Bmw magazine ss15 goodwood

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BMW at Goodwood

Feel the

force At an exclusive track and of f-road day in the British countryside, we learn why the BMW ethos of always putting the driver first makes it the perfect choice for Ultimate Driving at Goodwood

Words Phil Rhys Thomas Photos Nigel Harniman

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BMW at Goodwood

Rally pro Sean Withinshaw learned how to drive in a tractor. As a young farmhand in the 1970s, it was only when a member of the local car club, who saw him racing a Mini in the snow, that natural talent won out. From a driving apprenticeship to the rally circuit, and Le Mans at Silverstone with five-time F1 champion Jon Watson, Withinshaw learned engines inside out.

“Any car technique – whether you’re on track or rally driving – is to do with feel”

As one of the chief instructors of Ultimate Driving at Goodwood, he’s also the man who’ll guide you round the track in your choice of BMW M car. Nudging you towards the right line to take and encouraging you to go easy on the gear changes, for him it’s always about the senses.

“Rally driving is all to do with feeling. Any car technique – whether you’re on track or rally driving – is to do with feel,” he says.

“In the old days” – he stops and grins as he rephrases – “I’m not that old, but in the old days you could feel the car stepping out and then you could correct it. Nowadays the computers on board do it for you. They’re feeling what the car’s doing.” That’s why he’s a BMW fan: as one of the only predominately rear-wheel-drive manufacturers around, “you still get to feel the car” and – crucially – feel part of it too.

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The rally pro Sean Withinshaw learned to drive in a tractor.

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BMW at Goodwood

“Get the technique right and everything flows – get the technique wrong and you’re fighting your way through all the corners, because they all flow into each other”

According to Withinshaw, the Goodwood track flows very well. That can be both a good and a bad thing, depending on whether you know what you’re doing or not. “Get the technique right and everything flows – get the technique wrong and you’re fighting your way through all the corners, because they all flow into each other,” he says.

Like any working raceway, concentration is key: “You’ve only got 30 foot until you’re into a solid tyre wall – so you don’t want to make mistakes.”

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We climb into a fully-blown M235i Racing for a practice lap. There’s never a good way to get into one, he says: “You just have to be very supple.” This version of the car is passenger-only: stripped to a bare minimum, it does without the trimmings of the road-going M235i Coupé in favour of a roll cage and a fire extinguisher, which is activated by the kind of bright red flip-switch emergencies are made for. “I’ve never used it,” Withinshaw says, “or I probably wouldn’t be here.”

As we hurtle around the track, he offers a masterclass in

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To see a film of the M235i Racing in action, download the BMW Magazine App.

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how to tackle it. As an instructor, how long does it take him to figure out if a driver’s going to be any good? There’s a wry smile. “By the time they’ve got to the first corner at Madgwick, you can tell whether you’re in for a good ride or not,” he says. “The good ones follow your lines, keep it nice and smooth – and don’t change gears very much.”

With different suspension, a tweaked engine and slick tyres, the M2 Racing is driving at its purest. So how fast can you go on the Goodwood course? “As long as you get Lavant right,” he says of the corner at the track’s 7

westernmost point, “you can get up to 150mph down the back straight.” Again, it’s all about technique. “To get round this course quickly, smoothly and safely, you basically use fifth and sixth gear.”

With a full complement of roadgoing M Power vehicles, from the M235i through to the M6, and the i8, available for guests to drive, this is a track day with a difference. Of course, Goodwood has always done things its own way – even the rumble strips are painted green rather than the standard red – and the exclusive nature of the Ultimate BMW Magazine

BMW at Goodwood

Driving experience has been designed to offer full, unadulterated access to the asphalt. “The maximum number of cars we ever have on the track is nine,” Withinshaw says, so enjoyment is guaranteed.

Asked to pick his favourite from the M range, the rally driver’s true colours shine through. “It’s the M3 – because of the noise, the sound of the engine.” For the man from the farm, it’s still all about the elements. “It’s got a real gutsy growl to it.”

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BMW at Goodwood

Down on the forest floor, a shadow flits across the X5’s mud-splattered windscreen as the three-litre diesel ploughs through the sludge beneath the wheels. It goes “like a train”, says Withinshaw. “Even on road tyres – in October, in the rain – the X5 just kept going.” The shadow, which tracks our progress, belongs to a buzzard hoping to swoop on any prey rustling away through the undergrowth.

“Grip and torque combine, the engine roars and we’re in mid-air as all four wheels leave the ground” The BMW X5 takes the strain in the chalk pit.

For your own off-road experience and to race on the track of motoring legends, go to goodwood.com/drive.

Packages range from £249 to £495 and are available to book now.

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With Hill Descent Control switched on, the X5 slows itself right down to 3mph so that all the driver has to do is steer.

“The vehicle will find its own way, and sometimes it’ll just slide,” he adds. “You tell someone to do it who’s not done it before and they’ll always have their foot covering the brake.” At first, it’s disconcerting – that’s until the benefits of a precision-engineered driving machine become clear and the car feels its way down the slope with a minimum of fuss. High above, the buzzard waits for lunch.

Leaving the forest and making our way over to the chalk pit, it’s time to test the X5 on an incline. Grip and torque combine, the engine roars and – for one exhilarating moment – we’re in mid-air as all four wheels leave the ground. Back on terra firma, we stop on a slope so steep the only thing keeping us in position is one of the oldest pieces of equipment in the car’s spec: the seatbelt.

According to the onboard computer, xDrive is holding us steady at a gradient of 52 percent.

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BMW at Goodwood

i8

Dusk settles and we head back to the racetrack to experience the most progressive BMW ever made. At the same time, it is very much a product of almost a century of automotive innovation. “One of the great things about the i8 is its versatility,” Withinshaw says.

Today we’re forgoing the combustion engine in favour of electric. As we pull off, the veteran of the throaty rally car admits the quiet unsettled him at first. “It is a driver’s car but you’ve got to get used to it,” he asserts. However, it wasn’t long before he fell for its charms: “It’s a lovely car because it’s so quick. It’s like sitting in a spaceship, and it just goes.”

It’s pitch-dark outside now, but inside the i8 the cockpit is bathed in a soft blue glow as, in front of us, the laser headlights sweep over the horizon. The future, it seems, is already here – and it’s looking good.

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