group, which purchased the Jim Russell Racing Schools from Infineon Raceway just three months ago, has unveiled plans that will make the school that taught these illustrious graduates even better.

Those of us who have attended performance driving and racing schools in years past have had to contend with facilities that most often resemble World War II army barracks or minimum security prisons. If you like painted concrete block and mismatched folding chairs, then you'd love most racing schools, and that's a big disconnect since racing schools are generally expensive and attract a largely upscale audience. Emotive Group is out to change that by making its new Jim Russell Racing School the standard of the industry. A new campus will be constructed trackside at Infineon Raceway's Turn One.

"This opportunity has been two-and-a-half years in the making," said Simon Holbrook, president of the Jim Russell Racing Schools. "Thanks to the support of Steve Page and Infineon Raceway, the team assembled here and our investors, it has become a reality. It is truly an exciting time for our group, and with the completion of our technology center, campus, conference facilities and our new fleet of cars, we will be able to set the bar higher than ever before."

More than $10 million has been spent on the project thus far, and Holbrook anticipates further investment that will help cement the Jim Russell Racing Schools as the premier racing school in the world. Plans for the new school include a 14,000 square-foot complex, technology center featuring a multi-media theater, state-of-the-art fleet of carbon-fiber racecars designed specifically for the school and a "revolutionary" school building design by MK Architecture that is environmentally sympathetic and flexible for future expansion. Holbrook expects completion of the project by June 1. Emotive Group also operates the Formula BMW USA Series on behalf of BMW motorsport AG and BMW North America.