[agambhandari]

Early November I got to know from some friends about a BMW Event being held at Buddh International Circuit, Noida. So I contacted my local dealer in Ludhiana to book a slot and to get more details. Took them a week but they were able to finally get me in for 1st December afternoon . (Subsequent days 2nd Dec for NCR Dealers and then 3rd Dec was media day)

As I was in Delhi around those dates anyday, I didn't opt for their transfers/hotel arrangements. My Slot was 2-5pm but I was repeatedly asked to come there by 11AM, with no real explanation as to why I needed to be there 3 hours in advance. Anyways, I turned up around 12:30pm and was able to check in and do the paperwork and indemnity etc. and that was it. Just had to wait for 2 hours till they actually started our track briefing.



Sure they had a nice FnB area with some BMW Merch and a racing sim but that's not what you do at a racetrack with some great machines around. So I headed down to the pits to check the lineup of cars available.



I was pleasantly surprised at the inclusion of the just launched G90 M5 in the event, looked menacing in this Blue.




Front does remind a but of the E60 but it just seems fat(sorry cant find another way to describe this better)



Other Cars in the Lineup for track driving were the Z4 M40i LCI, M340i LCI2, M2 LCI, M4 LCI and of course the M5.



Met up with fellow bhpians @Dealer and @Gamingstein before the briefing, was fun to talk to them about their experience later on after the event as well.

After a quick briefing, first up I moved to the Autocross event, which was to be done with an i5 M60 .



I love EVs and the crazy initial response they have but honestly i5 is nearly the worst car in BMW's lineup for such a tight autocross track because of the size and weight. Nevertheless we lined up for the event .




Sure enough in one of the laps, I hit a couple of cones because i tried to take a corner too fast. There's just a lot of weight moving side to side in this car. Managed a clean lap later on.

https://youtu.be/qMcBLdmc6cM

Next up was the track driving. We had a sighting lap and then 2 laps in each car . I wanted to start with the "Slowest" car to get a sense of the difference in each. I was able to choose between the Z4 and M340i. I went with the Z4 for the lower weight and RWD, plus I haven't really driven Z4 before and I'm glad I chose it.

https://youtu.be/GORkm5S_3uw

The instructors were clearly quite conservative and I felt like they were giving it about 50-60 percent of what the cars had. This meant that we never really went flat out for the whole lap but could only do so in a few sections . Z4 was actually the most fun i had on the track that day because even at Full throttle you will never catch up the car in front easily (because others were quicker) and it slides a bit even with all DSC on. Plus that B58 does sound nice.

https://youtu.be/iCuBW88CBMs

Next up the fat boy, M5. It was easily the fastest car there but you never feel it because its so refined, maybe almost too muted . and the weight is easily felt in the corners, you constantly have to fight it whereas the other cars felt so natural around the track. But I don't really agree with the hate its been getting for the weight increase, it was never meant to be a Track car, its always been a brilliant Autobahn cruiser and this generation would be the best at that, no doubt.

https://youtu.be/3balJXBT9f0

Next up was the M4 LCI. This car just felt magical. Its not the lightest, its not the most powerful and its not the only AWD car, but all the parts really seem to come along, coupled with the nice exhaust (and definitely some pumped up audio) this was the best car in my opinion around the track.



As the lights were fading, I hopped in to the M2 and it just really felt like a cut down M4, not much slower but it felt more raw. Given the price difference with others in the lineup, this seems like the best value. Its noticeably quicker than the Z4 and this LCI version also has a small power bump. This was lovely around the tighter and technical section of the track.

https://youtu.be/c5F5utrRc3E

That was the end of the track event. Headed up to the pits and grabbed a snack waiting for the Autocross times and results. BMW also shared a goodie bag with some BMW Merch and Pirelli stuff, those are some nice bits to serve as memory of the event.

[GTO]

Fabulous report, thanks for sharing! Please also share how you participated, the costs etc. so that other BHPians can participate in the future.

We had a media invitation, but a lot of other BMW owners participated at a highly subsidised fee through their local BMW dealership.

Going to our homepage today

[agambhandari]

As requested, sharing details

Booked my slot through my local BMW dealer in Ludhiana. Cost was just under 18k including GST. I felt this was a fair price as this this is around the cost of a 1hr track session at BIC these days and we had cars from BMW itself, no need to bring your own cars .

[Nitish.arnold]

Originally Posted by agambhandari

As requested, sharing details

Booked my slot through my local BMW dealer in Ludhiana. Cost was just under 18k including GST. I felt this was a fair price as this this is around the cost of a 1hr track session at BIC these days and we had cars from BMW itself, no need to bring your own cars .

Man,

That's so amazing. It must have been an exhilarating experience.

P.s.

The Costing is peanuts, considering what all is provided.

We pay close to half a lac (INR ~50k) to reserve the track for our superbike laps, that too for paltry hours, and take everything with us (including spares, high-octane fuel XP100 cans, a spare tyre set, riding suits and associated accessories, and whatnot).

In comparison to that, the dealer provided you a steal deal.

[lemedico]

18k to bmw and then another couple thou for personal expenses etc is great value for an experience of this kind! This thread is certainly going to beef up inquires for similar events, and for the other brands like AMG.

Could the admins create a new thread based on the news and schedules of such events being organised?