hre1d
RMS Regular
- Messages
- 124
- Drives
- JCW | 500X
So for my 30th birthday, my wife treated me to an awesome gift, a BMW M Driving Experience day at Brands Hatch.
A quick Ryanair flight into Gatwick (lucky to get over and back before they cancelled this route), picked up the Fiat 500 hire car and then a 45 minute drive up to the circuit. Having got the 500 parked nicely in between an M2 and M4 Comp Pack, we made our way up to the hospitality suite for a spot of lunch.
Throughout lunch, Alan Hyde (BTCC Commentator) was giving an overview of the afternoon ahead, and there was also a quick Q&A session with Andrew Jordan.
Knowing that I would get some time in an M2, M3 Comp Pack, M4 Comp Pack and an M6, the organisers surprised us with treat, another car we would be driving, but not prefixed with an 'M', so yep, an i8!
After quick bus journey down to the paddock, I got a closer look at what was ahead.
First session up was a passenger hot lap in this: M235i Racing.
What a machine, and what a noise. Unbelievable grip. The event staff went the extra mile and organised a passenger hot lap for my wife (who wasn’t participating on the day). Needless to say, she loved it too!
Next up was the product cars (production spec).
First, M6. Rapid as fook!
Second, i8. What a surprise, I was overwhelmed with this thing, steering was so much lighter and a lot more nimble having come from the M6. Loved it, and the 3 cylinder engine sounded great.
Third, M2. This was the car I was dying to get into, to compare it to my own M240i. And truth be told, there was a noticeable difference, not so much in power but the chassis, much truer turn in.
Finally, M4 Comp Pack. Amazing car.
So after the production cars, we had a quick interval, and a brief of the MSV M4 cars (M4 with half cage, few suspension tweaks and passenger brake pedal). This part of the experience was about improving lap times, over two 15 minute sessions, myself in the 08 car below.
Between sessions, we had a quick rest and telemetry revision, focussing on where/how to improve on lap times in the second session.
During the second session, I was concentrating so hard, barely said a word to my instructor, as he was constantly feeding me instructions. On top of this, he allowed me to shift to manual mode (as it was auto up until this point), which added an extra dimension again. As he had a brake pedal too, he did let me push the car hard too. I could feel I was improving until either I got caught in traffic or c0cked up the final corner. Best part of the day.
After all the track time, the final stage of the day was the wet handling session in the M3 Comp Pack car. Basically, a mini stage set up with some dynamic driving and a race against your opponent, who essentially had the course mirrored on the opposite side of the skid-pad. With all traction systems set to off, it was all about caressing the car around the course at speed, without spinning out (very easy to do), but great fun to be had with a competitive edge. These M3s sounded amazing with the Comp pack exhausts!
—
To sum up, the event was really well organised. There was a constant supply of tea/coffee, bottled drinks and snacks, and time to catch a breath in between everything else going on. The event staff were excellent, really down to earth people. With no previous track experience, the instructors were so patient, and as said above, he really did let me push on in the cars. Fantastic way to spend an afternoon.
More info here.
A quick Ryanair flight into Gatwick (lucky to get over and back before they cancelled this route), picked up the Fiat 500 hire car and then a 45 minute drive up to the circuit. Having got the 500 parked nicely in between an M2 and M4 Comp Pack, we made our way up to the hospitality suite for a spot of lunch.
Throughout lunch, Alan Hyde (BTCC Commentator) was giving an overview of the afternoon ahead, and there was also a quick Q&A session with Andrew Jordan.
Knowing that I would get some time in an M2, M3 Comp Pack, M4 Comp Pack and an M6, the organisers surprised us with treat, another car we would be driving, but not prefixed with an 'M', so yep, an i8!
After quick bus journey down to the paddock, I got a closer look at what was ahead.
First session up was a passenger hot lap in this: M235i Racing.
What a machine, and what a noise. Unbelievable grip. The event staff went the extra mile and organised a passenger hot lap for my wife (who wasn’t participating on the day). Needless to say, she loved it too!
Next up was the product cars (production spec).
First, M6. Rapid as fook!
Second, i8. What a surprise, I was overwhelmed with this thing, steering was so much lighter and a lot more nimble having come from the M6. Loved it, and the 3 cylinder engine sounded great.
Third, M2. This was the car I was dying to get into, to compare it to my own M240i. And truth be told, there was a noticeable difference, not so much in power but the chassis, much truer turn in.
Finally, M4 Comp Pack. Amazing car.
So after the production cars, we had a quick interval, and a brief of the MSV M4 cars (M4 with half cage, few suspension tweaks and passenger brake pedal). This part of the experience was about improving lap times, over two 15 minute sessions, myself in the 08 car below.
Between sessions, we had a quick rest and telemetry revision, focussing on where/how to improve on lap times in the second session.
During the second session, I was concentrating so hard, barely said a word to my instructor, as he was constantly feeding me instructions. On top of this, he allowed me to shift to manual mode (as it was auto up until this point), which added an extra dimension again. As he had a brake pedal too, he did let me push the car hard too. I could feel I was improving until either I got caught in traffic or c0cked up the final corner. Best part of the day.
After all the track time, the final stage of the day was the wet handling session in the M3 Comp Pack car. Basically, a mini stage set up with some dynamic driving and a race against your opponent, who essentially had the course mirrored on the opposite side of the skid-pad. With all traction systems set to off, it was all about caressing the car around the course at speed, without spinning out (very easy to do), but great fun to be had with a competitive edge. These M3s sounded amazing with the Comp pack exhausts!
—
To sum up, the event was really well organised. There was a constant supply of tea/coffee, bottled drinks and snacks, and time to catch a breath in between everything else going on. The event staff were excellent, really down to earth people. With no previous track experience, the instructors were so patient, and as said above, he really did let me push on in the cars. Fantastic way to spend an afternoon.
More info here.
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