[sygazelle]

My son and I experienced BMW M Track Day at Sonoma yesterday. We did three years ago and we had so much fun that time we decided to do it again.

As usual, BMW puts on a well-run event. I have no idea how they can take over the whole racetrack for 4 days in a row and put on this event. Just the cost of renting the facility must be way higher than the revenue they take in from us. For me, at $625 of a 1/2 at the track and driving so many of BMW's performance cars is a bargain. I may have shredded that much in tires alone!

We got to drag race (they call it 0-60 in performance SAVs, including the ixm60, the new XM, the X3 M Competition, and the X4 M Competition.

Next it was track time in lead-follow format on the Sonoma course that is used for NASCAR. We got 8 laps each as a driver, and 8 laps more as a passenger. We used M3 Competition and M4 Competition. Perfect cars for this event.

Finally, it was autocross time in M2s.


My thoughts on the event:

• Perfect weather.
• Great cars to drive.
• Top notch job by BMW drivers and staff.
• The M3 Competitions and M4 Competitions felt way better to me on the track than the M5 and M8 Competitions we drove 3 years ago on at the same event. While the larger cars are awesome for sure, these smaller, lighter cars felt way better on the track to me. Just a personal observation.
• The autocross was a blast in M2s. I did really well and got among the best times, buy my son rocked it. He won our group and he won 2nd place time for all the groups. He got a free BMW bag, ear plugs, and a hat for his effort!

In addition to the scheduled events, they did two extra things they didn't do last time that just made it perfect. They had a motorcycle racer on a BMW racing bike do a couple of lap demonstration. It was remarkable what he could do with that bike. Also, we got to do a couple of hot laps as passengers with BMW pro drivers driving. Just when we were feeling like we were doing pretty good out on the track, these pro drivers showed us how it is really done. Incredible.

Here are some pics from the event.

[JMcLellan]

Heck yeah! That looks like it was an amazing experience. If one of those events was closer to home I would definitely go.

Can you tell me more on how the new M2 drove? Hoping to test drive a used one if one comes available in my local market. I don't know if i want to buy one but would love to try one out.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

Heck yeah! That looks like it was an amazing experience. If one of those events was closer to home I would definitely go.

Can you tell me more on how the new M2 drove? Hoping to test drive a used one if one comes available in my local market. I don't know if i want to buy one but would love to try one out.

It was amazing. Our grins are still at 100%.

We drove the M2 on the autocross track. So, there was no real chance to open it up the way we were able to do with the M3 Comp and the M3 Comp on the full road course. That said, the M2 was brilliant for the autocross. They set it up for us and told us not to touch the settings. We got plenty of wheel spin around the turns and we slid quite a bit too so they let us have some fun with it. Certainly, some nannies were in place or we would have most certainly taken out some cones. As it was set up, the M2 made us feel like better drivers than we really are! Amazing car really. My personal preference is the M3 just for size and 4 doors. The all wheel drive M3 Comp would be my choice if I was headed out to buy a performance car today. Lucky for me, I'm quite happy with my lowly 328i for the way I drive every day.

It's too bad BMW has nothing in your area. They do Milwaukee. Maybe you can go there next year.

Edit: Here's a pic of that M2.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by JMcLellan

Heck yeah! That looks like it was an amazing experience. If one of those events was closer to home I would definitely go.

Can you tell me more on how the new M2 drove? Hoping to test drive a used one if one comes available in my local market. I don't know if i want to buy one but would love to try one out.

I forget sometimes how lucky I am to live so close to the racetrack. Here's a couple of photos of Mt. Diablo from the racetrack. I live up against that mountain. It's not that tall (3,849 ft) but there is nothing tall around it so it stands out.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Awesome day! Living 5 miles from the BMW performance center here in SC I get 2-3 days a year driving. Had to miss the last day in early October but took my two boys back in May…

We picked up my wife's X5 in Spartanburg. The PDC experience is awesome. We got Donnie as our pro driver. Great driver and funny too. Good for you getting your kids out there too.

In my case, my son has been a BMW guy since he was a teenager many years ago. Why? I handed down my first two BMWs to him, an '88 528e and a '97 540i. He loves BMWs but not enough to keep driving them. He has a Tesla 3 now and he loves it. You try to raise them right!! Oh well.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Awesome day! Living 5 miles from the BMW performance center here in SC I get 2-3 days a year driving. Had to miss the last day in early October but took my two boys back in May…

I see you have a '74 2002. My life with BMW started with that car. My brother had a red 2002 back in the day and when I drove it, I knew I would someday own a BMW. What a great car.

[sygazelle]

Originally Posted by kscarrol

Yes, a 1974 Inka Tii, my wife’s toy really. Here is a pic next to my old E90 M3.

A Tii and an E90 M3....Wow.

It's good to be you!

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

It was amazing. Our grins are still at 100%.

We drove the M2 on the autocross track. So, there was no real chance to open it up the way we were able to do with the M3 Comp and the M3 Comp on the full road course. That said, the M2 was brilliant for the autocross. They set it up for us and told us not to touch the settings. We got plenty of wheel spin around the turns and we slid quite a bit too so they let us have some fun with it. Certainly, some nannies were in place or we would have most certainly taken out some cones. As it was set up, the M2 made us feel like better drivers than we really are! Amazing car really. My personal preference is the M3 just for size and 4 doors. The all wheel drive M3 Comp would be my choice if I was headed out to buy a performance car today. Lucky for me, I'm quite happy with my lowly 328i for the way I drive every day.

It's too bad BMW has nothing in your area. They do Milwaukee. Maybe you can go there next year.

Edit: Here's a pic of that M2.

I think the trick is to find a friend who would want to go with. Book flights, hotels and make a vacation out of it. Thanks for the feedback on the M2. I need to test drive one.

[JMcLellan]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

I see you have a '74 2002. My life with BMW started with that car. My brother had a red 2002 back in the day and when I drove it, I knew I would someday own a BMW. What a great car.

What a sweet car! My close friend has a light blue 1976 2002. He has done quite a bit of work on it and the car is really clean. I rarely see 2002's on the roads around here but when I do it's always cool.

[cmyx6go]

Originally Posted by sygazelle

We picked up my wife's X5 in Spartanburg. The PDC experience is awesome. We got Donnie as our pro driver. Great driver and funny too. Good for you getting your kids out there too.

In my case, my son has been a BMW guy since he was a teenager many years ago. Why? I handed down my first two BMWs to him, an '88 528e and a '97 540i. He loves BMWs but not enough to keep driving them. He has a Tesla 3 now and he loves it. You try to raise them right!! Oh well.

I had Donnie too when I did PCD.

[GOLFFRR]

looks like a great day! Def recommend these events to anyone if you can get the opportunity happen. Nice post OP