BMW, TRS tie up for high-performance driver training with the 560hp M5

TUASON delivers a lecture at Breakfast at Antonio’s.

They say good things come in pairs. So fresh off the past weekend’s dream drive and track day in a Porsche 911, I found myself behind the wheel of another monstrously fast German sled, BMW’s M5, on a Sunday morning.

Sundays are usually spent to recharge for me and my wife-part of it is waking up late. But a chance for a good drive with a BMW 530d to Breakfast at Antonio’s in Tagaytay is a rare opportunity. So I set my alarm for 5 a.m.

By 6 a.m., still groggy but excited, my wife and I arrived at the rally point at Bonifacio Global City. We were on time but everyone else seemed late, although there was already a mouth-drooling collection of cars present: Tuason Racing School (TRS)’s BMW M5 Circuit taxi decked out in M livery, a collection of Porsche 911s and an Audi R8. BGC is, after all, supercar central on Sundays and holidays.

As more guests started arriving, Glen Dasig, the Asian Carmakers Corp. vice president, pulled up at our location in a blue BMW M5, similar to the TRS M5 Circuit Taxi. Soon enough, I was exchanging pleasantries with Glen and JP Tuason. I jokingly told them that I had requested for that particular M5 Glen had brought. Second later, I had the keys of BMW’s latest four-door, brute-in-a-suit sedan.

After our group of about 20 cars had congregated, JP gave a very short briefing on the route, reminding us to keep things safe and legal (i.e., no overspeeding or dangerous driving) and giving us instructions on our breakfast venue.

Since the M5 I was driving was one of the last cars to leave, everyone was itching to put the pedal to the metal, lest the M5, with its twin-turbo V8 and 560 HP with seven-speed DCT dual-clutch transmission, leave them all behind. I would have gladly left them for dead, save for three things—being older, wiser and more mature. I can humbly and honestly admit that I lacked the skill to make the most out of the M5’s massive reserves of talent, not to mention that the car wasn’t mine and my wife would have kicked me out of the driver’s seat if I drove like a hooligan.

THE M5 Circuit Taxi (right) and 1 Series cars of Tuason Racing School.

So from BGC, we headed out to C-5 then to South Luzon Expressway. Our convoy slowly dispersed, as it was deemed safer, rather than forming a long queue on the highway. Of course, it was only my second time driving the M5, and the first time on public roads (previously I drove the M5 on the track). So I cautiously probed to feel the steering, brakes and, of course, the massive power reserves the twin-turbo V8 engine had.

Becoming good friends

Surprisingly, in a matter of minutes, the M5 and I had become good friends. Slowly but surely I was picking up the pace. Since I go up and down Tagaytay a few times every week for my day job in the property industry, I felt confident about driving the M5 as fast as I could. Since I had the car for an extra few days, I’m going to write about it separately soon. Suffice to say, power was overwhelming, the sound was amazing if a bit muted, and the car itself behaved like a ballerina, with grace and tact despite being considerably big and heavy. Indeed there’s something about the air and water in Germany that makes somber-looking cars behave out of this world.

From the wide-open space of SLEx, we exited ABI/Greenfields District and went to  Sta. Rosa-Tagaytay Highway. We passed a number of other sports and supercar owners who were also enjoying a good, early morning run.

PARCO and Dasig formalize the partnership with JP Tuason of Tuason Racing School

Arriving just past 9 a.m. at Breakfast at Antonio’s, we were ushered into a reserved area. More guests came in, including ACC president Maricar Parco who brought her family (Glen and JP brought theirs, too) to enjoy the morning’s festivities, making this event a very family-oriented one. The specialized menu was prepared by none other than Chef Antonio “Tony Boy” Escalante, himself an avid car enthusiast and whose son is an accomplished karter and who is now part of the Vios Cup One Make Race Series which TRS also manages.

Prior to breakfast, JP finally briefed the guests present on why they had invited us select media, supercar owners and BMW Car Club members to this event. Since the Philippine car market has been maturing, more and more people are buying high-performance sports and supercars despite the Bureau of Internal Revenue’s crackdown on luxury items. There is a growing need to properly train people to maximize the potential of these cars in a safe, organized and professional manner, with properly trained driving instructors letting them experience the cars’ limits repeatedly before they take the plunge themselves.

It was for this reason that Tuason Racing School, BMW and Asian Carmakers Corp. forged a partnership to promote proper high-performance driver training at Clark International Speedway. Driver tuition will be handled by TRS, the only high-performance driving and racing school in the country headed by JP, the country’s first and only BMW M-certified driving instructor. JP brings with himself a wealth of experience, having raced go-karts, production-based touring cars, open-wheel formula cars and even sports/GT race cars abroad, and attended various driving schools in the United States and Europe which are geared for future high-performance driving and racecraft master instructors.

Driving classes

The programs include the Supercar Class Driving program, aimed at BMW M owners, and the High-Performance Driving Program, which is for regular BMW owners. Slots of these classes will be limited as they will be an intense half-day program where attendees will be taken around BMW’s model lineup around Clark International Speedway to practice their acceleration, braking, steering and understeer/oversteer avoidance, and to make these BMW owners understand the latest safety driving aids and to utilize them to their finest. Afterwards in the afternoon, drivers can take to the track their own cars to get them used to driving their own after improving their skills.

It’s indeed a noteworthy program and furthers TRS’ advocacy on the practice of safe driving on roads. I’ve reported a few weeks back about a number of high-performance sports and supercar owners who have gotten into accidents simply because they didn’t know, understand or respect their limits as well as the sharp attributes of their sporsts and supercars. Hopefully in the future, TRS will open up this program to other high-performance car owners of different brands. There must have been about six different groups that day which we saw en-route to Tagaytay, all driving different brands of high-performance sports and supercars, and I’m sure they would be very interested in taking part on such a program.

I really hope more and more people participate in such activities to improve the overall level of driving competence in the country, promote road safety due to proper driving techniques and help the local car enthusiasts community thrive. I’d love to enrol with my Toyota Supra (which isn’t a BMW M or a supercar for that matter, but it does pack a mean punch!) in one of their programs in the future.

Who else wants to join me?

Email the author at botchilah@yahoo.com