BMW M-School Schedule at Thermal, California

[BMWDavid]

Originally Posted by GOLFFRR

David talked to some higher ups at BMW and they stated that the logistics etc.. still need to be ironed out but they are shooting for PCD in about a year

+1

[Kristalov]

This sounds awesome since I live a few hours from Thermal. How do we sign up? (BMW? Thermal?)

[Launch Control]

Originally Posted by Kristalov

This sounds awesome since I live a few hours from Thermal. How do we sign up? (BMW? Thermal?)

Call this number to sign up

BMW Performance Center
(888) 345-4269

[Deviant]

Totally going to do this. I'm glad they opened one up in CA.

[Trued]

SECURITY ISSUSES @ BMW M Driver´s Courses

I am a Human Factors and Security professional. I complained to BMW AG in München on the lack of safety. I see racing helmets with BMW logotypes to be used at a BMW training event. The cars used in the event are they altered to conform to the meaning of the letter I enclose here. A letter with quite a lot of "attitude".

The BMW and MINI Driving Experience features a wealth of experience in hosting driver trainings and events. Every year about 25,000 participants take part in 2.000 events in Germany to learn about safe handling of BMW vehicles. Classes range from driving safety programs to race track courses, held by professional, certified instructors.

The key element for learning the so-called ideal line on the race track is the pace car laps driving. The instructor is leading the group, driving his car on the ideal line at speeds below the DSC threshold, thus below maximum cornering speed.
Participants are encouraged to follow at a distance of about 3-5 car lengths. The instructor watches the following cars closely and gives immediate feedback by radio. This ensures that participants get the optimal orientation with respect to speed, braking, turn-in, apex and turn out points. Keeping these distances ensures that the participants will not enter the corners at too high speeds, a common mistake of inexperienced drivers.

On public roads of course, such vehicle distances would not be sufficient for safe driving. Oncoming traffic, obstacles and unexpected maneuvers of the other road users would certainly lead to danger.
All of this is not the case is with our trainings, because the race tracks are always booked exclusively and used one-way.

Our instructors look after every participants learning success individually. Safety is our main concern and it is always pointed out that the participants should not drive at speeds at which they do not feel comfortable.
In case of doubt, participants are supposed to reduce the speed. As the distance gets larger the instructor slows the pace of the group. This procedure is based on many years of experience.

Our racetrack trainings aren´t racing events where drivers battle each other for the best lap times, but are courses for learning safe driving techniques at higher speeds on dedicated racetracks with appropriate run-off areas, safety zones etc.
As the participants safety is our main concern, BMW and MINI vehicles are used, which are fitted with standard safety equipment on the cutting edge of technology. The current airbag technology is optimized in extensive crash tests and provides maximum occupant protection. Non-standard vehicle modifications like protective cages and racing seats would keep the airbags from safely deploying, thus limiting the occupants protection. Helmets, for example, can raise an additional risk of injury when getting in contact with deploying airbags. For this reason using non-standard vehicle modifications would mean that all airbags must be deactivated.

Since 1977, when BMW became the world´s first automobile manufacturer to offer driver training courses, our training program has constantly been evolving in terms of training and safety.

[lorinzo]

I attended the first 2 day M School at the BMW Performance Driving School West.

It was amazing!

Here is a link to my post on M3post.com:

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1062222

[slavearm]

Originally Posted by bronch

Exactly. I beat the crap out of the M3, M5 and M6 for 8hrs on 2 consecutive days. Again, I agree it's really expensive and wouldn't want to do it to my daily driver. But, the M3 I drove, they changed out the tires and brake pads during lunch and I was able to beat on it afterwards. You're not going to drive you're car like this. (Well, most people)

I drive my car like I stole it. Otherwise, I would have bought a camry.