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As many of you know, when speccing the Carbon Buckets, the only way to get them is the $9,900 carbon package consisting of the seats, roof, trim, and oddly enough the M Drivers package.
This was my first BMW with the Drivers package and my first experience at Thermal Raceway.
BMW threw in the One Day School which I did on Sunday while doing the M Drivers on Tuesday.
The Driving School is actually beneficial to sharpening your skills, learning to trust the vehicle, and is plain fun. On the short track, we drove the G42 m240i (xdrive) and G20 m340i (RWD). For one, these cars, even in non M (m-lite) have sky high limits that the vast majority of people will never really reach. When you slam the brakes at 60 mph, you absolutely stop and when corners come up, you better be ready.
The location Is in the middle of the desert, easy to get to from Palm Springs and is very well maintained. The BMW building is located as you enter the track.
Firstly, Google “Thermal Club” ( because it is insane. Great place to hold events
The Drivers School starts you off in the 240s and 340s in acceleration, emergency braking, emergency maneuvering, track lapping, and skipped exercises. Again the limits of these cars are sky high but easily exploitable on the track. What a fun 8 hours.
Now the M Drivers package, you get a G87 and G82C (RWD) and the real fun begins.
G87 track review. Want to talk about high limits? This car has them, immense grip, perfectly tuned track performance (acceleration is right now and the 8 speed is shoots off shifts quickly). Speaking of the automatic, the shift logic works really well, downshifting when braking into corners and holding gears when needed (the cars were set up with all Sport or Sport+ modes when applicable). Grip is super high and the brakes will test how sensitive you are to seatbelt pressure around your collar bone. The car is in another league to the non-m (or m-lite) models. Fun thing to note, all cars are on stock everything down to the fluids and running sponsored Continental tires.
The second half of the Performance Package got us into G82C (RWD) and full speed lapping on Thermal Raceway. Now THAT is an experience. Going 120 into corners on throttle then stabbing the brakes diving into an apex is mind blowing. The Carbon Ceramics are super strong though mine started to squeal pretty loudly, which is normal and calmed down a bit after a cool down lap. The grip in these cars along with just how good the traction control is, is really eye opening. All of the complete nonsense about weight is thrown out the window when you’re on track, the G platform is just that good. And unless you’re a professional driver or were a professional driver with a ton of money, a CS or CSL is total overkill (G87 or G82) for the street and really most tracks.
If you have questions, let me know. I’m actually really glad I got the M Drivers Package, it’s a game changer.
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