Move over Lightning McQueen I raced at the BMW Performance Center
Park your “mom-mobile”, stop dreaming of racing and do it! I was hosted at the BMW Performance Center West during the #Drive2Learn Conference with other women influencers recently. Encouraged to put that pedal to the floor, I did! Can you imagine? I used to write (and still do) my other career would have been a race car driver. 
I attended the BMW Performance Driving School as part of A Girls Guide To Cars #Drive2Learn Conference. No compensation was exchanged. As always, all opinions expressed here are my very own!
Situated on 32 acres in Thermal, California the BMW Performance Center West is one of two centers in the United States, the other one located in South Carolina near their factory. In California, there are stay and play packages, locally you can attend for 1-2 days, or make it a trip. 
Over the course of nearly three hours I drove 7 different BMW Performance Cars on different tracks after a crash course in driving. By the end of the day I was doing 130mph on the test track during the Lead and Follow portion of the morning and breaking hard to do U-Turns immediately after hitting such high speeds in a 440hp M4. When I showed my husband the video, you could tell he was jealous. A dream come true and now I want to drive on more tracks. We also did timed track driving and the 3 fastest received awards under 28 seconds for those winners, my fastest was in the 30s, which I thought was quick, others ranged up to 40s.
We learned tips and tricks when turning, accelerating and being in control of your car. For the older generations, did you know your hands are no longer at 10 & 2, safest is 9 & 3 incase of impact your hands blow our not up into your faces. This was news to many. During the BMW Buffet, we practiced turning, speed and when/how to do this by following the leader to start, and learning the cones, APEX, turning points, clipping points and more. While we drove the instructor was explaining these points through the walkie-talkies in all the cars. As we took the laps on the track, we all improved our skills, speed and turning on time. We also rotated through 5 different BMWs doing 2 laps in each, getting a feel for the SUV, sedans and different models. While there all I could think of what a great couples trip this could be, bachelorette or bachelor weekend or milestones birthday.
They also have a TEEN Driving School. Teens can experience how a vehicle feels while in a controlled environment. They will work on wet conditions, panic breaking and double lane changes. Costs for these programs start at $849 a day. The different programs begin at $1500 a day for the M-School. 
Courses are taught by certified, record holding, race car drivers who explained everything is simple terms after explaining the race terms. As the instructors said, it was a day to “drive someone else’s car & go fast”. Yup! I went outside my comfort zone around many many turns. It was an experience I won’t forget and want to do more racing and courses like this, and maybe, just maybe if he is nice, I will bring my husband too. The conference is providing YOU a chance to get out to California and mimic our experience at the track and resort stay. Enter! a Rafflecopter giveaway
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Here are the contest rules; they are in the Raffle Copter link, but you should publish them alongside your mention of the contest: Contest rules: Entries must be completed by 11:59PM Pacific December 31st, 2018. No purchase necessary; contest open only to US residents 18 years old or older and subject to the laws of the state of California. Winner will be chosen by random drawing from qualified entires and verified by A Girls Guide to Cars; winner will be notified by email no later than January 7th, 2019. Prize will be delivered by USPS to a valid US address; prizes cannot be shipped to a P.O. box. Winners may be asked to provide identification to receive their prize. Prize valued at $1,200, not exchangeable for cash or other items. Prize is limited to one (1) night accommodations at Miramonte Resort, Indian Wells, CA with date of accommodation subject to approval by Miramonte management; one (1) breakfast for two at Miramonte Resort; one (1) half day driving instruction and hot lap package for one person at BMW Performance Center West, Thermal, CA. Travel and additional accommodations are the responsibility of the winner. Contest is administered by and prizes awarded by A Girls Guide to Cars, which assumes no liability for the administration of this contest. Miramonte Indian Wells Resort, BMW Performance Center, Visit Greater Palm Springs Area, and all other event partners assume no responsibility or liability for the administration of this contest. A total of 1 grand prize will be awarded.
