[above: A convoy of white BMW M3s going through their paces at the Salzburgring, Austria in 'The Sound of Music' country.]

By Ronnie Lim

THE morning stillness is shattered as our express train of half a dozen white M3 Beemers, led by a safety car, the BMW X6 M, dives into a banked curve.

After hitting 200 kilometres an hour or so (who's really checking) on the approach straight, the 100-metres warning sign looms, and we furiously pedal-shift to change down to third or second gear, with each downshift sparking off a loud, macho engine bark.

What a blast! What an exhilarating chorus of barks, as we take the racing line into the corner at 100 kmh or so and then zoom off again.

We are after all in 'The Sound of Music' country at the Salzburgring, just 10 km away from Salzburg, Austria, and I can't stop grinning away.

The 4.3 km Salzburgring (which rhymes with the more illustrious Nurburgring track in Germany) comprises two straights and 12 bends and is used mainly for touring car races. But for our group of 40, it's all ours for two full glorious days, as we hustle hot cars along the cool track under BMW's 'M Power Experience' programme.

Essentially, it is meant for M-car owners or would-be owners - M doesn't stand for Munich, as one clueless participant volunteered; neither does it stand for muscle as in muscle-cars, but for the Motorsports division of BMW - to get participants to understand the cars and their limits, and more importantly, the drivers' own!

That's why before we actually hit the track, we are split into smaller groups under several instructors who put us through the paces - practising 'drifting' for instance in one exercise, in an area hosed down by a water truck.

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