[anshumandun]

I got a call around 2 weeks back that the Bangalore edition of BMW Joyfest is being held on the weekend of 14-15 September and if I'll be interested to attend. Being a BMW fan, I immediately said Yes and got a slot booked for Sunday at 12 noon. There were a couple of follow-up calls too in the week before the Joyfest to confirm that I will be attending. I assume that there was a lot of demand for the event and they wanted to ensure that no slots go empty.

Got the final invite sms on the morning of Sunday. It said that the invite allows entry of 2 people but only one person is allowed to drive. My wife loves driving so she was interested to attend the event. There was also going to be food and a kid zone so decided to take my 3 year old along who has already developed a liking for cars and loves to see cars and shout out their brand names. He still pronounces BMW as "Bim Bim" but he can recognize cars as fast as I can.

The venue was Meco Kartopia which is a Karting track in north Bangalore. The track, meant for go-karting, doesn't have any long straights but has a lot of quick corners.

The Joyfest Pavilion with a Viewing Balcony




We reached at sharp 12 and were greeted by the screeching noises of a drifting M2 Competition.


We registered at the reception and got arm bands. There was a 1 hour wait before our event would start but there were enough things to keep us occupied. M2 competition, new 3 series (330i M Sport) and 7 series were on display. Somehow I like the F30 more than the G20 from the exteriors but as far as interiors are concerned, the G20 seems to be leaps ahead in quality and luxurious feel.

3's cockpit with M2 Competition in the background


The Hooligan


Those looks can kill!


Sexy wheel and the M brakes. Notice the carbon fiber cladding on the right side.


There was some good food on the first floor. There were also some games like Ice Hockey, Foosball and Playstation to keep the kids and adults busy.

My son checking out the lineup.


Finally, our briefing began. There were going to be 2 events: one with SUVs and one with sedans. Everyone would get to drive both SUVs and sedans. As soon as the briefing ended, people just rushed out to grab their favourite cars. Being my first time in such an event, I was not aware that I could lose out on a good car by being civil and holding door for others to go first!





Anyway, I got to sit in a X3 20d. There was an X5 30D, another X3 20d and one X4 20d. There were 4 people sitting in one car. Each car had a walkie talkie from which the instructor talked to us. The instructor was in an M2 Competition and he led the convoy to one part of the track where he explained to us the activity and then gave us a demo. The activity seemed simple: Floor the accelerator and reach a speed of 70 kmph, reach a designated spot and then stand on the brakes. Swerve left to imitate a lane change as car comes to a complete stop.

Everyone in the car got 3 chances to do the activity. While the first 2 rounds were kept at 70 kmph, the instructor told us to try and reach 80 kmph for the 3rd round. The activity was really fun with everyone in the car cheering each other. It was actually scary for the non-drivers to sit in the car while someone was trying to accelerate hard and then brake hard but it kept the adrenaline levels high throughout the activity.

X4 ready to take off.


The most common feedback from the instructor was "Not enough speed and Not enough brake pressure". But everyone improved as we progressed through the activity. People got more confident with the car and started pushing. Almost everyone achieved 80 kmph speed and braked really well. I was not very impressed with the power of the car since the 20d variant of the X3 is not the most powerful engine for such a heavy car. But I was really impressed with the handling and the brakes. The X3 felt more like a car while driving than an SUV. My reference point for comparison is Audi Q3 which I drive and the steering and handing of the X3 felt much better.

So it was time to swap the people in SUVs with the people in sedans. This time I had my eye on the 330i but unfortunately it was farthest from my SUV and I knew that people would flock to it. Fortunately, there was a 530D nearby and I rushed to get into it. I was really excited to drive the 3L 6 cylinder diesel. There was another 520d, 320d and a 6GT also in the lineup.

The next activity was going to be more fun (Duh, these were sedans!). We were to do the lap the fastest we could. There were 2 practice runs and the 3rd run would be timed. The instructor took us through the lap slowly to familiarize us with the track and explained to us the braking, apex and exit points which were marked with cones. Then came the practice runs. It was fun putting the 530D through the corners (I can only imagine how much fun the 330i would be!). There were no straights so no way to feel the complete torque wave of the engine but it was fun anyway to know what's beneath the hood. Tyres screeching, some unintended drifting, understeer on some corners: I experienced everything in my 3 lap run. And then experienced all this again as a passenger while others drove.

Just when we thought that we can't have any more fun, the instructors had a surprise for us. All of us would get to sit in the M2 and get a drifting lap around the track with the BMW driver behind the wheels. Although we were not driving, but this was the most fun part of the event for me. I experienced the importance of sports bucket seats holding me in as the M2 drifted along the track. From the wide smile on people's faces as they came out of the M2 after the lap, it looked like everyone enjoyed it a lot.

Here's a short video of the hot lap in the M2 competition

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DwJL...ature=youtu.be

That was the end of the day. We submitted our feedback for the event and got an M cap and BMW bag as goodies before we left the venue. I drove back home in my GT TSI in "sports" mode!

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[informmaha]

Wow, awesome, what an experience it would have been. The drift looks impressive, but was there any problem in controlling the rear while powering again?

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by informmaha

The drift looks impressive, but was there any problem in controlling the rear while powering again?

The M2 competition that you see in the video was driven only by BMW drivers. They were pretty good in controlling the car and had no problem in intentionally drifting and then gaining back control of the rear.

For the other cars that we drove, the rear tried to move while powering out of the corners but then the electronics were there to take control of the situation. We were allowed to use Sports mode but were not allowed to switch-off the ESC/traction control. The car would cut power as soon as the tyres lost grip. Even then, one person managed to lose control and went out of the track while exiting a corner. Thankfully, it just hit the tyres wall around the track and there was no damage to the car.

[Don Dasco]

Awesome, even I signed up but had to cancel the previous day, I heard they would be conducting similar event at Hosur air strip soon, will try to participate if in town.

M2 competition looks hot!

[goingout]

Glad you enjoyed the event! I do a handful of events with BMW every year and was the instructor in the Silver M2C in the X Drive session

[Sandeep500]

The cars like BMW needs such events where the owners or prospective ones can fully enjoy the drives and experience the ultimate thrill and joy their machines are capable of giving

[swiftLife]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Just when we thought that we can't have any more fun, the instructors had a surprise for us. All of us would get to sit in the M2 and get a drifting lap around the track with the BMW driver behind the wheels.

Wow man, that would have been some experience. It's something I can only wish for.

On a separate note, I really want to know that if/how does such experiences change your daily driving style. Would really appreciate if anshumandun (and others too who have attended such events) could share their thoughts

Note for mods:
I accidentally submitted an incomplete post before. Can't edit as still a Newbie. Request you please ignore/delete that. Thanks.

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by goingout

Glad you enjoyed the event! I do a handful of events with BMW every year and was the instructor in the Silver M2C in the X Drive session

Man, you have a dream job!

Glad that you are on teambhp. You are the best person to answer this question: How safe is it to buy these cars when BMW put them for sale as "used unregistered cars"? I felt after this event that the suspension and the brakes take quite a lot of beating. Does BMW put in new suspension and brake parts before putting these cars for sale?

Originally Posted by swiftLife

On a separate note, I really want to know that if/how does such experiences change your daily driving style. Would really appreciate if anshumandun (and others too who have attended such events) could share their thoughts

It doesn't really change anything in daily driving. Track driving and street driving are very very different. Maybe I am more confident now in using full power of brakes in an emergency situation but that's about it. The main focus of the event was to entice people to buy BMWs by showing what their cars can do and they were really successful in doing that. My next upgrade will be a Bimmer.

[ajmat]

Originally Posted by swiftLife

On a separate note, I really want to know that if/how does such experiences change your daily driving style. Would really appreciate if anshumandun (and others too who have attended such events) could share their thoughts

I have done many! How has it changed me?

• I have slowed down after realising that one can only speed if there is an assurance that no uncertain incidents whether cows to wayward drivers are eliminated from the equation
• I focus on smoothness and consistency -to get there, I keep the car balanced which has an effect in keeping customers a lot calmer
• I play the long game, not trying to overtake every other car but seize the big opportunities which match the car capability and situation
• I have become a bad passenger when the driver lacks car control or common sense

[sachin_cs]

Originally Posted by anshumandun

Here's a short video of the hot lap in the M2 competition

That looks like one hell of an experience. I'm really glad that you took your 3 year old with you, he's a lucky kid. I'm sure a BHPian is on his way. Hey, at the end of the video when M2 was being driven off the track, did she scrapped front lip?
It was heart wrenching to see though

[anshumandun]

Originally Posted by sachin_cs

Hey, at the end of the video when M2 was being driven off the track, did she scrapped front lip?

No, it did not scrape the front lip. I guess the height difference between tarmac and mud was very less. Plus the car was driven very slowly there just to avoid that lip scraping.

One of the M2s did blow off a tyre though after full day of drifting.

[RMN]

Attended the Joyfest@ Kerala today. Overall it was a well arranged event. Bummer was that I only got to try out the 3GT which i've already put a few miles on over couple of years.

Did come across something interesting though, the time attack challenge had a 360 turn and I chose to switch off the TCS with the Sport mode on so that I can donut my way out. Unfortunately, the GT still cut the powel almost completely once it started losing traction with the steering turned all the way out. I was a sitting duck and lost couple of seconds there.

The shotgun drive with BMW's driver in the M2 Competition was cancelled since they burst the tires earlier! :(

[bottle]

Was invited to the Joyfest in Chennai and went yesterday, super fun experience since it was at Madras Motor Race Track, Drove the X3 and 3GT and was really fun belting on a proper track. It was capped off by a shotgun ride in the M2 and they drifted through the corners which was fun as well.

[Moontan]

Originally Posted by Don Dasco

Awesome, even I signed up but had to cancel the previous day, I heard they would be conducting similar event at Hosur air strip soon, will try to participate if in town.

M2 competition looks hot!

How do you get invited to this event? Do you need to sign up somewhere?