Driving School Day 2 At RRR

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The second day of Peachtree Chapter of the BMW CCA driving school was all about building on what you learned on day one and applying it consistently. The first session of day two is typically for getting back up to speed and making sure you remember your line through the track. I started to put down consistent laps in the 1:30 range when not stuck behind lap traffic.

A little wet to start the 2nd session, but the track stayed in pretty good shape for some nice laps. Got through some traffic early in the session and had a few clean laps without having to get around slower cars towards the end of group C’s time on the track.

With most people cutting out early because of the predicted rain it started to feel like we had the track to ourselves in the C group. When I hit every section just right I could get close to my fastest lap in the 1:28 range and was consistently lapping in less than 1:30.

My instructor pretty much left this session up to me and only gave me a few pointers after the fact. Despite filling up mid day, I still ran low on fuel and cut the last session short. Good thing, as the rain came in just as we got back to the paddock.

You are supposed to take it easy on the last session of the day but I couldn’t help myself. Roebling Road Raceway made for a fun weekend of hard driving and I look forward to my next visit.

The New G22 M3 & M4

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Since I joined the Peachtree Chapter of the BMW CCA I have been to each of the monthly Cars & Coffee. It has been nice to meet other enthusiasts and see what people have done to maintain or upgrade their cars. We typically get a wide variety of new and old BMWs and at the last one a couple of G22 M cars made an appearance.

The new BMW M3 & M4 (G22) are the cause for much controversy in regards to their extra large kidney grills. They have garnered many terrible nicknames, which my favorite is, the Double Coffin Grill. This is a nice play on the traditional Double Kidney Grill that people typically use when referring to BMWs. I am sure the purists in our group were crying in their coffee at the April meet up.

To me beauty is in the eye of the beholder and I am sure the owners of the M3 and M4 that were at Cars & Coffee love their new cars. I am glad they brought them out for us to check out in person. I can tell you they look better in person then they do in pictures and video. I encourage you to see one in real life before you pass final judgement on the design.

I still prefer my 2017 M2 and think it’s the best combination of price, size and performance of all the BMW M cars, but of course I am bias!

BMW CCA Peachtree Chapter Cars & Coffee

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I am not sure why I waited until I bought the M2 to join my local BMW CCA chapter as I could have been going to Peachtree Chapter events for the last couple of years. After deciding to stick with a BMW for my track car, I signed up for the BMW CCA and marked my calendar for all the upcoming club events.

February 2021 Cars & CoffeeMy first club event was a Coffee and Cars, which ended up having a big turn out. There must have been 50+ cars in the parking lot. I brought my nephew who, like most teenagers, never looks up from his phone. During the event the only time he took his phone out was to take pictures of the cars.

I also invited my friend Rich who has an original Z3 that he loves to drive just for fun. He is part of the Z club and has participated in a ton of their events. We ran into one of Rich’s friends who has an awesome wide body 2002 that he rebuilt from the ground up over the last 16 years. That car is an absolute beast, it weigh 2200 pounds and is pushing 300hp at the wheels.

M2s In The WildWhile Rich geeked out about seeing the latest Z car up close and personal, I was excited to see an M2 CS that had just been picked up at the BMW facility in South Carolina. It was parked next to a 2019 M2 Competition in my favorite color, Long Beach Blue. There were a ton of M3s and M4s, a few M5s and a bunch of other models in various degrees of tune.

The best part of the event was talking with other BMW owners about why they chose their car and what they love about it. I met a group of guys that love to go on spirited drives and I hope to hook up with them on a great driving road soon. I also got a few more tips about preparing for my first Autocross and HDPE events.

It was a fun morning and I look forward to the next one.