Microsoft executive Kal Uppall no longer feels vulnerable to road rage. And he gives all credit for that to the Trillium Chapter of the BMW Club of Canada.
Since graduating from the club's advanced driving program, Uppall says he has become the "definition of calm" behind the wheel of his BMW M3.
"You're not bothered by what other drivers are doing around you … because you know – you've learned – there is a better way, and these other drivers don't," he says.
So what exactly is this better way? "The better way is to get some education above the minimum necessary to acquire a driving licence."
Unlike most other car clubs, driver education is a focus of the Trillium Chapter, one of 800 BMW clubs globally, with a combined membership of 700,000 Bimmer enthusiasts.
"Around 65 per cent of our 170 members take part in our advanced-driving program," says Trillium president Jennifer Venditti, and the motivation for many of them is to become more confident and knowledgeable about driving the world's "Ultimate Driving Machine," as the tagline used by German company boasts, she adds.
"When they learn what their car is capable of, what they're capable of, you can see the change in their faces," Venditti says. "It's a 'wow' look."
Audrey Carr has certainly experienced that look.
"On my very first day on the track, I was paired with an instructor and have been hooked ever since," says the TD Bank mobile technology officer. "It's a polarizing experience for club members. You either love it, and it becomes an addiction, or it's something you do once – think it's fantastic – but never again."
For Carr, the appeal was learning to be in control of the car – and getting up to speed on its capabilities.
The program consists of three levels: Beginner, intermediate and advanced. (For the record, anyone can join the club and take the course, BMW owner, or not.) After completing the course, members can then drive the track at club events without an instructor in the car.
Advanced program graduates can also enter the BMW Club's race school which, upon completion, qualifies them to compete in club races. About a quarter of club members race at the four or five seasonal track days.
Much of the club's evident esprit de corps stems from the fact that more experienced members instruct driving rookies. "It's a way of giving back," says David Rowlison, senior instructor and head of the race school.
"And it creates a real sense of family inside the club," adds Carr.
BMW is renowned as one of the world's top performance automobiles and what the BMW Club teaches, says Uppall, is "performance driving.
"You learn how to drive fast comfortably by practising a few simple rules: Be acutely aware of the other drivers around you; never pass without a signal from the driver in front; and never pass anyone in the corner, only on the straightaway."
For Rowlison, there's an even earlier step in the re-education process: "owning" your ignorance. "When people realize what they don't know about driving at speed, it often changes them," he says. For the better.
Still, for Uppall, his big takeaway was forgetting about speed entirely.
"You're not here to drive fast, you're here to learn to drive properly and well. You're not really focusing on speed, you're focusing on 'when do I break for the next turn?' or 'how do I position the car for the next turn?' But you never focus on speed; it comes as a side effect."
But the BMW Club isn't all about hitting the books and honing driving skills. Like other car clubs, it hosts social events such as rallies to Niagara Wine Country for the harvest, or to Muskoka for the fall colours and, in winter, the club features indoor go-kart racing.
And the pièce de résistance of the 2015 season is the BMW Corral at the Tudor United SportsCar Championship at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park July 10-12.
"It's fundamentally a show and shine," says Rowlison, but with more than 70,000 people expected to attend this American Le Mans event, as it's also known, there will be opportunities to 'ooh' and 'ahh' at the pricey Bimmers inside the BMW tent.
"About 150 members are expected to attend," says Venditti, "and we can only take a certain amount of them on the track during the prelaps."
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