Instructors

[Jim]

Do most BMW clubs have high performance driving instructors?

What difference would I notice between a big name school driving instructor and a BMW instructor?

[stevewalsh]

In California, or more correctly the Westen Region (CA, OR, NV, AZ etc) there is a pool of about 160 BMW CCA Instructors.
From time to time, we do have 'guest' instructors like Davy Jones, Cort Wagner, Johannes Van Overbeck etc.

This pool of instructors come from a vary of backgrounds, but in the past 5 years or so there has been a emphasis placed on actual seat time in BMWs.

In my experience, here in CA, I would say the only difference between a BMW CCA instructor and a 'big name' instructor (RUSSELL, Skippy, Daly, Panoz etc) is the instructors 'racing' resume. In the Gloden Gate Chapter we even avoid mention of our racing experience, so the students do not mistake a *driving school* for a *racing school*.

The actual instruction is based upon the same topics, taught with similar classroom sessions and track exercises. They both use the same terms, and differ in lines only because of the differences in the vehicles used.

Which is a key point unless you are pretty advanced. A Formula Ford is very different from a 540i until you have quite a few laps in each.

Where are you located ?

[Paesan]

Every club has their own instructors. Every instructor is different. You might get the expert racer, the local track junkie or a somewhat experienced driver glorifyed by having done many driving school promoted to be an instructor.
Skip Barber, Russell, boundaurant, driving 101 and some of the most high performance driving/racing school have real instructor. But everything is hit or miss. You may be lucky if you get someone really good like Pobst (use to be an instructor at Vegas) or other experienced racer. The difference is clear, the high dollar scholl offer years of experience in real racing situation, while the BMW school plainly teach you how to safely drive around a track, stressing safety maybe a bit much.
Which one to go to? A BMW school is a good start since you can only understand and learn but so much on your first couple of days. If you have a good car, 300 dollars will get you into a school and started in a good way. Then perhaps you might want to consider a racing school. If you are serious, I would only go where they have telemetry that way they can exactly point your mistakes, instead of just praising you for your money.