The morning was cold, damp and threatening to rain. I’d bought the BMW M4 Master 9 months earlier and just hadn’t gotten around to actually booking it over the summer as I’d originally planned. The idea was to rock up with my sunglasses on, the Audi all shiny and whizz about the track without a car in the world.

So why are you here? Maybe you’re thinking about buying a BMW M4 Master experience for yourself or a loved one. Or you’ve got one and wondered what exactly the BMW M4 Master experience involves.

This is a BMW M4 Master Driving Experience Review from MSV (Motorsport Vision) which owns a number of racetracks around the UK. The one I went to was Oulton Park which is in Cheshire. As I’m North West based I didn’t fancy going down to the other race tracks and adding in the extra cost of a stay-over.

Don’t spare the horses. No horses will be spared.

For the BMW M4 Master Driving Experience, there are about 10 cars go out on the track at the same time. Here’s the lineup of half of them at Oulton Park in the pit lane.

You can take your family to the BMW M4 Master event and they can stand about in the pit lane and watch you get/take photos, or they can head out to the track and get some shots of you going around the track.

This image was taken between sessions where all the BMW M4s line up ready to go out. It’s quite a sight seeing them all livered up and ready to go. You’re not allowed to go beyond the red barrier unless you’re getting in the car, which is a bit of a pain as I wanted to get some shots of the cars going down the straight.

It seemed a bit odd I could go into the road at one point but not another but I sucked it up. Family members could of course go to the other side of the track, but it’s a bit of a trek to be honest.

Before I head into the details of the BMW M4 Master, it’s probably worth just having a quick look at the BMW M4 itself.

The M4 Competition is a racing version of the standard M4 and features a number of upgrades. It features an upgraded engine, improved aerodynamics, and stiffer suspension components. In order to improve its handling capabilities, BMW added more aggressive front splitter, rear diffuser and side skirts as well as adjustable coilovers for better track performance. The BMW M4 Competition also comes with carbon ceramic brakes for better stopping power

The BMW M4 Competition is the perfect vehicle for those looking for a powerful sports car that can take on any terrain. This vehicle boasts a twin-turbocharged 3-liter inline 6-cylinder engine that generates 444 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque, with a 0 to 60 mph time of 3.8 seconds. The BusinessInsider says that “the BMW M4 Competition isn’t just fast in a straight line – it’s quick where it matters most: on a twisty road.”

The M4 is powered by a twin-turbocharged 3-litre inline 6-cylinder engine that generates 444 horsepower and 406 pound-feet of torque. The 0 to 60 mph time is 3.8 seconds, which makes it one of the fastest cars in its class.

The M4 also features many off-the-shelf performance parts including carbon ceramic brakes, suspension upgrades, a limited-slip differential and larger wheels with tires (optional).

If you’re looking for a high performance sports car but don’t want to spend as much money on maintenance or repairs as you would on something like a Ferrari or Lamborghini, then this might be your best bet. The BMW M4 has everything needed for great performance without breaking the bank: powerful engines; excellent handling characteristics; comfortable seats; and electronic driver aids (such as automatic braking).

But if you’re looking for a car that’s more than just a set of wheels and an engine, but rather one that offers a truly unique driving experience that can only be described as German engineering at its finest – then the M4 may be for you.

The actual day was quite organised, but the comms up tp the event were a bit random. A couple of random emails asking for details, but also a self-registration form. They sent a confirmation email and there wasn’t much detail in that. It was just a PDF which said you needed to bring your driving license and confirmation email (the confirmation email was a load of images which destroyed my ink and they didn’t ask to see it).

You have a quick briefing about the track, what to expect and what the lights and flags mean. The host will explain how long you’ll be on the track along with how to overtake (you actually undertake). And any other bits and pieces which might be weather dependant. Richard, our host was friendly, approachable and efficient.

You head out to the pits with the host and the family and grab a helmet. They’ll make sure they fit and do them up for you if you’re unsure. You’ll get allocated a car which comes with an instructor. My instructor, Alan O’Neill was pretty grumpy at first, he wasn’t happy with me filming the car as I got in it.

You jump in the car and the instructor takes you out for a lap. Which you’ll instantly forget as it’s so fast. They’ll go back into the pits and then you’ll swap. You’ll then get about 15 minutes out in the car.

At Oulton Park they’d reduced the circuit to the smaller version – this doesn’t really make much difference as it’s time, not laps which you get allocated, and a smaller course makes it easier to remember.

The organisers have also put out handy cones which show when to brake, turn and the apex. I found these very useful as it took one thing out of the equation to remember.

The BMW M4 is a rear-wheel drive car, which most people won’t be driving day to day (most cars are front-wheel drive). This made for a bit of a twitchy back end, especially with the limited-slip differential. Coming out of a corner and nailing the accelerator did make the back end step out – which my instructor wasn’t too happy about.

In the end, he forgave me. It’s easy to forget at the end of the day it was the first time I’d driven one of these cars and the first time I’d driven around a race track. Remember, you only learn by making mistakes. When I went around the Nurburgring, the driver explained you only get better by pushing your limits. If you don’t have a few moments, you’re not reaching your potential.

Moving on it’s worth noting the BMW M4 Master driving experience cars have dual control – so the instructor can brake if they need to.

Once you’ve had your first 15 minutes you go back into the pits. I’d initially thought this was a pain in the arse, but it was useful to have a minute thinking about what you’ve learnt and a chance to reset your brain and arm muscles – there’s a lot of information coming in when you go around.

While you’re having your 15 min rest (it feels more like two minutes) the other group heads out so you get to see them zoom past which was good.

Then you’re back out with the instructor, putting what you learnt into practice and hopefully pushing a bit harder. One thing I did notice is things unravel pretty fast when they go wrong. I had plenty of moments when I was in the wrong gear, or hit the rumble strip or braked too late. There are a lot of run off spaces at these venues and let’s face it, while motorsport is dangerous, they wouldn’t do it if there was a high percentage of crashes. Simply put, they couldn’t afford the cars or the insurance claims.

It’s all over too soon and you head back into the pits. You then fill out a form and get the chance to go around the track with another racing driver. I really enjoyed this. When I got in the car I said to Chris, “Don’t spare the horses”. His response “No horses will be spared” was accurate. He threw the BMW M4 Competition into every corner like his life depended on it, drifting the back end out in the wet.

Then it’s all over. For real. You get your completion certificate and a review sheet and they kick you out.

I thought they were going to try and sell me a video of me driving or some photos, but nothing which was a bit of a shame. As you’re not allowed to film as you go around with a GoPro there’s no record to show anyone or share on social media – which is a really big misstep for such a slick operation.

Here’s the only half decent video I managed to get at the BMW M4 Master Driving Experience at Oulton Park. This was just before the hotlap with the very friendly Chris. What did we talk about while we went around – The Nurburgring! Obviously.

If you’re looking for a car that’s more than just a set of wheels and an engine to take around a track, but rather one that offers a truly unique driving experience that can only be described as German engineering at its finest – then the M4 may be for you.

Would I recommend the BMW M4 Master Driving Experience? Yes, I would. It was good to get out on the track I’ve been to many times in a nice car. Summing up to a friend, I pondered how much it cost to fill up my car to get to Oulton Park and the tank was about 95 quid. The driving experience was £200. Put in that context I didn’t get much fun using Shell V-Power, but I had a lot of fun in an M4.

The image above shows Oulton Park utterly abandoned for the BMW M4 Master Driving Experience. I’m so used to it being full of people, trailers and mechanical pornography! Probably didn’t help it had been cold and fairly miserable weather rather than sun, pit girls and shorts.

A selection of motorsport-related blogs, pages and info. Check them out now.

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