As I arrive at BMW’s special
on-location Performance Driving School, located at the California Speedway in
Fontana, Calif., I quickly realize that pulling up in a Lexus SC 430 is probably
not the best way to win over the hearts of my peers. It is, however, a great way
to break the ice.
"What do you drive?" is the question of the day as the
students assess their classmates—in true L.A. fashion—by the status of the cars
they drive. "Not all of the participants in the school are BMW owners," says Dan
Gubitosa, director of the school, which is based in Spartanburg, S.C. "In fact,
only 40 percent actually own a BMW. The rest are simply enthusiasts who just
want to drive our cars."
A half-day of perfecting driving techniques on the interior road
track (top) and a spin around the skid pad (bottom). (Click images to enlarge)
With only one hour in the classroom and six hours on the track,
BMW does a great job of satisfying the desires of the demographic. After the
classroom session, focusing on understanding the simple physics of driving,
cornering, braking, and handling, our class of 40 is divided into two groups.
Half of us will go to the inner track to perform lead-follow exercises, explains
lead driving instructor Jim Clark. The others will be at one of three stations
practicing braking, skid pad maneuvers, and autocross. "And remember," says
Clark, "be smart out there: The best drivers on the road know what they can’t
do."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)
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
