BMW Club Gathering

Special Volunteers: Mike Renner and his BMW Ring Taxi

Have you ever wondered what it was like to experience the PVGP from the other side of the fence?

In the latter half of the last decade, race driver Sabine Schmitz gained lots of notoriety in Germany by offering very fast rides to BMW guests at the Nürburgring track.  Schmitz’s BMW M5 was known as the “Ring Taxi”.  Of course, a ride in Schmitz’s Ring Taxi was a bit more exciting than a typical New York City cab ride.

When BMW was the marque of the year in 2009 the BMW CCA Allegheny Chapter hatched a plan to bring a similar experience to Schenley Park.   The Chapter extended an invitation to Mike Renner, an instructor at the BMW Performance Center, to provide a few charity laps during the 2009 PVGP.  Mike quickly accepted the invitation, and to the Chapter’s surprise, Mike indicated that the BMW Performance Center just happened to have an M5 wrapped in “Ring Taxi” livery sitting at the South Carolina school.  As a bonus, Mike graciously offered to donate a fully paid 2-day driver’s school for the Chapter to give away as part of the PVGP fundraising efforts.

The club invited Mike back again in 2011 when 5-series cars were featured in the BMW corral.  The M5 Ring Taxi was a natural fit and the success of Mike’s efforts grew.  The Chapter discovered that guests would gladly pay for a ride with Mike and the combined efforts resulted in an increased donation for the charities the second year.  Since then, Mike has been back every year and his charity laps have become one of the most talked-about events at the PVGP.  Although the original Ring Taxi has since been retired, Mike always brings a newly released performance car or even a pre-production car each year which generates extra excitement among the BMW enthusiasts.

In addition to offering charity rides at lunchtime, Mike now also runs laps in between races and has continued to donate the 2-day M School Package at the BMW Performance Center, as well as various auction gifts and other raffle prizes which last year resulted in over $6,000 for the charities. To date, the Chapter has raised over $35,000 through Mike’s efforts.  Mike has truly embraced the spirit of the PVGP.  He often talks about the PVGP at other venues across the country.

In light of all he has done for the PVGP, we wanted to share a little bit more about this special volunteer.  We caught up with Mike during this year’s One Lap of America event which stopped at Pitt Race in early May.   As always Mike was willing to share a few moments of his time before jumping into his BMW and turning fast laps.  The event was Mike’s 8^th One Lap event.  Mike was co-driving a new Performance Center M2 with Steve Maguire.  After their run at Pitt Race, Mike and Steve were off to Palmer, MA, 554 miles distant for the next track event.  For the record, the team finished 10^th overall in this year’s event against much more powerful cars.  Mike’s people-oriented personality comes through as he says the best thing about the weeklong One-Lap event is the time he gets to spend with friends.

Mike was a successful businessman with an interest for racing.  For many years, he raced sports cars, GT cars and sports racers in SCCA National competition.  He was also a driving instructor for various car clubs.  While the BMW Performance Center was under construction in South Carolina, Mike drove into the facility one day and introduced himself as a racer, driving instructor and public relations specialist.   Mike was soon hired as a part-time instructor at the facility.  Mike says his wife always knew the days he was working at the track due to the huge smile on his face at sunrise.  After three years of part-time work, Mike sold his business and became a full-time driving instructor.

Although it may look like Mike’s car is out of control each time he passes turn 13 as the car drifts sideway, Mike is always in control.  That’s because Mike practices the skills he displays at Schenley Park almost daily and he teaches advanced car control skills for a living.   When asked if we all could learn to drive like he does, Mike said: “The BMW Performance Center has something for everyone who wants to learn about driving, from teen driving courses to adult car control clinics, enthusiast driving courses, one and two-day M-Schools, and advanced M-schools for the more experienced drivers.”

Mike takes the Ring Taxi into a turn at Schenley Park

The PVGP is one of Mike’s favorite events.  He said: “I love coming to the PVGP because of the unique nature of the event.  The city does such a great job making the event happen.  Everyone involved is incredibly friendly and welcoming.  The PVGP organizers do a great job of making things fun and unique, and the Allegheny Chapter does a great job with its corral.”

Due to the tremendous capabilities of the new BMW M cars, Mike is able to give a thrilling but safe ride to those lucky enough to get a seat in his car.  Everyone who gets out after a lap has an ear-to-ear grin.   This year the club is asking $50 per seat for a ride with Mike.  To learn more about how you too can experience the PVGP from the other side of the fence and possibly enjoy the best ride in the park, head to the BMW tent on German Hill, come to Turn 15 at lunchtime Saturday where Charity Rides are staged, or stop in at the MINI Track Rides Tent at the top of Serpentine Drive.

We thank Mike for being such a wonderful ambassador for BMW, the BMW CCA, and most importantly, the PVGP.