The BMW Performance Center in Thermal, California is a driver's paradise. Because the driving school in Riverside County basically lets you go nuts in real fast, real performance vehicles. Plus you can take your skills (or lack of) off-road too. So when the offer to experience the track arrived the answer was simple; when should we arrive? :0) The Professor & Me - COVID-Style BMW Performance Center West At The Thermal Club Unless you're very lost and/or off-roading in the desert you're unlikely to find The Thermal Club. Well, there's one other exception, and that's if you're a very rich auto enthusiast. Because The Thermal Club is tucked away in Southern California near pretty much nothing. And that's exactly what makes this car-guy country club perfect! At this club, you can hop in your car and drive it as loud as you want all day long. In fact, that's what you're supposed to do! And BMW is the biggest club member. So if you don't have the $1.5M to drop on club membership, no worries. Because you can still get a taste through the BMW Performance Center West. In case you're wondering, yes, there is a BMW Performance Center East. And that one's been around for 20-years. While The Thermal Club location isn't quite 5-years old. Professional Instruction At The BWM Performance Center On the day Professor Quan and I went it was thankfully quiet. It was just us and a couple of women from San Francisco. Plus our instructor, Dave McMillan. He's the professional racecar driver who masterfully ushered us through the entire experience. Pro racer, Dave McMillan guiding our class. And while we were driving solo almost the whole time, Dave stayed in touch via radios in each of our vehicles. Dave was great throughout the experience. He was eager to share his passion for driving and his expertise behind the wheel. Moreover, he was an encouraging and patient instructor. And I would know. Because I was probably the worst performance driver in our group - by a longshot. Yes, even the girls were faster than me. (Sigh!) Your Ultimate Driving Experience Options So, the BMW Performance Center offers a number of driving experience options. And, you can head out solo. Or, you can bring up to 600 of your closest pals. The Center offers a bunch of different driving experience packages. We experienced the introductory level course which costs just $299. But you can drop thousands on multi-day experiences. While there's nothing notable nearby, we stayed in Indian Wells at the Hyatt Regency. That was only about 30-minutes to and from. And the facility was perfect. Because my wife and son enjoyed the lazy river and waterslides while I drove. (Everybody wins!) Our Day At The Track The driving experience we received was technically called 'Performance Drive'. And it's a sampling of the various experiences that are available. It's an entry-level course but a blast nonetheless. We started with classroom instruction - COVID-style outdoors. Dave laid out how the session would proceed and covered some basics. Sure-footed X7 Off-Road Then we hopped in BMW X7's and headed through The Thermal Club to the off-road course. That part of the session was very slow. But it was still very cool because it was technical driving. And, I can my performance was quite good with this part of the session! On-Road But when it came time to hit the on-road track, my lack of technique shined through. Because I was barrelling into corners way too fast. Then trying to muscle my way out of the terrible position I put myself in. I was literally sweating and grunting - but I was have an awesome time! Our launch site.
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