BMW's M Drift Academy: We Learned to Drift, Then Got the New M5 on Track

BMW handed us the keys to two fun ideas in one day: the BMW M Drift Academy, and a full track session in the new M5 — 717 horsepower, hybrid boost, all-wheel drive, and enough mass to make physics file a complaint.

We headed to the BMW Performance Center at the Thermal Club in California (103°F, because of course) to see what the new M5 is actually like when you stop reading the spec sheet and start putting it on track — then spent the rest of the day learning to drift on the skid pad with BMW's own instructors.

In this video:

- First laps in the new M5 on the Thermal Club road course
- Braking, cornering lines, and why the ceramic brakes hold up under real abuse
- Driver swap and second impressions from someone who already owns an M5
- The BMW M Drift Academy: throttle control, countersteer timing, and the figure-8 skid pad drill

0:00 – Cold open: drift highlights
0:51 – What today is: M Drift Academy + M5 track day
1:06 – The new M5: 717 hp, hybrid, AWD
1:26 – First laps on track
2:54 – Cornering lines and braking technique
4:17 – Driver swap
6:51 – First impressions of the M5 on track
9:17 – BMW M Drift Academy begins (Thermal Club, CA)
9:34 – DSC off, drift analyzer on
10:43 – Learning the basics: hands, eyes, throttle
12:08 – Throttle control over braking
13:05 – Figure-8 skid pad drill
14:40 – Why smooth drifting takes practice
15:08 – Wrap-up and reactions
17:01 – Cost of the Drift Academy + M School / M4 GT4 program

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