A while ago I had the chance to attend Miles Ahead Performance Driving School at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. It was an interesting experience I shared with Sue. We don’t share well. Yesterday Cecil & I had the chance to repeat the experience with the new, new, new MINI Cooper S (MINI Cooper folks know it as the “F56”).
It was cold yesterday and for those in midwest know it had rained the night before ruining trick or treating for bazillions of kids. I arrived at the Motor Speedway and noticed that Miles Ahead had moved their location into a suit overlooking the main straightaway. As before there were MINIs parked in lines with drivers names on the roof. I ran into Dallas (everyone in the MINI community knows Dallas- he owns a tie dyed Clubman and spend his time going from MINI even to MINI event.) and we started catching up on his latest adventures. The class started with the basic introductions who our instructors were going to be, how the car works, and the shape of the day. The majority of people attending were MINI owners, but not everyone. Since the program has been around a bit, the group seemed to be filled with more normal people, not the hardcore enthusiasts I remember from my first go around.
The morning was split into three parts: the skidpad focusing on oversteer and understeer, a portion of the road course with turning, downshifting and braking, and another section focusing on the racing line. We were split into three groups some cars had two passengers so they would trade off.
The Skidpad
Miles ahead has outfitted one MINI with a lift that picks up the back end causing you to drift. Stephan Gregoire has you learn to control your sliding around until hopfully you can drift in a circle. One of the key parts is to fight instinct and not reduce power. If you do you’ll start to spin. Ted Woemer then would take you out and show you what happens when the front tire lose grip and how to correct it, which is almost the exact opposite. In that case you slow down (not braking just coasting) until the car regain control.
Braking, Downshifting, and Apex Turning
After a quick break we headed out to the road course with Dan Clark and learned when to brake and some basic apex turning then ending by stopping in a box defined by cones on the track. This was when we first used the paddle shifters. The MINI I was driving was a new F56, yes, it was an automatic which actually made it easier to focus on the driving, but it also had paddle shifters. Basically, buttons on the steering wheel to change gears. In the pas the MINIs paddle shifters have been a push pull kind of thing the new ones work just like a race car- right is upshift, left is downshift. The only thing that was weird (I was probably doing it wrong) was the box you were supposed to stop in, was close enough to the turn that I wasn’t going that fast to really test out the brakes. The last time I did Miles Ahead one of the exercises was to go as fast as you could, and then slam on the brakes. Both exercises have there place, but I’m guessing I was doing doing something wrong since I think I didn’t coast into the box once out of numerous tries.
The Racing Line
After another quick break we headed to the road course again, this time with Pippa Mann to learn the racing line. This was a basic follow the leader exercise with the lead car being the instructor and the car behind her switch out after each lap. This is where it gets scary, and fun. While you aren’t going as fast as you could (or should) you are still turning a lot faster than you ever would on your normal daily drive. We practiced apex turning and braking as we drove a section of the road course.
Lunch
Lunch was nice and a great time to talk to the other students. Dallas and I talked up MINI events especially MTTS 2016, MINIs on the Dragon, and next year’s MINIs on the Mack. We all chatted about how we ended up with a MINI and how much we really can’t see why we would drive anything else. Then a quick overview of the afternoon- autocross and road course driving time. We’d been divided into two groups and while one was on the autocross the other would be on the road course which had been changed from the morning configuration. While we were at lunch Go Pro cameras were added to our car for some in car video. I really need to get one of my own or at least take some time to get the general idea on how to use one. The cameras were turned on and ran for about 2 hours before the battery went dead and it looks like the exposure setting was great for filming the inside of the car, but not much of the outside. Still I have some video of me driving around which is a bonus.
The Autocross
We started off with some practice time on the autocross to see how the course was laid out. For those who don’t know and autocross is basically drawing on a parking lot and then defined by cones. My first experience was in 2006 and I DNF’d (Did Not Finish) any of my runs the first day, because I had read the cones wrong and turned left instead of right on every run. When Sue and I did Miles Ahead, I let Sue take the autocross, this time I had to face down those demons and actually try. We spent one part practicing with a follow the leader just to get the feel of the course. We would come back later to actually race, the best time out of two runs.
The Road Course
Compared to the autocross the road course seemed like it was an open field. We followed the leader for lap upon lap. There were two groups one with Pippa and the other with Dan we gave each other enough time between runs and after Sue’s experience I felt really bad each time I got close to the car in front of me. The first time we took the course one way, the second time (after the timed autocross) we did it going the other way.
Breaking Bad Habits
As Dallas commented I probably ran through an set of tires, which is not a good thing. It means I was being too aggressive, coming into corners too fast. It’s something I know I need to work on and I think I’m getting better at, but probably not. When Stephan Gregoire drove the autocross they pointed out it was full throttle, full braking, and no coasting. I was close, but it just felt wrong to lose all that speed, unfortunately you lose more speed by screeching your tires.
The New New New MINI
I’ve had a chance to drive the F56 a couple times as a loaner and have really liked the experience, but spending a full day in one on a race course takes it to a new level. First things first, the seats… Wow! Having owned five MINIs from a classic to the Roadster- I love the seats in the F56. The grab ahold of you and don’t let go. They’re like a Baymax hug. I still love my roadster, but the F56 seats are fantastic.
When I first learned that Miles Ahead would be using automatic transmission MINIs I was disappointed. And the first time I went and drove their JCW R56 there was a definite lag in the transmission when we tried to accelerate to quickly. Not the case in the F56. Having driven both the Cooper and Cooper S both were quick off the blocks (remarkably so in the case of the “Justa” Cooper). The paddle shifters in the past have also been a disappointment, this new generation are great and I can see why people would want them. While I spent most of the afternoon in “Sport Mode” some of the morning was spent in “Normal” and while there was a difference (burble, burble) both were fun.
As with any new design there are a few things that make you scratch your head- some interior changes made sense and others I’m just trying to figure out the logic behind them. Moving the window controls, kinda makes sense, so that they can appeal to a larger market, they needed to be in the “normal” location, the same with the door locks (interesting for a company that talks about being “not normal”). Putting the speedometer above the steering wheel again- in a “normal” location. The tachometer off to the side is a little weird, but most “normal drivers” don’t use the tachometer. The buttons on the steering wheel- Why did they flip them? On my R59 the right side is cruise control and left is radio, on the F56 these are reversed and I don’t see why. That and the location of the gas cap, why move it from the driver’s side to the passenger side, does that really matter?
All the bells, whistles, flashing lights would seem to get annoying after awhile, but actually I think they are there to entertain the passengers so the driver can focus on driving. When I got into the F56 the first thing I did was turn off the screen. I know there is a purpose for it, but I was there to drive and I felt it would be distracting. I see myself doing something similar when I end up buying an F56 and slowly adding back the tech one step at a time. Watching my video from the autocross I saw how the circle of lights actually were my tachometer, but while driving, I didn’t notice a thing. As a techie kind of guy I look forward to discovering all the technology in the F56, all cars are turning driving into a video game… hopefully I’ll make it onto the leaderboard.
With the nitpicking done, as with any changes to the MINI (remember the original R56 weird & confusing center column?) these are things you get used to as you drive the car and soon you’ll be complaining that they are “ruining the brand” for some other reason. It’s still a MINI, it’s still fun to drive (if not more fun to drive).
So What Do You Really Think?
I’ve been to a couple “performance driving schools” and taken away good practices from each. I really do think that if you own a MINI you should consider Miles Ahead as a way to learn from experts in a safe environment what your car is capable of doing. They also have classes for new drivers on safe driving- If you have a kid who just got their driver’s license, no matter what car they drive consider sending them. I know I would (but Hemi isn’t going to be driving anytime soon).
The F56 has once again raised the bar, while it has some quirky things (what MINI doesn’t?) I’m not going to complain when I get one as a loaner. Hopefully the F59 will be announced around the time I make the last payment on my R59.
