BMW began offering ‘driver training’ more than 35 years ago, offering drivers the chance to hone their skills at the wheel and get the most out of their cars. What began as a driving school has now been repackaged under the “BMW Driving Experience” and “MINI Driving Experience” banners under the oversight of BMW M GmbH.
When Robert Eichlinger, Head of BMW and MINI Driving Experience, approached the task of promoting the new experiences, he turned to Tim and Nick Hahne of film makers Steroscreen – the team behind ’24 HOURS IN 19500 FRAMES’.
So, with the filming and production sorted, it was time to sort out the cast, and who better than BMW’s Brazilian DTM works driver, Augusto Farfus to deliver a Nordschleife experience to a willing pupil – his wife, Liri Farfus.
Now I’ve always thought Augusto and Liri make a lovely couple – they’ve been married since 2008, and Liri usually attends all of Augusto’s races, so you’d assume she was used to his driving and trusted his skill behind the wheel.
But of course, this is the classic dilemma of the race drivers better half – watching your beloved on track is one thing, but riding shotgun is quite another.
The result is hilarious, even more so than the viral classic of ex-F1 driver Ricardo Patrese, driving his wife around Jerez circuit in a Honda Civic Type R.
‘Journey Into The Green’ starts in an innocuous enough manner, Augusto promises Liri that the first 7km are the most exciting and thereafter things will quieten down.
It takes less than 20 seconds before Liri asks Ninho to slow down, then there are some great one-liners as Augusto tries to convince his wife that he’s actually driving really slow (compared to how he’d normally tackle the ‘ring):
“Are you being careful?”
“I’m driving very slowly. There’s a MINI behind us. He wants to overtake, but we won’t let that happen!”
“Here’s a corner called ‘Flugplatz’. The car will be jumping soon!”
“Please Ninho, don’t jump! Don’t Jump!”
And then my favourite:
“I’ll brake here, 3rd gear all the way, then full throttle!”
“That’s the last corner. Claudia (Hurtgen) taught me after sign 186, you drive around hit the throttle hard!”
“Drive around and hit the throttle, are you mad?”
“Claudia told me that, I’m putting my foot down and that’s it!”
“I’m going to kill Claudia!”
It’s 9:52 minutes of side-splitting entertainment, and if after watching you don’t feel like booking yourself in for a BMW Driving Experience, then you surely don’t have a pulse.
Visit the website to find out more.
Gallery
Written By
Try These Next
Stories we think you'll enjoy
