The Eyes are Smiling - Performance Center 2021
/by Dan Tackett
After the year we’ve all had, it sure felt great to get back to driving fast with a bunch of BMW Club members! The road to the Performance Center is the Pines to Palms highway, always winding, with lots of ups and downs. The road to our first driving event in 2021 was the same.
Courtesy Dan Tackett
After several years of hosting 100 members, our customary January date was limited to just 40 registrations to meet healthy distancing requirements. When we opened registration, all 40 spots were snapped up in less than 15 minutes! A waitlist was started, and it grew to over 40 names long. Then our event had to be moved to May 1 with a revised structure. The driver’s meeting and buffet lunch would be outside under an awning, masks would be required on site, and drivers were asked to share cars with people they knew. Months later, as COVID conditions improved, the Performance Center was allowed to increase participation to 80 drivers. Our registrar, Lisa Goehring, put in a lot of time emailing people in the order of the waitlist to see who could make the new event date and fill the 40 new spots. Just before the event, we signed an online waiver and a certification that we were not exhibiting COVID symptoms. Lots of twists and turns, ups and downs, but finally our Performance Center Day was upon us!
Courtesy Dan Tackett
Several of us gathered in Escondido to drive over together, winding our way over the mountains and dropping to the desert floor below. Upon arrival, we lined up on the street outside the Performance Center, waiting for a prior event to finish so they could start ours on time. They were very efficient at managing our parking and checking everyone in. The outdoor buffet featured pre-packaged meals instead of having us handle food items ourselves, but it was as tasty as ever. A large flatscreen was rolled outside for the Driver’s Meeting, entertainingly conducted by Lead Instructor Bryan Randall. We learned fundamental skills for performance driving and got an introduction to the five events set up for our enjoyment.
Randall himself provided the Hot Laps, putting three passengers in a new M5 Competition for a ragged-edge ride on their tight handling course. Let there be no doubt that the M5 can be put into full rear-wheel-drive mode, as the Continental tires were vaporized in heroic drifts for our pleasure. This tire torture was alleviated with an experiment using a puddle of water to cool the tires in between runs. That extended tire life somewhat, but a few more M5s were standing by to fill in as soon as the current car inevitably corded its rear tires. Bryan’s expert skill kept the car on the pavement, though rarely pointed in the direction of travel. But the edge once got a bit more ragged as he dropped a rear tire into the dirt. Undeterred, he kept his foot down, with centripetal force holding dirt in the wheel until he stopped.
Courtesy Trevor Haag
Two other events were set up nearby. Their polished skidpad was used to learn the finesse of car control, managing steering angle and throttle input to maintain a drift without spinning. They call this the Rat Race, with two drivers in identical RWD M340i’s on opposite sides of the skidpad. Both start at the same time, and the one who catches up with the other is the winner. Or the Rat. A drag race was also set up to test reaction time in accelerating and braking. At the other end of the straight-line drag was a small stop-box, and you had to stop completely with the front and rear ends within pairs of tall cones. Not as easy as it sounds. This event featured the Z4 M40i, X3M Competition, M850i, and M8 Competitions, two by two for equal acceleration. Boy are they all quick!
Courtesy Dan Tackett
To add an element of competition to the M Competition lineup, we had an autocross in identical M2 Competitions. The course was fairly short, but it had a deceptively late apex turn, narrow gates, and the infamous stop box at the end to challenge everyone to time their full ABS braking. Everyone got one practice run and three timed runs. When all times were compiled, the results were:
| 1st | Grayson Marble | 26.08 |
| 2nd | Shannon Yauchzee | 26.29 |
| 3rd | Dan Tackett | 26.30 |
Courtesy Dan Tackett
Probably the most popular event was driving F82 M4 Competition models on the South Palm race track. This really showed off the capability of M cars being pushed very hard all day. The format was lead-follow, with an instructor up front setting the pace and demonstrating the racing line. Each car had a radio so all drivers were in communication with the instructor. After a warm-up lap, with a detailed description of visual and braking points to achieve the best line, each driver of the three cars behind got a full lap directly behind the instructor. On the back straight, the first driver was directed to move aside and let the other two cars advance. This way, every driver had equal time learning the line behind the instructor. And with two people per car, each driver also got a full session from the right seat to really absorb the nuance of the track and driving technique.
Courtesy Lisa Goehring
We concluded the day by gathering for a farewell meeting and announcing the Autocross “podium” of the top three finishers. The Performance Center offers our chapter an incredible opportunity, less than three hours from San Diego. Other people fly there, or to the South Carolina Performance Center, from all over the country to experience the best of BMW.
After all of the twists and turns and ups and downs, we still put smiles on 80 faces. Though we couldn’t see them with our mouths covered, our eyes couldn’t disguise our joy. Next year, we hope to return to our “normal” format of 100 drivers, and the event will go “viral” for all the right reasons. Mark your calendar for February 5, 2022, when we will return again!
