Journal: BMW 2 day M school on Nurburgring Nordschleife

[meg180]

First off, what an incredible experience! BMW had a 2-day M school at the Nurburgring Nordschleife in which many people from the US and within Europe participated. Flying into Frankfurt, we noticed a beautiful frozen black M3 in the airport. After getting our rental, we were on our way to the Ring. On arrival, participants checked into the Lindner Congress Hotel right by the GP track. Walking around the back of the hotel, there were about 40-50 brand new E92 (for the participants) and E90 (for the instructors) M3s, fully loaded with competition package and DCT.

After a little time to relax, BMW provided a mini orientation session and a nice relaxing dinner after breaking us up into 10 groups of about 6-8 people (so 3-4 cars per group).

The next morning, after a hearty breakfast at the hotel, it was time to hop into the cars. BMW provided us with USB sticks to use with the in car camera system so that we could record our driving experience. We followed our groups to the 'Ring, where we did some warm up laps and general technique training. Soon, all groups were broken up into different portions of the track for 1 hour section training sessions. This was great, as it broke up the track into little components for us to learn then integrate gradually. Mid-day consisted of a break from the track to re-fuel and to head to the Devil's diner on the "Ring for a satisfying lunch. Our day concluded with intense lead follow laps around the ring at speed. After this tiring day (and putting gas back in the cars without looking at the pump price!) we retired back to the hotel to get ready for another nice dinner and conversation about the day.

The next day was an even earlier start, with more section training that culminated with another lunch at the Devil's Diner then a little more section training before the main event. Nearly 2 hours of lead follow complete laps of the ring. What an intense experience, and now with all the section training, things started to make sense on the track, and we were able to drive much harder and have a satisfying time lapping the ring! Soon after, we drove the cars back to the BMW VIP Lounge for collection of certificates and snacks and to say goodbye to our newfound friends.

[sw4ng]

Awesome.

[scott135i]

Glad to see someone reppin' Staten Island!

[dsm 135i]

I thought this school was cancelled???

http://www.bmwccaringschool.com/

Sounds like a great experience.

[FDM68]

Sounds like an awesome time. I was out at the ring for the 1st time last Sunday......My first drive, got to the second turn then a nice little rain shower...No I have no idea what my time was but I'd say my DSC light flashed about 40+ times.....Still had a blast.

[Focusedintntions]

Winning!!! and i'm jealous!

[JasonCSU]

This should hit the front page soon.

[AudiS4]

that "Fahrer-Training" cap is Awesome !

[Vectors2final]

Winning!

[Fab_vr6]

Very interesting!! How much did you spent on this whole trip? where can I find more info?

thanks!

[///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by dsm 335i

I thought this school was cancelled???

http://www.bmwccaringschool.com/

Sounds like a great experience.

The school that was cancelled was the BMWCCA Ring School. This event was one of the BMW M Experience events put on by BMW in Europe.

This trip was awesome, a definite bucket list item. Renting an M3 from Sixt to get there and back was sauce for the goose. I had to pick my M3 up at the Sixt office in Frankfurt Zentrum however because the airport was out of coupes when I reserved. Having the M3 also gave us a chance to see 170 mph indicated on the A1 as well.

If I can go back I will.

[EdwinF10]

I did this package last summer. It was totally awesome. The track was wet though and that certainly added to the excitement.
A true 'must do' for BMW afficionado's. Thanks for sharing!

[Novator]

Last pic is epic

[itsbrokeagain]

I want to do this. Definitely going to start putting aside for it

[yamazaho]

Looks hella fun.

[xerox445]

What did this run you ballpark?

[Fab_vr6]

Does that price include the
Meals and the hotels as Well? How
Many laps in total were you able to do in the 2 days?
Is the school designed for track novices in mind?

[Mrchin]

I'd prefer rounds if it meant they could stay larger but OEM isn't completely closed either. Would be good to see the full Angels. As original pics were U's

[GOLFFRR]

sweet

[ZuerstBMW]

Would love to do this one day.

[triplefive]

Originally Posted by Fab_vr6

Does that price include the
Meals and the hotels as Well? How
Many laps in total were you able to do in the 2 days?
Is the school designed for track novices in mind?

Yes they give you dinner the first night (check in) then breakfast, lunch dinner the next day (which is the first full day on track) then breakfast, lunch and snack the last day (2nd full day on track). They break you up into sections and you do section training (ie instructor shows you the line of a particular portion of the 'Ring then you rinse and repeat several times then move to another part). Breaking it up this way is very helpful to learn the track but you will never completely learn such a complex track in just 2 days. Each day on the track culminates with full laps. You rotate with your other group members behind the instructor in lead follow fashion. Sometimes you will be right behind the instructor, and other times the last car. You'll do about 3-4 laps then switch with your partner in the car and you might mix and match more so you can get several laps each day. Being in the passenger seat is great too because you learn the track while watching. I wouldnt say this is a school for complete novices because you are going quite fast at many points and you should have some track experience to maximize what you get out of the school. That being said, you are not out there alone and the instructors help you a lot and the lead follow format helps too.

[///M Rakete]

Originally Posted by xerox445

What did this run you ballpark?

- Registration Fee: 2,700 Euros or $4,000 to BMW
- Flights: well basically free in this case courtesy of beaucoup FF miles on Delta
- Car Rental: $1,000 for 4 days in an M3, a splurge but helped by free flights
- Hotels: $1,000 for 3 nights, one night on arrival in country, one night at the end of the training in Cochem, and one night prior to flying back (we did one day of touring along the Mosel and Rhein). The best night was the cheapest in Cochem, a gasthaus, the other two were at the Frankfurt Airport Sheraton which was convenient but not cheap.
- Incidentals: hardly any, a few meals of course, minimal gift buying.

So all in, about $6,500. Yes, insane, but how often do you get a chance at the 'Ring? This is about $1,500 more than what the Advanced M School at VIR would run and about $3,000 more than the 2-day M School at PCD assuming free flights but again considering the unique venue/opportunity and the exchange rate...

At least I can die now with one less regret.