With those parting words, I find my place among the first group and head toward the display of M3s, M5s, and M6s. I choose to run my first lap in the passenger seat of the course instructor’s M3 as we make our way around to the 1.45-mile inner road course. Orange cones show the proper braking line and apex around each bend, but the complete lesson is only realized with the assistance of the instructor, as he dictates the exact course of action on every angle of the track. "Each of our instructors is BMW-certified," says Gubitosa. "They all have different levels of driving accreditation under their belts, but we always have a few of our core trainers give the new guys the BMW treatment."

West Coast BMW enthusiasts lined up at the California Speedway for a taste of the acclaimed Spartanburg, S.C., driving program. (Click image to enlarge)

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The lead-follow exercises begin at a reasonably harmless pace—mostly in first and second gear around the corners—but as drivers become more familiar with the course and the cars, the pace quickens. The "BMW treatment" seems to be a bit more intense than most of the students are accustomed to on their daily commute. During the three-hour session, cars are occasionally seen on the side of the track, temporarily abandoned as drivers hold their heads between their legs, purging their bodies of overwhelming nausea, along with their breakfasts. Hitting 60 mph around the corners and bolting to well over 100 mph on the short straightaway prove to be easier handling exercises for the Bimmers than for the greenhorn drivers.

However, the inner road course, which offers up more dopamine than any double-shot espresso, is only a precursor to the adrenaline-inducing pleasure of the skid pad to follow.

After a short break to refuel our empty stomachs and exhausted tanks, a new set of instructors leads us out onto the infield. The excitement builds as a water truck floods the asphalt, and eyes grow wide, and the skid pad course beckons. There are two skid pads, two M3s, and two instructors as we are led two by two around opposite sides of the saturated track. While we drive around the wet circle, the ride-along instructor gives us a crash course on the definitions of understeer and oversteer. I feel confident in my understanding of the terms’ literal meanings, but as we continue, words become reality. “When I tell you to ‘goose it,’ you need to put the pedal to the floor,” says the instructor. “Goose it!” I am no longer driving the car. I am merely along for the ride. As the car spins to a stop, I cannot help but smile, because losing control of the car on the safety of the infield is not frightening, it is intoxicating. After a few more spinouts, I learn how to take command of the car, despite my own pressing desire to continue the spin parade. "The skills you learn in our program are practical lessons that will keep you alive on the road," says Gubitosa. "We are not a racing school—we are a control school."

The final two exercises, which serve as the “cool down” portion of the program, exemplify BMW’s emphasis on control. We are taught how to manage the ABS in a BMW 650i at safe road speeds and maneuver through a series of cones in the M Coupe autocross course. Although these last two lessons may not satisfy the adrenaline junkie, they are brilliant in their design: All instruction is offered with the help of a two-way radio. “We have been doing this program in Spartanburg since 1999,” says Gubitosa. “We found that students want to spend as much time as they can in the cars, and the radios make it possible for us to teach outside of the classroom setting.”

The California Performance Driving School ($1,250) was BMW’s first offering of an on-location school outside of the Spartanburg facilities. No future on-location offerings are scheduled at present. All 350 seats of the course, which were offered free of charge to anyone who purchased an M5 or M6 during the previous year, were filled weeks in advance of BMW’s two-week California stay. This is not the driver’s education course taught by your high school gym teacher; the Performance Driving School gives you a chance to better understand the capacity of a high-performance automobile. “Every graduate of the BMW program acquires the knowledge and skill needed to drive these cars the way that they were meant to be driven,” says Gubitosa. “And now they have the ability and the certificate to prove it.” 


BMW Performance Driving School, 888.345.4269,
www.bmwusa.com/bmwexperience/performancecenter