The Rocky Mountain BMW CCA Fall Driving School was my third time on the track with the M Coupe. I mounted the Hero Cam in a different place for each drive session. This was the best I could do with 2002 Windows Movie Maker and my ancient laptop.
In May I did the spring school on 4 hours of sleep the day after a mountain bike race. This time I really wanted to get the most out of the day so I showed up well rested and motivated to improve my skills. Well as rested as one can be waking up at 3:45 am for the drive to Pueblo Motor Sports Park. On the way I picked up Doug who had volunteered to work a corner. We got to the track at sunrise and it was only 35 degrees out. The first session was going to be a slippery one. Dunlop cautions highly against driving its Z1 Star Spec tires in temperatures below 50 degrees. Once I got my pit set up I sat in on the corner worker briefing so I could fill in during the instructor drive sessions allowing Doug to get a ride-a-long.
My Pit
Diane Waving the Green Flag on Corner 10
I was moved up to B group (the second most advanced) for this school and was a little apprehensive about it. Driving School Chair Andrew Jordon was my first instructor. The first session was basically scraping the rust off and cleaning up my line. Andrew’s witty South African charm put me at ease and I felt at home in B group by the end of the session. My line was inconsistent through turn 9 and 10 but I found with Andrew's advice if I apexed slightly earlier than the marker cone it felt right at my speed.
Chasing Jeff's E92 M3
In May I did the spring school on 4 hours of sleep the day after a mountain bike race. This time I really wanted to get the most out of the day so I showed up well rested and motivated to improve my skills. Well as rested as one can be waking up at 3:45 am for the drive to Pueblo Motor Sports Park. On the way I picked up Doug who had volunteered to work a corner. We got to the track at sunrise and it was only 35 degrees out. The first session was going to be a slippery one. Dunlop cautions highly against driving its Z1 Star Spec tires in temperatures below 50 degrees. Once I got my pit set up I sat in on the corner worker briefing so I could fill in during the instructor drive sessions allowing Doug to get a ride-a-long.
My Pit
Diane Waving the Green Flag on Corner 10
I was moved up to B group (the second most advanced) for this school and was a little apprehensive about it. Driving School Chair Andrew Jordon was my first instructor. The first session was basically scraping the rust off and cleaning up my line. Andrew’s witty South African charm put me at ease and I felt at home in B group by the end of the session. My line was inconsistent through turn 9 and 10 but I found with Andrew's advice if I apexed slightly earlier than the marker cone it felt right at my speed.
Chasing Jeff's E92 M3
(I never caught him!)
Cristina's Black M3
The second session was more of the same. I was a little faster and my heel-toe work a little smoother, but I still needed to be more consistent. It's easy to nail a turn or series of turns once, but doing it over and over again is what separates the pros from the students. I am definitely still a student! It's also interesting how improving on one section of the track will result in more speed later in the track and bring out areas that suddenly need more attention.
Getting Faster
(and lifting the inside front wheel)
At lunch I volunteered to work corner 8 during the first instructor drive. Then I switched to corner 10 so Doug could ride in Frank's Lotus Elise. He came back with a grin from ear to ear. It reminded me of the sheer terror and joy of my first ride in a track car with an instructor.
Frank's Lotus Elise
The 3:45 am wake up hit me during session three and my line fell apart. I was super inconsistent and lost the line in turns 1 and 4. My instructor wanted to head in early which was fine with me. I refreshed with a protein bar and caffeine then spent some time driving the track in my head to clean up my line.
Spec E36 M3's
I wanted to nail session four and finish on a good note. I commandeered Andrew Colfelt to be my last instructor. He drives a new E92 M3 at speeds that make even the most seasoned corner works flinch as he hurls by inches away. He had some great suggestions to tie the lessons of the day together. The most important was to move my braking points farther back and brake harder. I was braking too soon and having a millisecond or two of nothing to do before the turn in. It was disrupting my flow. Another great suggestion was to shift later. You don't have to blip the throttle as much and it's one less thing to think about hurling into turn 1 at 130mph. His suggestions worked magic and it all came together for me during session four. Suddenly I was going fast, driving the line, and nailing my shifts with enough excess mental energy to carry on a conversation - about the task at hand of course!
Doug's Cayman S
Then after a few laps of my best driving yet I had a moment of shear terror. I had worked my braking point on turn 1 to inside the 300 foot marker. As I rolled on to the brake I felt a rumbling in the pedal and severely reduced braking power. I never look at the speedometer, but I estimate I was doing about 120 with 200 feet till the turn. For a split second I thought we were going off the track. It wouldn't have been a big deal, there was still run out left from the drag strip which doubles as the front straight. It built my confidence tremendously that I stayed cool and never stopped driving the car. It’s just like flying, never stop driving the car! We drifted a little high at the apex, but with some creative trail braking I had scrubbed enough speed to keep the nose pointed in the right direction and drift through the turn. I was awesome! Maybe one day I'll have the guts to do that on purpose.
Exiting Turn 10
I think I had glazed my pads by revving the gas while braking during a previous down shift. Andrew and I talked about pitting, but if I slowed down I had enough brakes to keep things safe. It actually was a great learning tool because without good brakes I had to drive my line with much greater precision. I was forced to clean out the slop out that I could get by with having full brakes. The fade got worse, but the checkered flag was waived just as I was ready to shut it down. It was a perfect end to the day.
Doug Waving the Checkered Flag
There was plenty of talent and rad cars. Andrew's E92 M3 was a beast. As the V8 monster ticked itself cool on the grass of the paddock it looked fast. Chip Clark drove all the way from Rifle in another S54 powered M Coupe. We chased each other on the track and took some mandatory M Coupe pics in the Paddock. There was a yellow Mini Cooper S that was stunning and begged some lens time with the M Coupe. What I'm going to say next is going to make my late father turn in his grave and all of my fellow BMW purists throw up in their mouths a little. My favorite car of the school was a Corvette! It was Ross's stealthy all black Z06. Holy S#@! was it fast. When I was working turn 10 and the A group cars roared by the Corvette was by far the most impressive. Compared to the stock M3's there was absolutely no body roll through the turn and the throaty V8 roared like a dragon down the front straight. I'm not going to sell the M Coupe and buy a Corvette, but the Z06 left a lasting impression.
Andrew's E92 M Coupe
V8 Powered with the Carbon Fiber Roof
The M Coupes
The M Coupe's Closest BMW Brethren
(in my opinion)
HDR
Ross's Z06 Corvette
HDR
After the session I took Doug's corner so he could have one more instructor ride. There weren't any students lined up, so he hopped in a spec E36 M3. At the awards ceremony the M Coupe got nominated for car of the day again, but Leslie's beautiful Laguna Seca Blue E46 M3 won it - and rightly so! As always the Driving School was an epic day filled with great cars and fantastic people.
Doug Getting a Spec E36 Ride
Frank's Dusty Lotus after an Off Track Detour
Bruce Leading the Awards Ceremony
Cristina's Black M3
The second session was more of the same. I was a little faster and my heel-toe work a little smoother, but I still needed to be more consistent. It's easy to nail a turn or series of turns once, but doing it over and over again is what separates the pros from the students. I am definitely still a student! It's also interesting how improving on one section of the track will result in more speed later in the track and bring out areas that suddenly need more attention.
Getting Faster
(and lifting the inside front wheel)
At lunch I volunteered to work corner 8 during the first instructor drive. Then I switched to corner 10 so Doug could ride in Frank's Lotus Elise. He came back with a grin from ear to ear. It reminded me of the sheer terror and joy of my first ride in a track car with an instructor.
Frank's Lotus Elise
The 3:45 am wake up hit me during session three and my line fell apart. I was super inconsistent and lost the line in turns 1 and 4. My instructor wanted to head in early which was fine with me. I refreshed with a protein bar and caffeine then spent some time driving the track in my head to clean up my line.
Spec E36 M3's
I wanted to nail session four and finish on a good note. I commandeered Andrew Colfelt to be my last instructor. He drives a new E92 M3 at speeds that make even the most seasoned corner works flinch as he hurls by inches away. He had some great suggestions to tie the lessons of the day together. The most important was to move my braking points farther back and brake harder. I was braking too soon and having a millisecond or two of nothing to do before the turn in. It was disrupting my flow. Another great suggestion was to shift later. You don't have to blip the throttle as much and it's one less thing to think about hurling into turn 1 at 130mph. His suggestions worked magic and it all came together for me during session four. Suddenly I was going fast, driving the line, and nailing my shifts with enough excess mental energy to carry on a conversation - about the task at hand of course!
Doug's Cayman S
Then after a few laps of my best driving yet I had a moment of shear terror. I had worked my braking point on turn 1 to inside the 300 foot marker. As I rolled on to the brake I felt a rumbling in the pedal and severely reduced braking power. I never look at the speedometer, but I estimate I was doing about 120 with 200 feet till the turn. For a split second I thought we were going off the track. It wouldn't have been a big deal, there was still run out left from the drag strip which doubles as the front straight. It built my confidence tremendously that I stayed cool and never stopped driving the car. It’s just like flying, never stop driving the car! We drifted a little high at the apex, but with some creative trail braking I had scrubbed enough speed to keep the nose pointed in the right direction and drift through the turn. I was awesome! Maybe one day I'll have the guts to do that on purpose.
Exiting Turn 10
I think I had glazed my pads by revving the gas while braking during a previous down shift. Andrew and I talked about pitting, but if I slowed down I had enough brakes to keep things safe. It actually was a great learning tool because without good brakes I had to drive my line with much greater precision. I was forced to clean out the slop out that I could get by with having full brakes. The fade got worse, but the checkered flag was waived just as I was ready to shut it down. It was a perfect end to the day.
Doug Waving the Checkered Flag
There was plenty of talent and rad cars. Andrew's E92 M3 was a beast. As the V8 monster ticked itself cool on the grass of the paddock it looked fast. Chip Clark drove all the way from Rifle in another S54 powered M Coupe. We chased each other on the track and took some mandatory M Coupe pics in the Paddock. There was a yellow Mini Cooper S that was stunning and begged some lens time with the M Coupe. What I'm going to say next is going to make my late father turn in his grave and all of my fellow BMW purists throw up in their mouths a little. My favorite car of the school was a Corvette! It was Ross's stealthy all black Z06. Holy S#@! was it fast. When I was working turn 10 and the A group cars roared by the Corvette was by far the most impressive. Compared to the stock M3's there was absolutely no body roll through the turn and the throaty V8 roared like a dragon down the front straight. I'm not going to sell the M Coupe and buy a Corvette, but the Z06 left a lasting impression.
Andrew's E92 M Coupe
V8 Powered with the Carbon Fiber Roof
The M Coupes
The M Coupe's Closest BMW Brethren
(in my opinion)
HDR
Ross's Z06 Corvette
HDR
After the session I took Doug's corner so he could have one more instructor ride. There weren't any students lined up, so he hopped in a spec E36 M3. At the awards ceremony the M Coupe got nominated for car of the day again, but Leslie's beautiful Laguna Seca Blue E46 M3 won it - and rightly so! As always the Driving School was an epic day filled with great cars and fantastic people.
Doug Getting a Spec E36 Ride
Frank's Dusty Lotus after an Off Track Detour
Bruce Leading the Awards Ceremony
