Anybody here going to the BMW CCA Thermal event this Saturday (5/1)?

[brettcp]

Just curious if any fellow forum members are going... There's apparently a group drive starting in Escondido gathering at 845am, would love to join the group but that's a bit far in the opposite direction for us.

[derbo]

Originally Posted by brettcp

Just curious if any fellow forum members are going... There's apparently a group drive starting in Escondido gathering at 845am, would love to join the group but that's a bit far in the opposite direction for us.

Wish I could but enjoy! Take lots of pics to share

[brettcp]

There's another one of these happening on Feb 5th at Thermal.. wife and I are both going. The last one was a blast! Anybody here going as well?

[admranger]

Originally Posted by brettcp

There's another one of these happening on Feb 5th at Thermal.. wife and I are both going. The last one was a blast! Anybody here going as well?

My wife and I will be there as well! Thermal is a lot of fun. Was at the September LA chapter one as well. First time back out on any sort of track since 2018 so it was a good time.

I'll have the mediterranean blue M550i if you see us driving up.

[911r]

Where's the signup? I've always wanted to do Thermal in my own car.

[admranger]

Originally Posted by 911r

Where's the signup? I've always wanted to do Thermal in my own car.

It was on motorsportreg.com but it sold out in an hour.

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by 911r

Where's the signup? I've always wanted to do Thermal in my own car.

It's a BMWCCA thing but the registration is on motorsportreg.com - this one sold out the same day that registration opened up. Last year it sold out in just a few minutes (due to the covid limited capacity).

...but you don't drive your own car - you drive their cars.

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by admranger

My wife and I will be there as well! Thermal is a lot of fun. Was at the September LA chapter one as well. First time back out on any sort of track since 2018 so it was a good time.

I'll have the mediterranean blue M550i if you see us driving up.

Awesome! Not sure which car we'll be bringing out there, probably my E93 M3 (white) or my wife's black 440i. My name is Brett if you happen to see my name badge.

I've done the two day M school at Thermal (twice) so I'm familiar with Thermal, but last year was my wife's first time out there so she didn't know quite what to expect, I think this year will be even better given that she's familiar with it now. The lead-follow is an absolute blast.

[Longboarder]

I miss Thermal.

Got a chance to take my street e92M3 once and just cruised around mostly but there was one balls-out lap at the limit to see how fast it could go in a street setup with stock suspension. Very fun and maybe 8-10 seconds off my 991 GT3 and Ferrari 458 on a 3 min lap - it was a very rare situation where all three tracks were connected. Enjoy:

[admranger]

Originally Posted by brettcp

Awesome! Not sure which car we'll be bringing out there, probably my E93 M3 (white) or my wife's black 440i. My name is Brett if you happen to see my name badge.

I've done the two day M school at Thermal (twice) so I'm familiar with Thermal, but last year was my wife's first time out there so she didn't know quite what to expect, I think this year will be even better given that she's familiar with it now. The lead-follow is an absolute blast.

Sure thing Brett. I'm Kirk.

Funny, but the lead follow was the worst part of the 1/2 day for us. Unfamiliar with flappy paddle cars (we've only had manuals for track events). Terminology of the instructor was vague (look at the panels for turn the apex -- what panels? where?). Shitshow ensued and my wife was very put off by it. We're both track vets but hadn't done a track event for years, so we felt our way around the circuit and tried not to crash very unfamiliar cars.

We loved the rat race in the unfettered M5s and crushed everyone we were up against. Autocross was fun for me as well. I'd finally figured out how to use flappy paddles (lead/follow was first time ever and it was so unnatural). Came close to top 3 but put the bumper over the stop line...

Hoping for a better experience this time, but frankly, we're just there to see our friends from the San Diego chapter.

[brettcp]

Originally Posted by Longboarder

I miss Thermal.

Got a chance to take my street e92M3 once and just cruised around mostly but there was one balls-out lap at the limit to see how fast it could go in a street setup with stock suspension. Very fun and maybe 8-10 seconds off my 991 GT3 and Ferrari 458 on a 3 min lap - it was a very rare situation where all three tracks were connected.

Great video! I've been there a handful of times but have never seen all 3 tracks connected. I did the 2-day Advanced M school and we did 2 connected for a bit, I believe it was desert and north from what I recall. Fun stuff.

[admranger]

brettcp Sorry I missed you. Great weather and a fun event. I once again annoyed the lead/follow instructor. Something about you couldn't do the things I was doing... At the end, my brakes weren't the ones smoking at the end of the session. His were though.

I did drop a 24.9 dead in the autocross. F'd up the back section and had to lift in a big way or things would have been much better.

My wife and I went undefeated on the skidpad during the rat race again. That's such an underrated event. Car control skills using both your hands and feet.