Mini Cooper Driving Skills Weekend AB Glenmarie 23-24 July 2011

[docrayboy]

This is a busy weekend here in KL! Diesel weekend (AB Jln Tun Razak) and Mini Cooper(AB Glenmarie) weekends!I'm going for the 3pm to 6pm Sunday afternoon slot tomorrow at AB Glenmarie(call me 016 654 7406 and we will catch up). Albundy will teach us the 180 degrees Agent Turn! Watch this video for a preview of what you can do with your car after acquiring some new driving skills.....nice! Forwards 180, Reverse 180....:rock::thefinger::rock:[video]http://www.guzer.com/videos/saab_driving2.php[/video]

 

[stig]

Haha might drop by to look see

 

[docrayboy]

A report on the diesel drive weekend thingy I attended today at AB Jln Tun Razak---

Just got back from the diesel drive-went to Cyberjaya n back-all the diesels were there to try except for the X5. They kept the engines to the 2L diesels. I drove the 520d-its a good car-loads of equipment, very well composed on the road, even quieter on the inside then the already so quiet 320d that I drive, and yes, it may be stabler at higher speeds-hit 210km/hr just now easily. of course, the 320d is , to quote kevster words just now, more chuckable-Ivan khong and Kevster were our lead car instructors. Can't wait for the Mini Cooper drive tomorrow-the Mini cooper to get Kevster tells me is the Countryman S-its a 4WD so eliminated the torque steer than the FWD Cooper S suffers with. Only thing is you got to cough up,,,MR286K.

Also drove the 523i on the way back as a comparison-its not a bad engine really-revs nicely with that classic petrol engine sound. Still petrol consumption was at 14 to 15 L/100km in the car I drove which is almost double that of the 520d. Both are equally quiet-the 523i costs 50K more, doesn't really add up if you still want the 523i, does it?

 

[B33mEr]

Doc ... do we have to book and register 1st to test drive the mini or just come there and register?

 

[docrayboy]

fully booked...but u can be my passenger

 

[JFT63]

What an oppurtunity..sadly i'm in Melaka this weekend. Albundy took me for a high spin during the Driver's Training in Batu Berendam Melaka last month..getting the chance to learn the secret agent turn is a priceless experience..

 

[3er]

Was MINI-fied on Sat. Love the Cooper S!


But just a tad expensive....

 

[zhul]

Thanks to Docray for informing about this event. Was put on waiting list but in the end got my chance to drive the Mini maniacally with Maniac as my co-driver

The obstacle course in Putrajaya was fun. First we have the slalom course, then a Italian Job type of roundabout spin - twice!. A quick medium speed lane change soon followed and finally emergency brake test. The Mini's were fun cars to drive. We had the Cooper for the first leg of the event.

In the second leg, we had the 4WD Countryman Cooper S. This car was impressive and I was doing 4 wheel slides on some parts of the 'track' in Glenmarie. Overall this event is a good intro to BMW's Mini brand which I think is more on the cheerful and fun side of things.

Finally, thanks to AB and BMW for organizing this event :top:

 

[docrayboy]

Yes zhul! We had such a great time! Marvelous organisation with great food too as always!-The crispy bacon and lettuce burgers ,the chocolate truffles(rich and creamy like nutella chocolate), they were all to die for! Then our very knowledgeable and ever gracious hosts and instructors-Albundy and Puvan were there to take us for the drives and show us some tricks-put up the videos zhul and maniac bros! Forward and reverse flicks, powerslides etc! Stay tuned.....

 

[Maniac]

I'd echo zhul & doc's comments above. Well organised event, and the mini's are definitely fun cars to whip around, especially at the slalom.
i whacked the cones on my first slalom run, and on the second run had DTC cut power to the wheels (with a floored throttle) when the car slipped and slid around the roundabout. hehe. looks like i do need driver training to get the maniac out of my system.
a big word of thanks to Puven & AlBundy for a super experience at the track...i keep reliving the reverse 180 in my head with a big smile on my face
"...reverse full throttle, flick to neutral, spin the wheel, flick to first, full throttle..." hehehe...gotta try it first hand!

zhul and I got warned by the instructor quite a few times on the radio for misbehaving during the convoy (sorry Puven :4 but we got a little frustrated cos car #1 was rather slow - didn't keep up with the lead, and the rest of the pack was stuck behind.

my 2 sen, if you are considering one, don't bother with the regular coopers. what you need is the S!. Countryman S was a fun 4wd, very sticky go cart feel. But even flooring it, we could not catch the lighter and more agile cooper s in front of us.

once again, thank you AB and BMWM for a really fun outing, and to docrayboy for getting us there!

 

[ALBundy]

Some pictures from my NEX5,

1. My favourite MINI! It's now called Maxi MINI for obvious reasons The S version comes with 4 wheel drive.

2. The pocket rocket, Cooper S

3. My favourite color, with black stripes and rims just accentuated the masculinity of the CountryMan

4. Objects in the rearview mirror appears smaller than it is!

5. A very "Clean" Countryman

6. Another shiny Cooper S going thru the slalom

 

[Drer]

Great shots, AlBundy!

 

[Vroom325]

Hei I wan minified too! can't get the cooper S out of my mind till now. Going for the BMW training in early Sep.