My Un4Gettable Weekend with BMW USA (Part 3 of 4 of my #BMWStories) We pulled up to the entrance for The Thermal Club, the guard knew who we were and opened the gate, and we proceeded down the long corridor created by tall wood fencing and palm trees. At the end of the corridor I made a right turn into an empty parking lot and was directed to park next to a large enclosed tent. I stepped out of the 4 series and took a look around at one of the nicest race tracks I have ever been to. The Thermal Club is like no other desert track I have been to, there is a large barrier surrounding the entire property and everything inside of that barrier is top notch! It made me feel as if I was standing next to the Formula 1 Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi, and it was all mine until the sun went down! I was introduced to the track operations manager and head driving instructor who proceeded to give me some quick tips on the track and its rules, then we jumped in the car to get a few introduction laps. The track is currently just the South Palm Circuit which has 10 turns, a 2500 foot straightaway, and totals at 1.8 miles. This is just phase one of three with the final track being around 4.5 miles with 22 different configurations. The track flows really well and after a couple intro laps, I had a good idea on how I was going to attack it and couldn’t wait to open it up on the long straight. I pulled into pit lane so my instructor could hop out and the cameramen could set up the cameras in the car. I was really excited and just in utter amazement that I was sitting on pit lane of this amazing track all to myself about to go turn hot laps with one of the very first BMW 4-series in the States, and BMW was rigging up cameras to film me driving! Before I knew it I was getting back into the car and hearing the words “Go” over the radio. I cruised down pit lane, made the left turn onto pit-out, and then put my foot to the floor as it spit me out onto the back straight. This was my first time driving the new 8-speed transmission and it was amazing at getting the car up to speed! I hit the braking zone just before I hit 120 mph, and then threw the car into the left hander. At that moment, with a monstrous smile on my face, I realized that the OEM run-flats were definitely going to be the limiting factor on this car as they squealed tremendously all the way through the corner. Too bad the M-Sport package doesn’t offer Michelin Pilot Super Sports like what come on all the M cars… Exiting the turn, I flipped the steering wheel to transition the car’s weight to go set up for a little S section, and flew down the front straight along pit wall and could see everyone lined up taking photos and video as I went by at wide open throttle. I am fairly certain I had probably the largest grin on my face ever, which I am sure they all could see. I made my way around a couple more times, I was just starting to dial-in my braking and turn-in points when I hear over the radio, “Ok Nate, perfect, bring it on into the pits for a camera change.” Stepping out of the car everyone was there to ask me how it was on track. I was sort of at a loss for words, as this was quickly becoming one of the greatest days of my life. As I struggled to remember how to talk, the cameramen and the director moved the cameras around on the car. I grabbed a quick drink of water and when I was done, they were ready for me to head back out for a few more hot laps. This was the routine until just before the sun set; a few hot laps then into the pits for a camera change, then back out again. As the sun started to set, there was a photo that I really wanted to get. The Thermal Club has this awesome start/finish line that is a big checkered flag with “Thermal” written through the middle, and I wanted to get a shot of the 4-series just beyond it as the sun set behind the mountains. I parked the car just how I wanted to and grabbed some amazing photos. It was the perfect end to the perfect day and will probably be burnt into my memory forever. It was starting to get dark, so the crew called it for the day. The car though was not allowed to go back into town with me, as it had to be in a locked garage for the night. So it had to stay at the track and Karen and I got shuttled back to our hotel. The plan was to meet up at the track the next morning at 8 am to do this all over again. I couldn’t wait! The day had been very long, and with the heat and humidity, both Karen and I were exhausted. After taking a long, hot shower, we dragged ourselves down to the restaurant to get some dinner. I didn’t realize how hungry I was, because as soon as that hamburger was placed in front of me, I made it disappear. And whereas the night before I couldn’t sleep, I passed out as soon as my head hit the pillow.
Posted on: Sun, 24 Aug 2014 20:29:13 +0000
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