[MikeElmendorf]

I am planning to attend the UDE Sunday at Gilette Stadium in MA and curious if they are still giving the code for $1k off a new car to participants. Has anyone done this recently who can report?

Thanks.

[jkoral]

Don't know about the code, I was going Saturday to Gilette, but will probably skip it this year due to email from BMW this morning:

Due to recent CDC guideline changes, we are further restricted in the number of people we can host at the BMW Ultimate Driving Experience.

We hope to accomodate everyone, but please understand that not all spots are guaranteed even if you have a confirmed reservation. All spots are first come first serve.

Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for any inconvenience.

[MikeElmendorf]

I got that too, but just plan to get there early. It was a strange message.

[John @ BSPK]

Originally Posted by FLYIN'

M340i and M235xi for the UDE in Foxboro. They are not timing the courses so that's very lame. The M3 or M4 is not here so another bummer.

They must have been dinged for lack of social distancing so instead of packing 3 people in the car you only go solo ( or another member of your household or group). BMW then sent out an e-mail this morning saying you may not get to drive even if you have a reservation due to social distancing.

Then to top it off if you drive the car hard they toss you off the track. I took the course in my second lap at a pretty hard pace, knocked two cones in a corner but they deemed that I was not listening to the radio to slow down enough and said I was done. With no instruction inside the car they want you to round like you are driving Miss Daisy. After been to a lot of these events I would say this was the most lame I have ever experienced. I did notice that most of the instructors are fill in instructors that are not regularly employed at any of the Performance Centers.

Appreciate the heads up. I am signed up for Sunday and based on what you said may skip it. Hopefully someone can confirm tomorrow that the g80 isn’t there. Also, did you get OL code? Sounds like the driving element was poor (I also got the email) so was hoping to at least see the g80.

[Germanauto]

Still no email from them about Southern California reservations.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by jkoral

Don't know about the code, I was going Saturday to Gilette, but will probably skip it this year due to email from BMW this morning:

A friend of mine got the same email. I didn't but I went this morning for the 10AM slot. As far as I can tell, everyone that signed up got in. I didn't notice anyone being turned away.

That said, they changed the format. Everyone is going solo in the cars. The coaches are giving instruction/tips over a radio that they leave in your car. No hot laps by the coaches. No end of session timed runs. You get out do a few laps and you're done.

Also the swag this year is a plastic bag with a face mask, latex gloves, and a bottle of hand sanitizer with a BMW sticker on it. There was no mention of any discount vouchers to purchase a new BMW. The only promo they talked about was signing up for the BMW Performance Driving School.

People were told to keep their masks on the entire time they were there. And no wandering around. At each of the track tents, the chairs were set apart and we were told not to get up unless you were called to get into the car for your session.

[FLYIN']

Originally Posted by John4C

Appreciate the heads up. I am signed up for Sunday and based on what you said may skip it. Hopefully someone can confirm tomorrow that the g80 isn’t there. Also, did you get OL code? Sounds like the driving element was poor (I also got the email) so was hoping to at least see the g80.

You mean the QR code in the e-mail then yes I had one of those. I arrived last one in my group ( there were 6 of us) at about 30 minutes before my allotted time. I had encouraged 5 of my work colleagues to sign up as I had told them how cool these events ( especially M track days) were in the past. Well when I did these in the past the sessions were about 2-3 hours and varying things such as ABS braking, maneuvers, and finally full autocross sessions in 2 cars with about 4 4-5 lap circuits. All those used to be with the instructor next to you so the instruction was very beneficial.

Fast forward to Covid-19 UDE and you get a 1 hour session that has mediocre instruction over the radio. Of our group of 6 we realized that all but one of the 4 instructors on the radio had any clue of what was going on. We looked at most runs and laughed at the slow speed that most people were going around the course. Most of the instruction was disjointed, late commands and consisted of the instructions to slow down in order to get a better time around the course. Well if you don't have a timer on the course how the heck can you determine how well someone is going around the circuit?

The session included 15 minutes of the moderator telling us how great he was, how many ultra expensive fast cars he has raced and glancing over the finer points of how to make it around a corner by going in slow and out fast. Then there was the 5 minute pitch for signing up for a Performance Center day at a 20% discount. Then off you go into what was ( for most folks) 3 laps in an M340i at about 1 minute per lap each, sit out a few turns then 3 laps in the M235xi, sit out a few turns and do that over again. Twice the moderator mentioned that this was his second favorite group of the day as it was the one before lunch. I took that his favorite group was the last one of the day!

This was a huge letdown compared to the M track day at Monticello just 11 days ago. Sure I paid $995 for that full day session but this was truly half assed in the execution. I really hope I was unfortunate enough to get a bad group as I really had a blast at these in all past events ( done about 8-9 UDE's now, advanced 2 day M school at Thermal CA, and 3 M track days). I'm hoping others don't come away with the same experience but my coworkers were not that impressed either. I would like to hear other impressions of the event from those that attend.

[MikeElmendorf]

So, did anyone who attended the recent UDE events get the OL code?

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by MikeElmendorf

I got that too, but just plan to get there early. It was a strange message.

Ditto! It was a weird email. Hopefully they can accommodate everyone that shows up.

[zx10guy]

Originally Posted by MikeElmendorf

So, did anyone who attended the recent UDE events get the OL code?

I just said above, they were not giving it out. The only thing they were discussing was the 20% discount to take classes at the Performance Centers. That's it.

The coaches said NJ was the first one they did of the year and Washington DC was the second which is going on this weekend.

[harma24]

Originally Posted by zx10guy

As far as I can tell, everyone that signed up got in. I didn't notice anyone being turned away.

Same experience this morning; I showed up at 10:30 this morning and I was registered for 11:30. I was fearing that I would have to wait for a while based on that e-mail, but they gave me a lanyard for 11:30. There were 12 other drivers (13 total in my group). I did not see anyone turned away, nor did I see long lines of people waiting for later timeslots.

[Marmugmotleocay]

I did the 3:30 at Fed Ex Field today. We arrived 2 hours early because of the email. We did all the test drives first. The one guy we took was on the stand by list and he was able to join our group. The Autocross was slightly disappointing because it wasn't a timed competition. I really didn't like the new M235i xdrive. We drove the M850 and that thing is freaking incredible! We are doing the Philadelphia event in 2 weeks.

[c0bra]

Originally Posted by FLYIN'

M340i and M235xi for the UDE in Foxboro. They are not timing the courses so that's very lame. The M3 or M4 is not here so another bummer.

They must have been dinged for lack of social distancing so instead of packing 3 people in the car you only go solo ( or another member of your household or group). BMW then sent out an e-mail this morning saying you may not get to drive even if you have a reservation due to social distancing.

Then to top it off if you drive the car hard they toss you off the track. I took the course in my second lap at a pretty hard pace, knocked two cones in a corner but they deemed that I was not listening to the radio to slow down enough and said I was done. With no instruction inside the car they want you to round like you are driving Miss Daisy. After been to a lot of these events I would say this was the most lame I have ever experienced. I did notice that most of the instructors are fill in instructors that are not regularly employed at any of the Performance Centers.

Fwiw, I was at UDE in NJ on August 16, second day of the year. They were already running solo/household groups with instructors on radio.

They did let me run the snot out of the cars though. I actually ran back to back sessions on 2 different courses, and both sessions I went hard from lap 1 without knowing the course. Never got in trouble for late braking, tire squealing, or cone killing. Also got a free lap on 2 occasions because I caught up to the car in front of me.

Surprised to hear they are dumbing it down, that's a real bummer!

[unfoundnemo]

Originally Posted by c0bra

Fwiw, I was at UDE in NJ on August 16, second day of the year. They were already running solo/household groups with instructors on radio.

They did let me run the snot out of the cars though. I actually ran back to back sessions on 2 different courses, and both sessions I went hard from lap 1 without knowing the course. Never got in trouble for late braking, tire squealing, or cone killing. Also got a free lap on 2 occasions because I caught up to the car in front of me.

Surprised to hear they are dumbing it down, that's a real bummer!

Same experience here in NJ, both coaches I got over the radio worked well enough that I didn't feel I missed out from not having in car navigation/instruction.

I could imagine coaching from that perspective takes a bit longer to hone in on a course for these guys, so with the abbreviated sessions they have at the UDE tour events vs the UDE, plus the vaguely different safety protocols from state to state, I could understand the experience being drastically different from event to event.

[happyjack]

unfortunately i'm dealing with a minor home plumbing emergency this AM and will not be able to attend so there will be an open slot for the 1000 AM session.

[F30lolz]

Call me cray but I’m on the fence going for this Thursday the 3rd. 240 mile round trip but fortunate that I got a free pass for the Kentucky Derby M Experience.

First world problems.

[F30lolz]

Rain but should be fun regardless.

[435MSport6Speed]

I went to Gillette. It was okay given everything that's going on. M235 was surprisingly rotatable. M340 seemed weak for 380 or so hp it has. Maybe it's difficult to tap into the power on an autocross course.

[eforty6_m3]

Originally Posted by 435MSport6Speed

I went to Gillette. It was okay given everything that's going on. M235 was surprisingly rotatable. M340 seemed weak for 380 or so hp it has. Maybe it's difficult to tap into the power on an autocross course.

I think you can probably chalk that up to the autocross course. I've driven a few M340i's and weak is definitely one word I would not use to describe them. Autocross is all about handling and braking...not necessarily the best place to measure sheer power.

I was also at Gillette this past Sunday, 10am slot. My buddy and I had a blast. We also street drove the X6 M50i and the M850i Gran Coupe. Both incredibly impressive.

[Sedan_Clan]

I just signed up for the SoCal UDE.

[MFNATIK]

Originally Posted by Sedan_Clan

I just signed up for the SoCal UDE.

Me too. What day? I signed up for the autocross on 10/19

[Sedan_Clan]

Originally Posted by MFNATIK

Me too. What day? I signed up for the autocross on 10/19

Same here! Looks like I'll see you there.