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      08-31-2021, 11:07 AM   #1
vj123
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M track event in IMS

I attended BMW's M track event in Indianapolis Motor Speedway this month. I am going to list my summary in the order of least to most favorite drives and vehicles:

Autocross

This was my first ever Autocross and I am not a big fan of it. Instructor told us that overall best time for this circuit was in high 15s. My first run was in mid 19s, second run was in mid 18s and last run was in high 17s. I was glad that i made progress in every run. This was the last event for my group and was done for the day. I was kinda exhausted as i had slept 3 hours the previous night and didnt have proper breakfast as well.

Pick 6 – 440: It was a comfortable, luxury cruiser. I think the tires were trashed and I was able to slide the vehicle even with x drive. Not being a fan of coupes, its no wonder that it was my least favorite vehicle for the day.

Drag race

This was the first event for our group. I am glad that we were able to get a feel of the "real M power" before our track drive. This was my first proper drags and I had to get a feel of it. I did not nail the start and stop for few runs, but things got better with runs. Coincidentally, my vehicle preference was in the exact order of how i drove in this part of the drive.

Pick 5 – X3M: It was a great vehicle to start but wasn’t anything special. It had enough power for the size and weight.

Pick 4 – M2c: It wasn’t the right vehicle for drag race and wish we had it for Autocross. I would say it’s a fun pocket rocket and DCT shifts were snappy. This was the only older generation vehicle for the day and the interior was very dated when compared with others.

Pick 3 – X6M: I am not a suv person and never imagined I would rate this vehicle higher than a M2. It was a heavy vehicle, but the engine made up to its sheer size and also had a great exhaust note as it shared its powertrain with M5.

Pick 2 – M5c: My second most favorite vehicle of the day. I always thought the M5s to be big powerful cruiser but man I was wrong. It didn’t feel too big from inside and also while driving. It had the best exhaust note and I kept revving it to neutral while driving it back to the garage. This vehicle was a beast and could be the desirable one if money wasn't a barrier.

Track lead and follow

I am glad that this event was right after Drag where we had a feel of the other vehicles. I have tracked my vehicles in the past and also had track time at work. I also tracked a Huracan couple of years ago in M1 concourse and had an idea of what to expect.

All M3s were tracked regularly for 5 days, tires and brakes (even carbon ceramics) were not in a great shape. Instructors were leading us in a M8c and two of us were following him in our M3s. I think I clocked a little more than 130mph in the straights. I stayed closer with the front vehicle during the drive and wish I left a little more space to clock higher speeds. Instructor commented after the drive that both of drivers were keeping up with him for all three laps. I felt he could have pushed a little more at least in the last 2 laps.

I was not expecting hot lap from an instructor and it was the most fun one. He had half the length of pit lane empty and he hit trip digits in that short tarmac. He showed what the vehicle is capable of and it was no where close to what we extracted.

Pick 1 – M3c: There were several M3s with a mix of M sport and Carbon bucket seats and I was eyeing for a vehicle with Carbon buckets. Unfortunately, I was assigned a Sao Paulo Yellow with M sport seats. This was not fastest or loudest of the lot but it was a great vehicle. No wonder that it was the top pick for most of us. I think I would have picked the M3 even if we had tracked M5 as it had more than enough power for its size.

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      08-31-2021, 11:09 AM   #2
vj123
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G80s on the track.

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      08-31-2021, 11:15 AM   #3
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What does it mean that brakes were not in good shape? I feel like either they work, or they have fade and basically don't work and you should stop driving.

Fwiw, maybe give autocross a try somewhere else another time. A 15-20sec course is quite short.
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      08-31-2021, 11:20 AM   #4
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Quote:
Originally Posted by dimab0 View Post
What does it mean that brakes were not in good shape? I feel like either they work, or they have fade and basically don't work and you should stop driving.
Cars were used regularly in the track for 5 days and pads had a lot of fade. It didnt have the expected performance from CC which i am used to. I was a Brakes Test Engineer with one of the biggest Tier 1 suppliers.

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Originally Posted by dimab0 View Post
Fwiw, maybe give autocross a try somewhere else another time. A 15-20sec course is quite short.
Yeah it was a small circuit and i am not a big fan of autocross.
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      08-31-2021, 01:04 PM   #5
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vj123 View Post
Cars were used regularly in the track for 5 days and pads had a lot of fade. It didnt have the expected performance from CC which i am used to. I was a Brakes Test Engineer with one of the biggest Tier 1 suppliers.



Yeah it was a small circuit and i am not a big fan of autocross.
I don't mind autocross as an appetizer to the main course (actual track time) but if it's just autocross I'll stay home and shine my shift knob.
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      08-31-2021, 02:34 PM   #6
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frankiebones View Post
I don't mind autocross as an appetizer to the main course (actual track time) but if it's just autocross I'll stay home and shine my shift knob.
Unlike BMW UDE, this was a proper track event. It was definitely worth the 10 hour drive from MI.
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      08-31-2021, 03:37 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by vj123 View Post
Unlike BMW UDE, this was a proper track event. It was definitely worth the 10 hour drive from MI.
I love M Track Days. It's frustrating at some points when you play "follow the leader" and have an instructor driving at 50% speed but you do get to drive a lot of someone else's car, get to do some autocross, meet some cool people and pick the brain's of some great instructors, NOT TO MENTION drive a high level course, i.e., Monticello.
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      08-31-2021, 04:05 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by frankiebones View Post
I love M Track Days. It's frustrating at some points when you play "follow the leader" and have an instructor driving at 50% speed but you do get to drive a lot of someone else's car, get to do some autocross, meet some cool people and pick the brain's of some great instructors, NOT TO MENTION drive a high level course, i.e., Monticello.
We had great conversations with several instructors before and after the drive. Being professional drivers with racing experience, they shared great inputs.

I think our lead and follow instructor was a newer addition to the team. Both follow cars were behind him at a good pace. After the drive, both drivers wished he pushed a little more.
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      08-31-2021, 05:04 PM   #9
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I've been to the speedway over 50 times and it's like home to me. The pictures are really great to see and thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a good time. My wife was trying to convince me to go but time and money got in the way this year. If they go back I would definitely like to check it out.
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      08-31-2021, 06:37 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by LuckyBrand View Post
I've been to the speedway over 50 times and it's like home to me. The pictures are really great to see and thanks for sharing. Sounds like you had a good time. My wife was trying to convince me to go but time and money got in the way this year. If they go back I would definitely like to check it out.
Yeah it was definitely worth it and glad that you liked the pictures. Several friends went together and we had a great time.
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      08-31-2021, 09:10 PM   #11
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I did one in Indy last Sept just before they released the M3/4. They had it in the secret back room there to go see. The event was a blast though drag racing in the X3, X5 and X6's and then on the big track in the M5 and M8 and autocross in the M2. I really fell in love with the M8 that day. I pictured it being a big boat of a car, but it was gorgeous and sporty.
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      09-01-2021, 06:14 AM   #12
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Quote:
Originally Posted by snareman View Post
I did one in Indy last Sept just before they released the M3/4. They had it in the secret back room there to go see. The event was a blast though drag racing in the X3, X5 and X6's and then on the big track in the M5 and M8 and autocross in the M2. I really fell in love with the M8 that day. I pictured it being a big boat of a car, but it was gorgeous and sporty.
I had similar thoughts on M5 before the event. But they weren't too big as i had perceived and the amazing engine had made up to its size.

F90 exhaust on along the straights would have been amazing during your event.
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