In most aspects of my life, adjusting to living in Korea has been relatively simple, however there has been some sacrifices regarding hobbies. Specifically, autocrossing, as the car culture is rather weak in Korea. This can easily be witnessed by the relative blandness of design for most Korean cars. The car culture has been growing, with the introduction of F1 tracks in Korea, recent design changes for some cars involving foreign design experts (I30, Veloster), and recent explosion of import of foreign cars. However, autocrossing in empty parking lots in Korea is simply not going to happen. So, regretfully, I have had to give up car racing.
Until...
Only recently, I have discovered the BMW Driving Center on Incheon Island, very close to the International Airport. According to their website they offer a variety of courses, including:
-Multiple Course (Simple braking and maneuvering test)
-Dynamic Course (Testing drivers reaction to dynamic direction change using push pads)
-Circular Course (aka drifting)
-Acceleration & Braking Course (short track)-Handling Course (extension of acceleration course with more intense turns)
-Off road Course (self explanatory)
All of these are grouped into different packages depending on the desired car you wish to drive, which is provided by BMW. Here too, you have a selection (convertible, sedan, coupe) of the following:
-BMW M Series Taxi (professional driver, you just hold on)
-BMW 7 Series Taxi (ditto)
-Mini JCW Taxi (again)
-BMW X series
-BMW 1-6 series
-BMW i3/i8
-BMW Z4
-BMW M series
-JCW Mini Cooper
Cost for each program and car ranged, but started out at about 60,000 won (~$60) for 80 minutes. This is not so much more than a day of racing in the parking lot... and they provide the car! So one Saturday morning in October, my wife and I hopped in the car and headed over to Incheon. We arrived a little early, offering us the chance to take a look at a few cars on display, including a couple museum pieces. When our time came, we were pleasantly surprised to find out that out of the total of 6 possible spots available for our time slot, we were the only 2. Additionally, while the website clearly states that training is only given in Korean, our instructor was able to communicate sufficiently well in English.
After roughly a 10 minute prep talk describing the different functions of the JCW Mini that we were going to drive, we went outside to select our cars and followed our instructor out to the Multiple Course. First task was a 4 cone slalom. Completed with ease. Second task: Launch to 40~60 km/h then stop as close as possible to a cone without running it over. Trial one, I was off by 20cm (~8 in.) Jiyoung was off by only 10 cm. Unfortunately for her, its consistency that counts, and the next cone that was clobbered by her certainly would have appreciated some consistency. Third task: Launch to 60 km/h, enter a tight gate and do a very quick lane change to avoid hitting a cone. Aside from Jiyoung's cone hungry appetite, successful. Now it was on to the track.
To be quite honest, I was very skeptical about this whole event, thinking that I would never be satisfied, due to my autocross experience. However, after a few laps following the instructor, getting the right line, we gradually stepped up the speed. Eventually, I was flying down the back stretch at 170km/h, really putting the JCW through its paces. We were never allowed to pass one another, and the instructor was always in the lead, stopping when we got to far ahead of my wife, however, in the end I would say we were driving at roughly 70~80% of track speeds. Thanks to the fact that it was only two of us, we got a nice solid 50 minutes of this track time.As is to be expected, based on previous experience autocrossing, Jiyoung had some issues with understeer, but nothing too serious and overall, she too had a great time. The instructor was impressed with both of our performances.
While I certainly cannot afford to go there every weekend, it was nice to experience it once, and I will certainly be back in winter to give my wife some experience in non optimal conditions as well. A highly recommended experience for anyone in Korea.
