For those of you who have not made up your mind to go to your FREE Basic driving Experience session offered by AMG with the purchase of a hand made engine AMG vehicle. Yeah those who bought a c450 do not qualify.
Wow what an experience. Whatever your expectations are believe me it is better then you think. I had a blast with 47 others at Road Atlanta where we drove the E63with the pp, the CLS 63s, the c63s the SL63 with the pp, the AMG GTs and the CLA45. All cars where put through different tests from drag race, slalom, skidpad, hard braking to test the ABS and of course the road course. We reached speeds up to 140mph with the AMG GTs which basically has the same engine except for the lubrication dry vs wet but the sound that car makes is unbelievable. I'm gonna have to ask Santa for one lol.
Everything they teach you is taught by professional race car drivers with impressive resumes which they discus as they introduce themselves. You spend about 30 minutes or so in the hospitality tent and you are off to the races. You get a complimentary breakfast, lunch and refreshment afterwards. The food was excellent and just another part of a fantastic day.
They divide you into 4 groups of 12 people to split up the driving tests so there is practically no waiting time. The final part of the day is the autocross competition where you get to put to the test to see what you learned all through the day. It is a competition between the 4 groups and the group that wins received a small orange cone with "AMG autocross competition winners" on it. The person with the best time of all wins a custom made full face AMG racing helmet. Our group won that competition and I was ecstatic when I learned I had the best time of all.
Thank you AMG for a day that will live in my memory for a long time.
For more information please visit https://amgacademy.com/

 

Yep - don't miss out on this. I did my Academy at Laguna Seca, which was AWESOME! I always wanted to drive a car at speed on that track. AMG made it possible. Our team was not the fastest in the autocross, but we still had a blast.

 

Hey Will - I did Road Atlanta on May 14th and concur 100% with everything u said above. It was one of the coolest experiences of my life. Highly recommend!

 

cool congrats on best time. cant wait till laguna seca

 

I am thinking of attending lime rock. I have driven cars very fast in a straight line at the drag strip, but never on a track. How safe is the class?

 

In our group of 12 there was a 75 your old person. You learn how safe these vehicles are because of the various electronics which are all computer controlled. I was always worried when driving in the rain and losing the back end when going thru turns but after the class all of those worries are gone. The skidpad where you get to test the new C63s teaches you what the car will do in all different driving modes and esp modes. We had some rain later in the day and we were driving the sl63 on the track at speeds up to 110 mph. I don't think they would let novice drivers drive these $150000 vehicles if they weren't safe.
Have no worries. Try it, you will be as amazed as I was

These are my laps in the AMG GTs I am Will F the second one. First time at a race track (road course)

https://amgacademy.com/gallery/final...all&name=will#

 

Wow! That looks like fun! Thanks for posting the video!

Are you allowed to pass people? Who is talking to you?

Thanks!

 

You are not allowed to pass in the Basic Experience.
The instructor who you are following in the first car is talking to you thru a 1 way radio.

 

Laguna Seca is an amazingly fun track. However, as you will see if you watch some of the videos, you are unlikely to get above 110 MPH as there simply are not any straights long enough. Nonetheless, it is a great track on which to learn and practice.

 

I purchased my C63s back in December. I dealt with the general sales manager who gave me about $2500 off sticker. When I asked him about the AMG driving experience he said he has to pay for that and it didn't go anywhere. i assume he was saying that since he was already giving me a deal on the car he wasn't go to pay for the driving experience also.
I have already been to the track with the car on my own, so it is not that I am missing out on the "track experience", but was just curious if I should have or should press the issue. Thoughts?

 

The AMG program is a great experience and you get to drive lots of amazing cars, including the GT-S. Thus, it is a broader opportunity than just driving your own car at track. Plus you get to hammer each car, wear out brakes, tires, etc. and not worry a bit about damaging your own vehicle.

As far as I know, there is nothing stopping you from going to the AMG driving academy website and signing up for a beginner class. You can claim your free class by entering your VIN. If for some reason there is a problem, the academy will send you an email and explain the issue. Regardless, they won't charge you for the class without your permission. Thus, I strongly suggest that you sign up for a class. Chances are you will get in for free.

 

That is just the kind of response I was hoping for from this forum. I didn't realize there was a website I could go to and sign up (imagine that?).
Certainly worth a try.
Thanks

 

+1 Well said.

The fact that you can really put these cars to the test is saving you some serious money on tires and brakes. The AMG GTs is simply phenomenal

 

I signed up for MRLS and everything seems to indicate I am in at no cost by checking the box for "AMG rewards program". Only issue now is all days are full through October so I am on a waiting list.
Thanks again

 

Do not rely on the waiting list. It will not automatically re register you for upcoming sessions. This happened to me for COTA and I ended up going to Road Atlanta. Re register as soon as next year's sessions become available or see if there is still a spot open at other tracks.. Remember you only have one year from the time of purchase.

 

Give the concierge a call once in a while as something might open. I was on a waiting list for a advanced at COTA and called about 2 weeks ahead and something had opened and she gave it to me so she did not have to keep going down list to find someone still interested.
They are very nice and accommodating.

 

I did the Advanced COTA experience. Great instructors. I had Rene and Nipper. I really learned the track. Best time i could put down is a 2:56 on those **** tires. Rene the instructor laid down a 2:37 on those crud tires.

The following weekend my e92 M3 track car was delivered to COTA and I did a 2:35.86 on slicks in a normally aspirated v8. Talk about GEEKED UP!!!

Without the 2 days of track training i would have never have learned the line and the biggest nugget i learned was about the trail braking and the max speeds in a few of the turns. With that knowledge i was able to chase a 2015 GT3 Porsche all over the track.

For those interested. If you join the AMG Private lounge they offer a discount on the AMG experience at all levels.

If you BOUGHT a AMG from a dealer or leased an AMG you get a FREE BASIC day regardless of what your dealer says. Contact the AMG DRIVING academy and get your free BASIC day.

On a side note. If you can prove you have significant track experience like i did they will give you a credit for the basic day and apply it to the advanced 2 day class. You will have to pay the difference.

BTW the beginner class is not 1/2 as fun as the advanced.

if you want to win the amg helmet you MUST win the AUTOCROSS.