ever have a down right stupid grin on your face?
I’ve broken this out from the previous post to save various people the pain and misery of reading about me drool about cars. Read on if you like though!
Anyway, after chilling out on the balcony, we jumped in the car and made our way through North Vancouver and over the Lion’s Gate bridge … it was a wonderful day for a drive. The downtown core in the early morning was pleasant as well with towering buildings surrounding you and the vibrant blue sky creating a nice background as you let your eyes wander - the sun even played peek-a-boo as the buildings whizzed by. Travelling down Georgia, we darted onto the bridge and drove past GM Place and BC Stadium. As we approached the end, I had the opportunity to glance over the side of the barrier to the tarmac below … and what a glorious sight it was! I wish I could have stopped to take a bird’s eye view of fellow drivers at play.
As we got to the parking lot, we couldn’t figure out how to get into the compound. "You’re kidding me right? We’re so damned close!" I had a child-like frown on my face wishing it wasn’t true. Crafty they were though, some of the lady greeters pointed out the swinging gate from a distance … and we were admitted. I couldn’t have been happier to be caged in that morning 
BMW had a new 330i in a graphite pearl (similar to the color of my car) sitting out front. Just behind it? A large tent with a number of tables situated in front of a projector for their brief marketing spiel. Surrounding the tables were two other 3-series, one in silver and the other green, and a cut-away version of the new 3 liter inline 6 providing the muscle for both variants of the car.
After the boring marketing spiel, we took to the cars. They set up a quick course for us. Get comfortable in the car they say … make sure your driving position is correct, planting as much of your back into the chair. Roll up to the stop sign and wait for our signal … then, floor the damned thing on the short drag! When you get to the end (about 80 km/h), slam on the brakes and take the two quick right-handers in to the wide chicane. As your approach the sand-boxed hairpin, stay wide and power your way through the low traction area. After a couple quick turns, a soft right-hand turn leads into a four cone slalom and a decreasing radius turn to the finish.
All I have to say is that it was an absolute blast and I had a stupid wide grin on my face that morning! I was pushing those cars around the track like I do in GT4; tire squeal and all. I wish I had more track time. Gray haired and white knuckled, I don’t think my uncle will be in the car with me on a track anytime soon. Either way, if you’re looking for a new bimmer, make sure you get the 330i with the performance package – and if you’re feeling rich, active steering as well. Giddy as a school kid I was … I can’t wait for BMW Driver Training in July! =D
