I am considering taking one or two of the Mini Driving Experience Classes. https://bmwperformancecenter.com/mini/schools

The two classes I'm considering are the "Autocross and Track" and the "Mini Stunt Driving" classes.

Has anyone here taken either of these courses? It seems there's a little bit of overlap between the two (slalom, panic braking, and wet skidpad). I know there are other classes out there, but want to see if anyone here has any first-hand experience of these Mini-specific courses. Are they worth it? Should I take both, or just one? I'm leaning toward the Stunt Driving class as if I'm theoretically only going to do this every once in a long while I might as well get the most out of it, though it may not be the most practical, it might be more fun?

I don't see myself tracking my daily driver Mini on a regular basis. I just think it would be fun to really push a stock JCW Mini on a track with professional driver instruction without worrying about the wear and tear on my DD.

 

I took the autocross class. It was fun and I learned how my JCW handled close to the limit. The class takes you through max braking, slalom and a very slippery skid pad. Then you do some runs on the autocross track. You also compete to see who has the best time. Later on, you will drive on the race track with the instructor leading and you follow. In the end, you can ride with the instructor who will show you how fast you can really go.

 

That's cool to hear! Do you think it was worth your investment (time/money)?

Has anyone taken the Stunt Driving course?

I've tried calling the BMW Performance number to talk to someone there and get a feel for the courses. They just paraphrase the website's information. They say each class doesn't have a prerequisite and they are standalone. They can't really answer anything else. I'm trying to determine if I take the Stunt Driving course if it will pretty much cover what is in the Autocross and Track course. Of course, they can't answer questions like that.

I don't see myself doing j-turns or reverse-turns in practical life, but it would sure be fun to know how to control the car's dynamics to that level.

 

I've not had MINI-specific classes at Thermal, but I did send our son to the Teen Driving School there, and I did a track day in BMWs as well. Both VERY positive experiences- they have a tight, well-run program with plenty of learning and plenty of fun.

 

Do you use your car or is one provided by the school?

 

They only use their cars.

 

My course came with the purchase of my JCW. I treated as part of my vacation and spent some time in LA and Palm Springs. I have taken a few driving courses and I liked the MINI one because it teaches you how to drive the MINI. I wouldn't do both courses because they look like they over lap for half the day. Which one you pick depends on what you want out of the course.

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You got that as part of your purchase!? That's a sweet deal indeed.
I'm hoping to tie it into a family vacation, where I duck out for the course(s). My wife's cool with it. Thanks for the info!

 

My wife gave me a class for my birthday last year but it was cancelled due to Covid. I was signed for the track day but when I reschedule, I'm going take the Stunt Driving class as it looks fun.

 

Just an update on this. I noticed on the Mini credit card website that if you book classes with the Mini card, you get a 20% discount! So I signed up for the card, activated it, and booked with the 20% discount! I don't know how long the discount is going to last, but I pulled the trigger before I could talk myself out of it.

Also, to get the discount, you have to call in and mention the discount so the rep can put that through.

 

That's a great tip! I didn't even know there was a MINI credit card...

 

I did the Autocross / Track course in August 2018. I took it on a Sunday and lucked out that it was just one other person and me. We got really personal treatment and hours driving the whole time. They had a great lunch break, too. Even now when I'm driving, I think about the things they showed me that day. It was a blast tearing up someone else's JCW, and not mine. I got in one of the instructor's cars for some hot laps on the autocross course, and at the end of it the car was hopping around quite noticeably because of all the recent tire wear on the course and the skid pad. I really want to take some time and do it again, and make it a Palm Springs vacation - because that town was a lot of fun, too. I flew in the night before - did the course, spent a few hours in Palm Springs afterwards, and caught the red eye home.

 

I just got back from the MINI Stunt Driving class last week. It was a blast. We didn't do any track or autocross time. We did the classroom portion, and brake drills, slalom practice, and skid pad in the morning, had lunch (they provide, high quality), and then got down to business in the afternoon. E-brake 90°s and 180°s and Rockfords, where you punch it in reverse, count slowly to 4, and then whip the wheel around hard and continue in a straight line. Finally we put it all together in a timed course where we did a combination of all of the above, competition against the other students in your class. We had a little bit of time at the end so we went back to the skid pad.

So much fun it was unbelievable. I'm planning to go back to take my fiancée. She'll love it too.

 

I love Palm Springs, been there twice. My problem was I never knew how close Thermal was. Next time I get out there, I will definitely be hitting up the MINI school.

 

I booked a vacation down there to do both the "Autocross and Track" and the "Stunt Driving" classes. There goes my Eventuri budget! Looking forward to this!

 

You're better off anyways - I didn't think that Eventuri was offering an intake that fit the MAF of the LCI cars yet.