Advanced M VIR Worth It?

[mdm0515]

Is the Advanced M School at VIR worth the money? Debating whether to commit in late April or refund my registration fee. Comments from anyone who has been there done that with an opinion I would greatly appreciate.

[stealth.pilot]

Great review here.

http://www.m3post.com/forums/showthread.php?t=171594

It sounds awesome. I'm a little scared. If I went, I think I would do Road Atlanta instead.

[richard in NC]

VIR is an awesome track. Plenty of big speeds (150 in an ///M) and plenty of fun to master sections. I've tracked my own cars there. In my opinion, must less chance of an issue than Road Atlanta. RA has concrete walls here and there. I can't speak to whether the Advanced School is worth it but you'll certainly have a blast on track. It's probably of most benefit if you have zero or only a few track session experiences and intend to track your M5/M6.

[RPiM5]

I think it is worth it. I want to do it and will do it one day.

Like in the Post that Stealth.Pilot referenced about that T Bone guy who did the school back in 2008, the main thing I got from his write up was this sentence:

"No matter what skill level you entered the school with, you were driving faster and better at the end of the school."

This is how I felt about the 2-Day school. I drove VIR last year as part of a BMW CCA HPDE. Unfortunately my experience from the HPDE did not leave me feeling anywhere near like the sentence I quoted above. BUT, I guess it's what you pay for. I paid $400 bucks for 2 days and maybe about 40-50 laps on VIR last year and left feeling like I didn't learn anything but how to drive the racing line on VIR. Therefore was a bit disappointing as I didn't get learn much about my M5 on a track like VIR. With the Advanced M School at a cost of $4,500 you feel like the sentence above no doubt. I can't say I feel cheated with my track experience at VIR because I paid so little, but at the same time I do feel cheated because I have driven my M5 harder and faster both on and off the track than I did in those 2 Days I was on VIR, so the Advanced M School is definitely worth it if you ask me.

I'll do it one day and make a good report, but I want to do it when the new F80 M3 and F82 M4 are out.

[Brooklyn Mark]

Yes the advanced school is definelty worth it

[GratefulM5]

To me me it was very worth it. Great instructors and fantastic track with ample opportunity to hone your skills. It's spendy but since I don't track my car and I don't have a dedicated track car it's a great opportunity to drive to the limits of the track/car without any real risk (aside from any potential jackassery one might do... But then you'd just look like the village idiot of the bunch as the crew was very professional and the several different M Schools I've been to had a mature feel to them )

[mdm0515]

That's it, I'm going. Thanks for good feedback and a great write-up sent by Stealth. Sounds like I'll need to wear my big boy pants