[GreySquirrel]

     Featured on BIMMERPOST.com

I attended an M Track day for the first time yesterday. It was held at Monticello Motor Club in Monticello, NY. Maybe some of you were also in attendance. This was my first time on a track. They had a fleet of comp awd M3s for lead-follow sessions. I lucked out and got my own M3 for the first session so I didn't have to rotate with a partner. It had carbon buckets and carbon ceramic brakes. I understand now why people get these options. Driving the m3 on a track has given me a much deeper appreciation for this car. I may never track my own but can see now what it's truly capable of. They are incredible machines. Towards the end, the BMW instructors took the group on a hot lap of the track, which was mind blowing. Other events included autocross with M2's and 0-60 challenge with XM, iX, i4 and i5's. Anyways, I'll be attending again next year. This was the most fun I've had in years. Here's a few crappy pictures to share.

[BackOnBlack]

Awesome experience, well done

[junki]

What is that wide red car in the lobby picture?

[GreySquirrel]

Originally Posted by junki

What is that wide red car in the lobby picture?

I believe it was an Aston Martin. Not sure of the model.

[CJ421]

I did this event last year. It was my first time driving a G80 M3. The next time I drove one was when I picked mine up from the dealer!

BMW does a fabulous job with these events.

Thanks for sharing.

Charles

[fresh369]

Did they have the street drive this year ? last year i went they didn’t have it because the community was complaining

[GreySquirrel]

Originally Posted by fresh369

Did they have the street drive this year ? last year i went they didn’t have it because the community was complaining

No street drive.

[Needsdecaf]

Originally Posted by AG23

I believe it was an Aston Martin. Not sure of the model.

Aston Martin Vulcan

[SMGCFP]

The track days are fun for sure. I've done Monticello a few times. The price on these used to be $250 for a half day, and I think at one point they were free. Now the event is too pricey for what you get. If you're not lucky to have good drivers in your group for the lead/follow it gets boring very quickly. When you have good drivers the lead/follow is a rush for sure. I declined this year. I'm glad you had a good experience. The M cars are great. You'll run out of courage before these cars run out of grip. IMO though, the braking is what stands out most to me both on the track and the street.

[GreySquirrel]

It was $600 for a half day, pricey for sure but the experience was worth it. Agreed regarding the lead follow, during certain points some of the other people in my group were lagging and it slowed the pack down. I am considering doing the M school in SC next time.

[mike@x-ph.com]

[Scrapula]

Looks like fun. We only get the autocross and street drive in Seattle. I did those earlier this month. Maybe when I retire, I can fly out to a track day somewhere.

[logicators]

I was there yesterday as well (in the afternoon session) with four friends and everyone had a blast. M3 driving experience was closest to my F90 M5 (with less power, offcourse) but it’s no slouch and was fun to push around the corners in lead-follow sessions. Those sessions are certainly impacted by the weakest link in the chain. We had to slow down a few times because one driver was unable to keep up.

In drag races I surprisingly liked the i5 and iX driving experience over XM (which didn’t look great to me to begin with, but I was hoping the performance will compensate for the looks).

[m4bimmer7]

is that a g80 in sepia!!

[GreySquirrel]

Originally Posted by logicators

I was there yesterday as well (in the afternoon session) with four friends and everyone had a blast. M3 driving experience was closest to my F90 M5 (with less power, offcourse) but it’s no slouch and was fun to push around the corners in lead-follow sessions. Those sessions are certainly impacted by the weakest link in the chain. We had to slow down a few times because one driver was unable to keep up.

In drag races I surprisingly liked the i5 and iX driving experience over XM (which didn’t look great to me to begin with, but I was hoping the performance will compensate for the looks).

Have you had a chance to track the m5? I asked one of the more senior instructors what his favorite bmw was to track and he said the f90 m5.

[GreySquirrel]

Originally Posted by m4bimmer7

is that a g80 in sepia!!

Hard to tell if sepia or Macao. It was stunning.

[logicators]

Originally Posted by AG23

Have you had a chance to track the m5? I asked one of the more senior instructors what his favorite bmw was to track and he said the f90 m5.

Not yet, maybe some day

But from my spirited driving experiences I can extrapolate that F90 would have hit much higher top speed on that one long stretch on the track as compared to the M3, and would be quite close to the M3 in the corners 😀

F90s are surprisingly nimble for their size. Also, I would personally not prefer any car I drove yesterday over my F90. They were still a lot of fun!

[m4bimmer7]

Originally Posted by AG23

Hard to tell if sepia or Macao. It was stunning.

it looks like sepia to me only cause of the bronze hint in the paint either way absolutely beautiful

[GOLFFRR]

Epic! super cool

[AhsanU]

G80 as a first track experience, damn!

But if you enjoyed the experience and aren’t too far, NJMP Thunderbolt/Lightning are great tracks with no sound limitations (I hate LimeRock) and Thunderbolt specifically has a great stretch into T1 that lets you stretch the legs of the S58.

MoE (Motorsports Enthusiasts) HPDE/track xperienZ/HoD (hooked on driving) are a few groups you can join in on and get a full track day with an instructor for about $400-$500. Usually consists of 5-6 sessions, 20-30 minutes each, food catering, etc.

Fair warning: it’s addictive, good luck

[GreySquirrel]

Originally Posted by AhsanU

G80 as a first track experience, damn!

But if you enjoyed the experience and aren’t too far, NJMP Thunderbolt/Lightning are great tracks with no sound limitations (I hate LimeRock) and Thunderbolt specifically has a great stretch until T1 that lets ult stretch the legs of the S58.

MoE (Motorsports Enthusiasts) HPDE/track xperienZ/HoD (hooked on driving) are a few groups you can join in on and get a full track day with an instructor for about $400-$500. Usually consists of 5-6 sessions, 20-30 minutes each.

Fair warning: it’s addictive, good luck

Appreciate it. Am a member of the del Val CCA and they happened to have a 2 day event at NJMP this past weekend. Will be looking into future events there.

[logicators]

Originally Posted by AhsanU

G80 as a first track experience, damn!

But if you enjoyed the experience and aren’t too far, NJMP Thunderbolt/Lightning are great tracks with no sound limitations (I hate LimeRock) and Thunderbolt specifically has a great stretch until T1 that lets ult stretch the legs of the S58.

MoE (Motorsports Enthusiasts) HPDE/track xperienZ/HoD (hooked on driving) are a few groups you can join in on and get a full track day with an instructor for about $400-$500. Usually consists of 5-6 sessions, 20-30 minutes each.

Fair warning: it’s addictive, good luck

Does that $400-500 price includes cars, or participants bringing their cars?