Dear Members,

Welcome to Autumn in Melbourne!

Summer may be over, but the beautiful Autumn weather is here, and we have been making the most of it and getting out and about as much as we can.

March started off with our members meeting at Berwick BMW with nearly 100 members and guests attending the night.  It was great to be able to get up close and personal to the new M3 and M4 and also mingle with some of Berwick BMWs customers. It was a fantastic evening and we thank Berwick BMW for inviting us along to help launch Melbourne’s newest dealership.

7 March was Round 2 of the Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship, Round 1 of the Motorsport Australia Interclub Championship and our first Hill Climb at Rob Roy. It was a beautiful day it was with the sun shining and lots of fun was had by all who attended, with everyone improving their times with each run. This was the aim of the day and we all went home very happy.

In late February we were contacted by Race Chix Motorsport to run a womens come and try day as a part of the Shannons International Women’s Day Festival event at Broadford on 8 March.  As you can imagine with only two weeks’ notice, there was a lot of work to be done, but we pulled it off.  With 27 entrants (25 of which were women) and over 50% female officials on the day, it was a brilliant turnout and a fantastic effort from all of our members that gave of their time to help run the day.  

We were lucky to be at Broadford on the Sunday night and were invited to the event dinner to listen to Inspirational speaker Jacqui Cooper, 5-time Olympic Freestyle skier, give a truly inspiring talk about her life and just why not to ever give up on your dreams.  If she was selling ice, I think both Jo and I would have bought it on the night.  We are lucky to have Jacqui coming to our presentation dinner on 1 May, so don’t miss out on the chance to be inspired by this amazing woman. 

14 March was our family day out at Werribee Zoo. We were very lucky to have a brilliant sunny day as the day before was very wet.   Lots of families attended and we had the Chongola privately booked for us so our members could just leave their belongings behind and explore at their leisure and then come back to either cook a BBQ or enjoy a picnic lunch.  We also booked a carriage on the Safari bus for all our members to be together and this did not disappoint, with some very close encounters with a very large Rhino and some very beautiful African animals. 

16 March was our last mid-week sunset drive for this summer.  This time we departed from Waverley BMW and as usual, Waverly put on a great spread for us before we headed of on a fantastic drive up to the scenic lookout at the top of Mt Dandenong with over 30 cars in procession, in 2 groups of 16.  The drive was amazing even though we did get a bit confused at one point, but we all made it up to the look out to see the spectacular Melbourne city lights.  It was so good to have learner drivers come out again, this makes me so proud that parents feel safe to bring their children on our drives with us. 

On 26-28 March quite a few of our club members attended E30 Racing Round 2 at Winton, either as drivers, crew or officials.  It was great to see my son Chris return to racing for the first time since he won the E30 Racing Championship in 2018 and fantastic to see Jess out racing again after rolling her car at Sandown in Round 1. I'm very proud of both of them, they both drove very well - Chris finishing second for the weekend and Jess in 8th. BMW Drivers Club Melbourne proudly sponsored the Blend Line live stream coverage of this event and it is not too late to still watch all the action on Blend Line. The E30 Racing Championship is a great next step into motorsport for those that want to go beyond Club track days and step into real racing. It is a great bunch of people to be involved with and we always enjoy the weekends away racing with them. For more information on Club Motorsport or E30 Racing give me a call or send me an email.

Also, on 28 March we had what would possibly be our last twilight drive for this part of the year, as we are running out of day light, which left from Ceres and ended at Grill’d in Geelong, were most attended the evening meal.  Another great drive was had by all and also another great charity was supported with tokens being given to The Smiths Family from the dinner funds.

April is going to be a jammed packed month with lots to do and see.

Easter starts on 2 April and we are holding our annual Good Friday Royal Children’s Hospital Coffee & Cars day.  We are hoping to raise some much-needed funds for this worthy charity.  If you cannot attend on the day, you will find the bank details for any donations you may which to give here, be sure to quote the reference number so it will go to our tally.   All cars and bikes are welcome, BMW and non-BMW, members and non-members, this is our big chance to give so they may live. This year we are holding it on the grass area of Sandown Raceway, known as Red Hill. I’d like to thank Melbourne Racing Club and Sandown for allowing us to have our event there at no cost, so the funds we raise can all go to the Royal Children’s Hospital.

On 4 April is the Flinders Heritage Car Display, and this event is now full but if you want to come down as a spectator you can still do this, and we would love to see you.  All funds raised by this event goes to local charities and the Lions Club do a brilliant job each year running this fantastic event. We will have a great display again this year and looking forward to seeing all the amazing cars that come out for this event.

10 April will be our drive day from Berwick BMW heading out to Mirboo North and lunch will be at the Grand Ridge Brewery after some very exciting driving roads, by our drive master Peter Williams.  

13 April will be our members meeting at Eastern Tyre Centre, with some fantastic raffle prizes and also a guest speaker on the night.  This event is nearly at capacity so don’t miss out.

17 April was on our calendar as a Winton Driver Training day but unfortunately due to circumstance beyond our control this day has now been cancelled.  We will be having Round 3 of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship at Winton on April 18, so entries are out don’t miss out as this day books up quickly.

24/25 April is the Anzac weekend. We are doing a short weekend trip away to Mansfield and we will be attending the dawn service in Mansfield or one of the surrounding towns. We're looking forward to another weekend away with our club family, these are so much fun and to go to a dawn service somewhere different is always worth the effort, to remember those that gave so much so that we can enjoy the life we now lead.

1 May is our third birthday and presentation dinner which is going to be a great night and would love to see as many of you attending this great night to support all your fellow members who will be presented awards on the night.  This event is being held at the Park Hyatt and if you want to make it a weekend stay, be sure to quote the special discount code when booking your room at the Park Hyatt.

As you can see, we have a very busy calendar coming for you to enjoy, but if you have anything you’d think we would like to do or see or have a favourite drive you’d like to share, get in touch and let us know. We are always looking for ideas and even people to run events if you like to. Happy to help you get more involved in your club. Keep an eye on the emails and website for all the upcoming events.

As always, I am very proud to say our membership is still growing, and we are now at 567 and still growing daily.  Let’s see if we can get the club over 600 by our birthday! It truly amazes me that so many have come on board with us and share the passion for what we all do, enjoying our cars and our driving with an awesome bunch of friends. Thank you and welcome to you all.

 I look forward to seeing you somewhere at an event or on the road, until then take care and safe driving.

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