Day 2
Same time start, similar classroom session. Lecture on full track management and specific corners, including the "man corner" and the downhill blind "corkscrew."
The cars are shuffled such that we all get to drive a different variant to yesterday's cars. Fortunately (or unfortunately) I got to drive the same M5, but the M4 switched over to an alpine white spec with regular seats, and the M2 was LBB.
The AM sessions featured - Figure 8s with M4 Comp, Bigger Autocross (+ blind, downhill "corkscrew") with M2 Comp, and The "Man Corner" with M5 Comp. Each of these exercises build upon skill learned the day prior and prepare you towards afternoon sessions of full laps out on the big track. We then had lunch and moved onto the afternoon sessions.
The more I learn about motorsports and racing, the more I realize how all-mighty the tire is. All of the cars had Continental tires (school sponsor). I never really thought much about this brand, but they were impressive in all aspects. The logistics crew said that multiple sets of tires are switched out just during the half day of the school. Case in point, when we got back into the cars after lunch, many of us had tire pressure sensor lights on from the recent swap. Apparently the instructor cars go through 1 set of tires per M school day. The brakes last about 8 M school days or so is what I heard.
Figure of 8 Race with M2 Comp:
Similar to the rat race. Once again vision was important in this exercise - having your eyes fixated on the next target gave you an instinctive cue on when to use the throttle to help rotate the car. The point was to minimize unnecessary oversteer, but when you have a M2 comp and a wet track, it's too much fun not to oversteer. Spent the entire session trying to drift around the figure 8 circuit. Over the radio, I heard, "make sure you take a wi… okay, have fun"
Full Track Laps M5 Comp:
Getting onto the full track was probably the highlight of this entire experience. Everything you learned up to this point is geared towards this exercise. If you need a justification of doing the 2-day school vs 1-day school, this is it. This was the most intense, most demanding, but the most fun I had in a while. You hit every section of the track - the tight technical autocross portion with a blind downhill corkscrew, to the long straight leading to the "man corner," and the subsequent compromise corner. The M5 is an absolute beast. I thought maybe it wouldn't be so good around the autocross portion, but it handled this as competently (if not with more speed) than the M2. The car gives you a lot of confidence to push it hard as it comes with such amazing grip and stopping power. Many of the instructors agreed, their favorite car to drive on the lot was the M5.
Full Track Laps M4 Comp:
Okay, so with how amazing the M5 was, I was wondering if the M4 would be better (especially considering the weight of the G82). Well the M4 was…
AMAZING
Instantly going from the M5 to the M4 felt like I took off a heavy backpack. It could do what the M5 did, just better in every way. I stopped faster and carried more speed into and out of the corners. The car was also comfortable to drive. It was at this point where I decided I like the added comfort of the M4/5 vs the more raw experience of M2… which is opposite to what I had originally predicted, but I found that comfort in the car gives you more confidence to push it harder and to stay out on the track longer. I even grew fond of the grills. In fact, in the flesh, the car looks very aggressive with such a commanding presence. If I were to buy a new BMW, it would be the M4 hands down.
Here is a summary video of the experience: