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AMG X-treme driving event

1K views 12 replies 10 participants last post by  AshleyF 
#1 ·
I got this in my email and couldn't resist registering for it. $400 for a half day driving event including lapping on AMG cars (SLK55, SL55, C55, E55, etc) and a lap with a professional at Autobahn Country Club (a real road course) in Joliet, IL.

Yeah you might say that it's kind of pricey for a half-day when you consider most driving schools with local car clubs cost less and last a full 2 days. But consider these: 1) you do get to drive a variety of AMG cars. 2) you don't have to beat on your own car for those concerned. 3) will be treated by typical MB event hospitality. 4) autobahn CC is an expensive private track... MB must have paid good money to rent the place out and $400 is peanuts when you consider that there will be zero wear & tear on your own car.

This should be of interest to the local Chicago area folks who deep down inside want to take their cars on the track but just can't bring themselves to for one reason or another which may include having SO's who won't let them flog their $60k toys on a road course. Well lookie here... for $400, Mercedes will let you abuse their own fleet of AMG cars to your heart's content on a wonderful track nonetheless! I have driven on Autobahn CC on several occasions and have taken my own SLK55 for a couple of track days there with the audi club and it is a blast. Highly recommend it. Word of warning though... it can be addicting and may turn you into a track junkie. That said, I hope I'll see some of you there! [:D]

http://www.mbspeed.com/amg/eventoverview.htm
 
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#3 ·
I signed up as well. I went to a similar BMW event a year or so ago and had a great time. Except for barfing my guts out after riding in the back seat with one of the professional drivers showing how to run the slalom ...

I signed up for Saturday noon. Might see if I can change to Sunday, though, as I think I have a gig in Chicago on Tuesday ...
 
#4 ·
Masmole,

Thanks for the heads-up. I signed up for the Sunday morning session. It sounds like a blast. I hope I won't embarass myself too much (I am a NOVICE at performance driving, but I am looking forward to learning).

If anyone else will be there on Sunday, I will look forward to seeing you there!
 
#11 ·
This is from www.mbevents.com

Dates for AMG Challenge:

Location / Date
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV March 28
California Speedway - Fontana, CA April 20
California Speedway - Fontana, CA April 21
Homestead Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL May 13
Road America - Elkhart Lake, WI July 30
Lime Rock Park - Lakeville, CT August 15
Lime Rock Park - Lakeville, CT August 16

Dates for AMG Challenge (Graduate Program):

Location / Date
Las Vegas Motor Speedway - Las Vegas, NV March 29
California Speedway - Fontana, CA April 22
Homestead Miami Speedway - Homestead, FL May 14
Road America - Elkhart Lake, WI July 31
Lime Rock Park - Lakeville, CT August 17

Looks like it happened in CA already....
[V]
 
#12 ·
I just got back from this event (went Sun morning). Did anyone else go? Everyone else I spoke with was not an MB owner, but just there for fun (some were considering an MB purchase).

For anyone who was curious, the event had three sections: 1 section which put you in the driver's seat doing laps on the North track of the club (with an instructor sitting next to you giving you advice about how to drive and where to do your turns, 1 section which had you driving an SLK through a small twisty course setup in the parking lot, and 1 section which had people doing test drives on a very basic off-road course in a number of ML500 and ML350 SUVs.

The final thing we got to do was get a few hot laps with a professional driver - showing us how the North track should be driven when driven by a professional. They also provided breakfast and lunch and some minor goodies (keychains, hats, etc.)

My personal opinion was that the experience was sort of worth it, although it was a tiny bit less than I had hoped it would be. The track time was too short and the other activities (the SUV ride and twisty course) were a bit boring.

However, I did get a chance to drive on a track with an instructor giving me good driving advice. Also, the laps at the end with the professional race drivers was very exciting and instructive. I could see a lot of things I was doing poorly when I was driving at the beginning of the day. I know that some of you track your cars once in a while, and for you this might have been too tame (Masmole, did you go??) But for some of us who have never been in a race situation or have ever tried any type of track event, it was a decent way to get our feet wet. (At least, I thought so.)

I wish that MB would do a driving school just for MB or AMG owners (something like the M class driving experience that BMW does.) I am not aware of anything like that for MB vehicles. I could see paying someone again for helping to instruct me in driving/racing technique (whether it be in my car or anothers). But the experience should be longer, more individualized, and more focused on track time and not extranneous stuff.

They did mention a special "SLR Experience" planned for October in Homestead, Florida. This will be a 2 day course in which the attendees will drive SLRs and be given individual attention. Apparently, they expect between 10 and 15 people attending. They said that normally this activity is only available to owners of SLRs, but that they are offering it in the US as a trial. The cost was around $ 2800 (if I remember right). It sounds fantastic, but I don't have an extra $ 5000 + (for two people) for something like this. I would guess that most people wouldn't be able to afford this kind of money unless they had the income that allowed them to buy an SLR in the first place. And of course, if they have already bought one, then they can go to the owners' training that is offered.

In a perfect world, they would have a 1-2 day immersive course just for the SLK. That might be tempting.

let me know if anyone else went and what they thought.
 
#13 ·
Seems like us guys down under get a better deal all round with our Merc's.
The drive day I enjoyed, which had wall to wall AMG's, was a day to remember. I would even have paid to go!

http://www.benzworld.org/forums/forums/thread-view.asp?tid=1218584&posts=4

I guess profit margins are much fatter as well in Australia.
 
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