Anyone looking to compete in a proper racing series but not quite prepared to invest in buying a complete race car and transporting it to different circuits will no longer have to sit on the sidelines and simply dream about it. That’s because the Bob Bondurant School of High Performance Driving, based in Arizona, is launching a new championship racing series open to anyone willing to cough up the $3,495 per event fee.

The Bondurant Championship Race Series begins this September for the 2009-2010 race season and includes 18 races over nine weekends utilizing three different tracks at Firebird International Raceway in Phoenix, Arizona.

Participants can simply 'arrive and drive' at the facility and secure a good deal of track time - eight or nine driving sessions each weekend. They will be competing in one of Bondurant's newly acquired, purpose-built Formula Mazda race cars each weekend, participating in Friday testing rounds followed by qualifying and racing on Saturday and Sunday. The race cars are powered by 1.3L 13B Mazda rotary engines and equipped with proper Goodyear racing slicks and 4-speed Hewland gearboxes.

As mentioned, the cost to participate in the series is $3,495 per event, which includes car rental, instruction and maintenance of the vehicle. Participants bring their own safety equipment including suits, gloves, head and neck restraints.

You may recall that this is the same driving school that runs the program offered free of charge to all Chevrolet Corvette ZR1 buyers, which teaches them a variety of driving exercises such as heel-and-toe downshifts, slaloms, and other techniques during a two-day training course.