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I completed the 2 day BMW M-School in Greenville, SC a couple of weeks ago and after seeing the other school review, I thought I would post up about this one. We spent two days driving on BMW's track which is directly across from their manufacturing plant where they build the X5, X6, and will soon build the X3. We drove M3s, M5s, and M6s. The M3s had the new dual clutch 7 speed trannies which are really nice and the M5s and M6s had the old smg 6 speed trannies which are not quite as nice. They said this is the first time not having any manual transmission cars and this probably will not happen next year.
During the first day, we started out in the classroom for about an hour talking about safety stuff and basic driving information like the proper line and understeer/oversteer.
Then it was out to the track. There were 9 people in my school and we were divided into two groups. There were two instructors with each group at all times. We started off using the M6s and practiced some hard acceleration, hard braking, and taking the proper line in a small circuit.
Next up was a short circuit in the M3s. This was at a much faster pace and this part of the track also had some elevation change and a corkscrew like the one at laguna seca except in the opposite direction.
After that we jumped in the M5s and went to the polished skid pad. They have a giant circle track made of polished concrete which has sprinklers on the inside of it to keep it as slick as ice. We started off by just driving on the inner part of the circle and kept slowly increasing speed until the car understeered and then we corrected the car and went on our way. This is so we could know what understeer feels like first hand. Then we started to blip the throttle while going in the circle to induce oversteer. Once we could pull the car out of a small slide without spinning, we were set free to do some powersliding. This was a ton of fun to do and also to watch the other drivers. Some of the other drivers were good enough to keep the car in a big powerslide for 5-6 laps around the track. We ran two cars at a time, so it was fun to try to catch the person in front of you while you are both sideways.
Then we had catered lunch in their cafeteria which has amazing food and a pretty good selection.
After lunch, it was back to the M3s. We had timing equipment set up for a short auto-x. We each got 8 runs and I placed third out of the nine people in our class and my buddy got first by beating me in his very last run. This was a blast b/c we really got to push the M3s hard.
Next up was a "Rat Race" in the M6s. They have a second skid pad that is regular asphalt with sprinklers set up. There is an oval course outlined in chalk and you line up on opposite sides from another M6 and race to see who can do 4 laps first. Your line was very important here b/c the wet pavement allowed the car to under or oversteer pretty easy.
Last event for the day was hot laps in the M5s. Here we used almost the entire track and hit speeds over 100 mph.
For day 2, we started off in the classroom for 45 minutes or so again. This time we talked about the big corner on the track and the proper line to attack it.
Our first exercise was in the M3s. We were going to run the big course at the end of the day and we practiced the lower half which has the elevation change in the M3s. This was a lot of fun in the M3s because they are very nimble and balanced.
The second exercise was the "mans corner" in the M5s. This is a double apex corner and we practiced braking hard and cornering in hard enough to keep the front tires squealing on the edge of an understeer until the peak of the corner and we would lift off the gas which rotated the car, then ease on the throttle until you hit WOT at corner exit. This was done in 3rd gear and was our first high speed corner.
After that, we voted to go back to the polished skidpad with the M5s for some more sliding around. This time we went both clockwise and counterclockwise to get the feel for sliding in the other direction.
Lunch time was awesome again.
In the afternoon, we received flash drives which plug into the car to record video of your driving.
The first event was the M3 on the big course. We ran the biggest loop possible on their track and i think it was 1.5 miles long. We got to do the "mans corner" and all of the elevation change on the other side of the track. We had the track for 20 minutes straight of hot lapping and they set up a pit lane for passing slower drivers in front of you. The driving was so intense that some people pulled into the pits for breaks b/c they were so exhausted.
The second event was M5s on the asphalt skidpad. They had the same course set up, but instead of doing an oval, you did a figure 8. This was done one car at a time, and instead of grip racing for time, you attempted to drift the car in a figure 8. This was really tough and only a few people were able to keep the car in a drift through the entire course.
The last event of the day was in the M6s on the big course. The other group was in the M3s. We ran all 9 people on the track at one time, half in M3s and half in M6s. There were enough cars on the track to keep things exciting b/c you didnt want to get passed and you wanted to catch the person in front. However, they didnt have it so crowded that you ever had to slow down for traffic.
I don't know if there was quite as much technical instruction as there is at Bondurant, but it is a great way to get your feet wet and have a great time. If you are an experienced racer, I would suggest the 2 day Advanced M-school at Virginia International Raceway.
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BMW M-School Review
