The heart of our trip was the two days we spent at BMW Performance Driving School in Thermal, CA. We started with classroom instruction and a briefing covering
that day's activities. After that, we were each assigned our car numbers (Austin #3, Mike #4) and headed out on the track. We swapped between the M240i and
M340i depending on the particular activity, and also to give the cars a chance to cool down.
Skid Pad - Basic traction loss and recovery on a polished concrete surface
Panic Braking - Practicing maximum braking while also turning to understand the capabilities of the ABS system
Lane Change - Simulating a sudden lane change to avoid an obstacle in the road
Handling Course - Timed laps on a short race course
Rat race - 1 vs. 1 race around a circle, designed to teach keeping the car at the edge of traction
Day 1 Events:
