Founded | 1968 |
---|---|
Headquarters | Phoenix, Arizona |
Key people
|
Bob Bondurant (founder) |
Website | Bondurant.com |
The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is an American performance driving school, specializing in racing, karting, teen driving, and law enforcement driving education. It is located in Phoenix, Arizona.
Founded by former Formula One driver Bob Bondurant in 1968, it was originally located at Orange County International Raceway in California, later moving to Ontario Motor Speedway in 1970, and to Sears Point International Raceway in 1973. In 1990 a purpose-built training facility was opened in Phoenix, Arizona.
The Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving is the largest purpose-built driving school in the world. It features a 15-turn, 1.6-mile road course, an eight-acre asphalt pad for advanced training, and more than 200 race-prepared vehicles, sedans, and open-wheel cars. It teaches competition driving, police pursuit driving, evasive driving for chauffeurs and bodyguards, stunt driving, and other courses.
The Bondurant Driving School was initially opened by Bob Bondurant at the Orange County International Raceway near Los Angeles, CA. He initially approached Porsche for backing, but was declined due to the uncertainty of his school. Bob then approached Datsun, which immediately agreed to support his plans. The starting lineup of cars included two Datsun roadsters and 510, a Lola T70 Can-Am car, and a Formula Vee. By 1970, the school relocated to the nearby Ontario Motor Speedway. Porsche, after witnessing how the school increased Datsun's profile, donated a few 911s and two 914s. The Bondurant School relocated to Sears Point International Raceway (now Infineon Raceway) near Sonoma, CA in 1973.