Anyone head to circuit of the americas this week to do the mtrackday event? I went yesterday, thinking it's probably my best chance to get any seat time in an M2. There was an article on
jalopnik that covered some of the highlights, but I'll point out they didnt let us paid guests drive the 3 pedal version of the cars. I won't rehash much more than what that article lays out, but a few notes from a very novice track driver (I've done a few similar events over the years, but otherwise my racing expertise comes from growing up on the Gran Turismo franchise via polyphony digital).
1) I think I was the only minivan in the parking lot. We brought the kids to Austin for a couple nights, and I'm not ashamed (currently my daily driver is a tacoma, but my wife thought it foolish to not take the people mover when moving people). also, I was a little ashamed.
2) They offered the m3 and m4 competitions for the lead-follow laps. As a novice, driving COTA is intimidating. I've done shorter flat road tracks, which were a lot easier to pick up after a lap or two. As stated in that article, it was indeed pretty easy to hit 140+ on the back straight. I would have been out of my league without a pace car and instructor chirping instructions on radio, but it was still a blast.
3) the M2s were all reserved for autocross. And it was a 16 second course, so I didnt really get to flex one too much. Interior reminded me a lot of the 135i I had (not a surprise), and I'm unsure if it helped or stymied my interest in placing an order. I'm looking for a fun little city car with a manual and rear seats, and I'm dumb enough to overspend on an m2 in lieu of something more reasonable.
4) The instructors took us on a hot lap at the end. The driver of the car I hopped into was power-sliding about 3 foot from the rear of the car in front at 80mph. Apparently he was earlier scolded and told to not pass on the hot laps with passengers. I would have preferred him to pass. ;-) Certainly the most dynamic of the events.
5) I know some folks were dogging BMW for charging for these events over the last few years (they had been free in the past), but for the $250 price tag it was worth getting to drive COTA. And I've spend more on crappier entertainment, so I felt it was a pretty good value.