JUST GOT AN E60 M5, WHERE CAN I LEARN TO DRIVE IT PROPERLY?

[paoloh]

Are there any tracks with instructors where you can learn to drive a car to it's full potential? I'd prefer to pay for one on one tuition.

[belleair302]

Donpalmer.co.uk ............He is a Driving God and will teach you more about driving safely at amazing speeds than anybody else for the money.

Cadence.co.uk ..........Are also worth a shout

www.driverdp.com ..........Do some fun stuff and the Prodrive track, but not on the road!

[w8pmc]

I'd suggest taking your M5 out on a track day, driving in the Novice or Intermediate class.

Many driver tuition courses & some mentioned above plus BMW, Audi etc. do driving experiences.

Nothing better than taking your own car on a track as it's fairly safe.

[paoloh]

Thanks guys, much appreciated!

[dazren]

For track driving I've heard very good things about Don Palmer from a few Porsche forum contributors. Be prepared to buy a new set of rear tyres though!

May be worth checking out the trackday section for any threads about instructors. Link here:

www.pistonheads.com/gassing/forum.asp?h=0&f=18

Here is a recent thread asking about track insruction whilst driving your own car:
www.pistonheads.com/gassing/topic.asp?h=0&t=383066


For road driving I've done two four hour sessions with www.ridedrive.co.uk with a 6 month gap between the sessions. Thoroughly enjoyed it and adopted a lot of what they taught into my driving style, particularly the road positioning and anticipation stuff.

Do BMW UK offer any courses? something tailored to get the best out of SMG/driving it smoothly etc thus achieving better balance of the car. I know some of the people on the porsche forum have turned up at Porsche GB days at places like Milbrook and had Lemans drivers giving instruction. I'm sure BMW must do something similar for M clients.

Edited by dazren on Tuesday 1st May 20:29

[paoloh]

Thanks, seem to be plenty of instructors out there but I wanted to learn in my car. Emailed Don earlier, waiting for response.

[dazren]

Getting instruction on track/airfield with you driving your car won't be a problem. The key is getting someone who is good at instructing AND knows how to get the best out of the E60 M5 and the SMG system. Hence wondering if it's best to contact BMW UK? Or put a post in the CSL section and ask if anyone knows of an instructor with experience of BMW SMG.

[m12_nathan]

Andy Walsh - carlimts.com

Excellent days.

[taffyracer]

Personally I would stick with the more established instructors with a proven record of success, there are loads of instructors out there and you'd be amazed how easy it is to become one, most are racers but being a good racer does not mean being a good instructor and for your 1st time you need to start from a solid footing. I use Simon Mason and have nothing but the highest praise for him www.motorsport-tuition.com

Edited by taffyracer on Wednesday 2nd May 07:58