Dear Members,

And Just like that, summer is over and we are into the lovely autumn weather we so love in Melbourne, perfect for getting out and enjoying our cars and the company of our BMW family and friends. We have so many events upcoming, there is something for everyone, but first a recap of a very busy February, that even included a snap 5 day lockdown!

February started with strong membership numbers.  It was fantastic to see lots of new members coming on board over summer and we are now sitting on 547 members, thank you all for joining us and a very warm welcome from us all.

We started off with an event at Revolution Racegear on 3 February, who have come on board for 2021 as club sponsors.  This was a very informative night on preparing yourself and your car for motorsport, and it was also well attended.  Thank you Aaron and Mark for staying back on your own time and thanks again for the great discounts on the night given to our members. Going forward, Revolution will give you special prices on anything you buy in store, on production of your membership card. Another benefit of your Club Membership and another reason to always carry your membership card with you.

The Torquay Great Ocean Road Drive on 13 February, which was to be an observation run to replace the Torquay Motor Show, had to be cancelled due to the 5-day lockdown in Victoria, which was a shame as this was looking like a really fun drive event, with great numbers booked in to go. 

19-21 February saw quite a few Members at Sandown for the first E30 Racing round for 2021. The racing was close across the field and saw one of our founding members, Alex Jory, make a great start to the 2021 Championship, winning all the races across the weekend with fellow DCM member Simon Leach coming home second in each race as well.

A lot of you would have heard our wonderful editor, Jess Bell, rolled her car in third race of the weekend and we are very happy to report she is ok and is very appreciative of the messages of support she received from so many of you as word spread. Poor Gonzales (who we affectionately call Kermit), her bright green E30 Racecar is a bit second hand looking, as you would be after a double somersault in turn 1 at Sandown, but the word from the panel beater is that he reckons he may be able to fix it. For the time being Jess will continue her E30 Racing campaign using her older brother, Sean’s, car until we either repair Gonzales or build Gonzales 2.0.

On 23 February we had a tour of Zagame Autobody, followed by another sunset drive, this time up to Mt Macedon. It was so good to see new members join us at this event and also a few families with their children. The drive was brilliant, thanks again to Peter, who never ceases to amaze us with his drive routes.  Thank you also to Essendon BMW for bringing out some beautiful M cars for our members to have a look over whilst devouring the amazing dinner platter laid out for us.

We have also received our new merchandise in the middle of the month and sales have really gone well,  you will see some of our members wearing the new style summer shirt at events and in photos.  You can also click here to view the online store to check them out yourself.

Our final event for February was Round 1 of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship with AROCA at Sandown and it was amazing to see so many BMWs out on the track and also so many club members supporting our competitors, either helping out as pit crew or officials or as instructors. It is a great atmosphere at our track days, with a fantastic bunch of people always coming along, and it was made even better with spectators being able to come and join us, for the first time in nearly a year. With the Covid situation finally starting to abate and vaccines rolling out, we are hoping that the worst of the Pandemic is now behind us and we can now get back to a more normal life that we have all missed.

All in all, a pretty busy Month, considering it was interrupted for a week. The other thing that happened was that our amazing powerhouse, Jo, went under the knife and has had one of her hips replaced and is now well on the road to recovery. I am totally in awe of what doctors can do to the human body and the difference in Jo is amazing already. Being able to get up and walk better than she has been able to for years is very heart-warming to see and only a couple of weeks in and she is back to attending selected events with us again.

Moving straight into March, our Members Meeting on 2 March will be the launch night for Berwick BMW and if you missed the new M3 and M4 launch in December, this is your last chance to get out and see them, whilst they are still here, as I am pretty sure, after this event, they will be boarding a ship to return to Germany. To see the new dealership is worth the visit, but to see these two amazing cars makes it a must do.

Unfortunately, this year there is no Club Display at the Phillip Is Historics, due to COVID. There are very limited entry tickets for spectators and you are restricted on where you can go, so this year we won’t be doing a Club event to the Historics, sadly. We would also normally be going to the Australian Grand Prix in March, but it too has been postponed and we look forward to hearing what will happen regarding a display or any club involvement later inn the year. We will keep you informed, as soon as we know anything.

7 March is Round 2 of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship and also Round 1 of the Motorsport Australia Interclub Hillclimb Challenge at Rob Roy Hillclimb track. If you fancy a lovely day out with a picnic atmosphere, come along and support our members or even enter and have a run on the oldest Hillclimb Track in Australia. It will be a fun day and I look forward to seeing a few of you out there. Enter via the Motorsport Australia Event Entry portal at the link in the event.

On 8 March, we have been asked by Race Chix Motorsport to run a Come and Try/Driver Training Day as a part of the Shannons International Women’s Festival at Broadford.  This is now open to men and women, so if you haven’t registered please make sure you do soon before the event closes.  This is manly aimed at women drivers who have never been on a track before and what to learn more about what is needed and what to do. Sorry about the late notice, but we have been working feverishly to get this event up and happening, after only coming on board a week ago. This will be the perfect opportunity for women to come and have a taste of what it’s like on track and with some classroom sessions as well as instruction, we hope you will gain some skills and have a try on a track without any pressure of competition.

On 14 March we will be doing a family day out and visiting the Werribee Zoo, where we have a reserved undercover area, so we can relax and enjoy the day.  We have also reserved a bus spot for the Safari tour. Make sure you register your interest as soon as possible if you do want to attend.

On 16 March, our now monthly mid-week drive will be leaving from Waverly BMW, but not before we have time to have a quick look through their show room and have a quick bite to eat and something soft to drink.  The drive is taking us to the summit of Mt Dandenong this time, where we should be able to see some amazing views of Melbourne in the twilight. As the days grow shorter and colder, we may not continue our sunset cruise events to the top of a nearby Mountain through Winter, but we will see if we can replace them with a visit somewhere interesting and warm… until Summer returns.

The month will end up at Winton with Round 2 of the E30 Racing Championship, on 26-28 March again with lots of our members competing as well as helping out. We are hoping to have spectators at this event too, so come for a drive and watch some great racing and join in the fun that is real motorsport!

We had a thought earlier this year, that we have a few families now with younger members who have joined as junior members, so why not have a club polo for them.  This should be on the club’s merchandise store very shortly so watch out as they are very cute and only $10. Also, we have now dropped the joining fee for additional members joining an existing or new membership at the same address, making it cheaper for families or couples to join us and experience the benefits of being in the Ultimate Driving Club.

As always, watch the calendar for more events and also look out on our Club Partners page to see all of our sponsors and what great offers they have for you all as loyal members.

One final note, it is not long now before we have our annual presentation dinner, at another one of our new Sponsors, Park Hyatt Melbourne.  This is going to be a fabulous event and we would love to see you all dressed up and supporting all those who won awards in 2020. So, get your tickets and come and join us for a lovely evening to celebrate the Club’s third birthday.

Thank you for joining us this month and I look forward to seeing you at an event somewhere soon.

Drive safe and take care.

Graeme Bell | President
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne Inc.

P.O. Box 81, TYABB   VIC   3913
Incorporated in Victoria #A0102695G
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne Inc is a member of: BMW Clubs Australia and the BMW Clubs International Council
Motorsport Australia Affiliated Motorsport Club