Gloomy skies could not dampen the ebullient moods of the Club members who participated in the BMW CCA Two-Day M School last weekend at the BMW Performance Center. These lucky members were some of the first participants to drive the brand-new F80 M3 in Alpine White, Austin Yellow, and Mineral Grey. The school M3s were accompanied by the new Competition Package 575-horsepower F10 M5 and the powerful M6. Needless to say, the group’s comments about the new M3 ranged from “incredible” to “totally awesome.”
The Club was well-represented geographically from many chapter, including Antwane Owens and Katrina Rock—an engaged couple--from the Lone Star Chapter and Tom Jakubowski from the Houston Chapter. Jim Mullins, of the Rocky Mountain Chapter, seemed to enjoy the horsepower over the weekend, grinning from ear to ear on every lap.
Greg Eley and Peter Ticconi represented the Peachtree Chapter, while Gary Nasypany from Genesee, Josh Swift from New Jersey, and Aruna Seneviratne from the New York Chapter brought the Yankee influence to the program. Rounding out the group was Michel Laverne from Allegheny, Tony Zombek from Tarheel, and Tom Betlow from the Sunshine Chapter. Father-son combination Fred Stenger from Nittany and his son Geoff from the Lone Star Chapter kept the family rivalry alive, always trying to outsmart each other in every timed competition.
Michael Campagnolo from the Hoosier Chapter helped the grounds crew keep the grass neat around the track with his 575HP “lawnmower” and received some good-natured ribbing about his efforts.
The instructors commented on the remarkable improvement in all of the drivers in just two short days—gaining speed and confidence with every lap. Everyone seemed to enjoy not only the friendly competition, but also the wonderful friendships made over the weekend.—Jackie Bechek
