So my wife (meg180 from the forums) and I recently got back from a wonderful experience at the BMW M track days event in Barcelona , Spain, which was set up mainly as a driving experience for the new M2 but also featured other M vehicles, specifically the competition pack M3/M4 and competition pack M5/M6. The event allowed an opportunity to experience a beautiful city, Barcelona, and the driving experience was specifically at the Circuit de Barcelona -- Catalunya --F1 circuit, a track that I had also been eager to try out. Here is the write up of our trip, which hopefully many will enjoy.
Upon arriving at Barcelona El-Prat airport, we were picked up by BMW and transferred to the W hotel Barcelona, a beautiful hotel right by the beach. Upon our check into the hotel, we were greeted by M staff and an M6 competition package with M performance parts outside the hotel. We were each given a tin box, with all info needed inside and some meal vouchers and a BMW M pin.
We had came into the city a little bit earlier which allowed us a chance to explore the city by ourselves and as part of a tour group set up by BMW. Some of the few sights we saw that are in the pictures included the Sagrada Familia (a stunning architectural church that is a must see inside and out if one ever gets the chance to visit this city) , Casa Battlo, Palau de la Musica Orfeo Catalana, Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya, La Pedrera, La Boqueria food market (an interesting experience!) and some tapas tastings.
On the evening before the track event, we were taken to a nearby waterfront restaurant called One Ocean Club where we were able to mingle with other guests and also with some of the BMW and M staff. After a nice steak dinner, we were asked to step outside for a video presentation which then revealed two M2’s coming down the road in the night and they were parked in front of us to look at up close.
After only a brief night’s rest and a nice breakfast, the group was transferred by bus to the F1 circuit which was about 40 min away. As we approached everyone was excited and there was a whole fleet of Long Beach Blue M2’s waiting right outside our bus drop off point. Soon we met our instructors, who were all a part of BMW’s driving experience/school programs. We were already split into color coded groups and the group rotated between different activities – an M2 handling course, which was essentially a timed autocross, then three lead follow track experiences – one with four LBB M2’s led by the instructor, one with a mix of M3/M4 with competition pack, and one with a mix of M5/M6 with competition pack. Instructors definitely allowed the group to open up the cars at speed and it was a great comparison to feel the cars on track. Got to try using the M laptimer with the cars and it noted we hit speeds up to 140 mph. The M2 as well as the M3/M4 all shined very well on the track. I think that people will be very happy with the M2 but I also have to say I was pretty impressed with the comp pack M3/M4 (I would definitely order it that way if possible).
After driving through these track sessions (along with a nice Spanish lunch at track), we were given the opportunity to ride in BMW performance part modded M2s with our instructors giving the hot laps. They went out 2 cars at a time, drifting and sliding through corners, lots of fun! We were given USB videos of our experience.There was also a brief overview of BMW performance parts and a live comparison of M2 perf exhaust/M3 perf exhaust/M5 perf exhaust.
After some down time and some goodbyes the buses took us back to the hotel or to the airport for some, as our time in Barcelona came to a close. A great experience, overall!