A SUCCESS STORY.

The foundations for the wide variety of training courses which are today offered all over the world by the BMW M Driving Experience were laid by the BMW board a year before. On 3rd February 1976, they decided to found a drivers’ school. The aim was for 20 courses with a total of 800 participants a year on the BMW testing grounds and various racetracks. Back then, no one had any idea how big the idea would become: in 2022, more than 110,000 participants in 25 countries enjoyed driving fun and action at one of the many training courses in the BMW M Driving Experience.

The close connection to motorsport runs like a golden thread through the history of the BMW M Driving Experience. The very first concept by Jochen Neerpasch, head of the still young BMW Motorsport, convinced none other than Rauno Aaltonen. The Finn wasn’t just a successful rally driver, but was also fascinated by the subject of driving technique, which over the years earned him the nickname of “the rally professor”. He became the first official instructor.

Aaltonen and Börries von Breitenbuch, former sports secretary of the Automobile Club of Germany (AvD) were two men from the world of motorsport involved in the BMW driver training from day one. After some initial test courses, including for the Munich police force, BMW Driver Training started officially on 22nd April 1977 with a safety training seminar.

The first training sessions were held exclusively at the weekend and the programme contained different items than today’s. For instance, there were talks on the subject of “Stress at the wheel” and everyday problem situations like uphill starts or common breakdowns and how do to deal with them were practised. Another feature was an extensive fitness programme led by a sports instructor. The latter was soon abandoned: “As far as the exercises were concerned, we instructors soon had the place to ourselves”, remembers Rauno Aaltonen 2007 in an interview with "Der Spiegel".

The general objectives of those first programmes is however still today an integral part of the BMW M Driving Experience: first, the subject is approached theoretically, then the participants can practise what they’ve learned in simulated borderline situations. And another factor has remained the same: apart from a few exceptions, the vehicle for the training sessions are provided by BMW. Thus, all participants have the same technical basis and don’t have to worry about ruining the tyres on their own cars. In this way, the training courses also offer the chance to experience various different models of BMW M, BMW and Mini – and above all the unique opportunity to push the BMW M automobiles to the limit.

The concept went down a storm: more and more drivers were interested in the training, and not just in Germany. So it was only logical that Josef Bücherl, who took over in 1991, began to extend the programme. Armed with the idea of a unified instructor qualification, he travelled the world and laid the foundations for the BMW M Driving Experiences we know on all continents of the earth today. Since 1997, the high standards set by the qualification have been imparted at the instructor academy. Here, aspiring instructors learn the skills they need to help participants at the Driving Experiences in their home countries enjoy more safety and driving pleasure according to exactly defined parameters.

Over the years, the range of courses on offer grew. One important milestone was passed when Josef Bücherl, then Head Instructor, and Hans Falkner, then managing director of The Central, one of the best 5-star hotels in Sölden, Tyrol, shook hands in 1990. This marked the start of a new series of winter training seminars in 1991, initially as 6-day events in which the skiing was as important as the driver training. Since then, several thousand participants have taken part in the BMW Snow Experiences on the world's highest winter training ground at almost 3,000 metres. Today, participants can enjoy a variety of training courses, from drifting to an off-road course on a glacier, in a wide range of current BMW and BMW M models. And after the action-packed drives, The Central pampers the participants with a fantastic atmosphere and excellent, Gault & Millau award-winning cuisine.

Bringing together the community of active motorsport fans was the aim of a new experience format introduced by the BMW M Driving Experience in 2020: the BMW M Trackdays. Here, both new and seasoned racing drivers can experience the power of the customer sport vehicles from BMW M or enjoy a Personal Coaching Seminar with an experienced instructor to improve their skills in finding the ideal line. Of course, BMW M fans can also take part with their own BMW M production model or racing car and experience renowned race tracks. The first BMW M Trackday on the Hockenheimring was greeted with enthusiasm and quickly became an integral part of the BMW M Driving Experience calendar.

In addition to the wide variety of regular training courses, tailor-made trainings and experiences have been a great strength of the BMW M Driving Experience since 2012. Be it for a group or an individual or planned completely individually in consultation with experts or on the basis of established modules – the Customised Experience has made the BMW M Driving Experience particularly customer-oriented since 2012.  From a half-day session at Maisach right through to racetrack training or even a tour lasting several days, almost everything is possible.