[LEA69]

Hi everyone!

Today I went to my first Doncaster BMW driver/ training social event held at Sandown Race Course in Melbourne. It was held from 8am to 1pm and there were about 40 people in each session. We all arrived for registration and were greeted with a cap, lanyard & breakfast! Thank goodness too the weather held & it did not rain at all!


Here are some pictures from today's event. It was split into 3 main categories:

PACE LAPS
I got to drive in a new 325 & 335 sedan and hammered it down half a dozen or so laps around the course, the 335 is remarkable, so effortless to drive on the track and handles really well... def. a next car of choice in my calendar.

DYNAMIC DRIVING
This was the most fun of all, we were given keys & told to push the cars to the limit around cones and obstacles. Lots of screeching and heaps of yelling as the passenger held on to their seat as we took turns driving through turns and corners. We got the chance to sample the M Sports in both the petrol 320i and diesdl 320d. A few cones missed and a few knocked over but everyone was eager to beat their record time so everyone got more & more agressive!

ACTIVE SAFETY
This activity was out of my comfort zone! On a skid pan, we had to clock at least 80kms an hour in the straight line and brake & come to a halt in 5m or so in the wet. Heaps of smoking rubber & ABS action here. After which we had to slam the brakes as we had to also steer into a seperate lane. Was a little daunting at first but after we hit a few cones & scuffed the bumpers even more, we broke the ice of feeling scared and really gave it to the car.

After a few more rounds of cornering & testing the different cars from standard & one with 'active steering', the thing to top it off was the fact that we were told we had a rear flat tyre the whole time! No one could tell and everyone was amazed at how well the RunFlat tyres really worked when they were completedly deflated & how well the car still handled!

As at any BMW event, it was very well organized with plenty of refreshments and friendly reps. It was truely an experience & I had a great time meeting other BMW & non-BMW drivers. I learnt a lot more about my current car in terms of its handling, features & limitations. I had no idea how much harder I can push my car & how well it is able to cope!

No doubt non-BMW owners were definitely left wanting a new 3 series but I left knowing a lot more about my car and happy with the choice I had made!

Thumbs up to FACINATION3!

P/S, I have heaps more videos than still photos of braking/ cornering, track laps, cars etc...just have to get them online to provide the links! Will be back with updates!

[LEA69]

videos to come shortly!

[danielt]

Great photos! Looks like they picked up the tent from the Gold Coast Fascination3 event and dropped it straight to Sandown!

Did you try the paddle shifters? instant changes means it's much more fun that just leaving it in DS mode and flooring it!

[VGR00]

Definitly a great event. I left with the same impression as you Lea. Even though I'm onto my 5th BMW (some good and some bad) and had other makes in between, I still come back to BMW.

Glad you had a fun and rewarding time.

[astra]

i think i have to do one of these courses

[KrisC]

Did you find much difference in the car with active steering?

[manyways]

im not a fan of active steering on the smaller 3s, but i can imagine it being better on the larger cars like the X5 or 5 series

[LEA69]

Active steering is weird! it is easy to sue when going slower, but once ur up to 50lms an hr, my gosh it is shakey!!

but the ending the session and being told u had a flat tyre was freaky! no one knew or realized! great idea them runflats eh!

paddle shifters, nah, i ddint use them. I used the gearshift instead.

[moO moO nEL]

just came back from the BMW Facination Track Day Event (Sydney) today
it was fun