Dear members,
Now, unbelievably, we are into the second half of the year and July started off with a Bang.
1 July was round 4 of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship and as always, a great day out by all. Great weather considering we are in the middle of winter and at Phillip Island and all attendees had a ball.
4 July was round 4 of our Shannons Insurance Simulator challenge and again these nights are a lot of fun and some very close racing. The championship is only a few points from first to third so it is anyone’s game at the moment.
On 9 July we held our Christmas in July annual event. We started the day meeting at Caldermeade then took one of Peter Williams’ amazing drives through Gippsland, with a stop for morning tea at the New Haven Chocolate Factory, where some of our members took a tour of the chocolate making facility and others were served their drinks by a robot. A bit cute. A bit of necessary chocolate shopping done and then off to lunch at the beautiful Rhyll Foreshore Restaurant were we nearly booked out the whole place, which was brilliant. Thank you to all who dressed up this year. Each year gets better and better, it was great fun with amazing food and great company.
On 12 July we held our Geelong area Drop in Donuts night. Lots of cars, and lots coffee and donuts eaten, again, aways a great night.
On 23 July we held our first Motorkhana at Calder Park. What a brilliant day this was. Fabulous turn out of officials and attendees with a variety of cars. Weather started off sunny and dry, if a little cool, but it didn’t take long before the rain to set in and myself and many other officials spent several hours in the rain while our members had fun around the track. This is something we will do again; it was a bit of a tester to see what we can do there and how many layouts we can run at once, but very successful.
August is on us already and looking forward to the days getting longer and warmer.
Sadly, due to low numbers we had to cancel our August Come and Try day at Broadford. Thank you to all those who did register, your registration will be moved to the next one in October.
6 August is still happening with Round 6 of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship. It will be great to see all our members out at this event. Broadford is a great track and always fun.
On 8 August we will be holding our members meeting at Ringwood BMW which is the newest BMW Dealership to open in Melbourne. Come and join us and check out the new dealership. We have invited the BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria to join us at this event too, as Ringwood is also a Motorrad Dealer. this will be a great event and a great chance to catch up with our Motorcycle club friends again. Registration is here and is a must for catering.
On 11-13 August lots of our members will be at Sandown for the E30 Racing Round 4, come along and watch some grass roots racing at it’s best at the Vic State Circuit Racing Championships. Great news out today, Calder Park is back on the racing calendar, with the E30 Racing Round 7 there in October. Can’t wait to go racing at Calder again, might even get my E30 out again for that one!
18 August we will be doing a Friday lunch drive to some of Victoria’s Historic towns. This looks like a great day to have a day off, register here and join us for a weekday drive for a change.
27 August is German Auto Show. This is going to be a huge event. We need your help. We need officials, we need cars to display. This event is for our chosen charity Beyond Blue and we want to raise more that we did last year. If you own a German vehicle please come along and display it, if you don’t, then come along and check out this fantastic day with some amazing cars and bikes on display on the day. We will have great raffle prizes, silent auction prizes thanks to Kaos Custom bikes, German Auto Haus, Sirene Sea Pearls and many more. Check out the website: germanautoshow.com.au
Can’t make it on the day? You can still donate to the charity using this link. fundraise.beyondblue.org.au/german-auto-show-2023.
All donations are welcome, and all money raised will go to Beyond Blue.
Challenge Bathurst registrations have now closed, Jo has been busy collating all the entries and it looks like we are going to have a great group of BMWs at Challenge Bathurst this year from all over the country. We have members from DCM of course plus, South Australia, Canberra, NSW, Queensland and the other Victorian clubs. What a great event this will be and what a great job Jo has done to bring members from all the clubs together for this great event. We are still taking registrations for officials, so if you are wanting to help out and watch the fun of this event. Contact Jo on v.president@bmwdcm.com.au and she will get the information to you. All officials get free camping and meals for the whole weekend. Great treatment for all helping out and a great way to be involved.
Our AGM is booked for Thursday, 12 September at the German Tivoli Club, 6.30pm for those wanting dinner, be sure to book a table, and 7.30 sharp the AGM will start. We invite you all to join us for this event, without your votes we cannot form a committee.
Dates to remember:
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26 November - Geelong Revival, for those not going to Bathurst for Challenge Bathurst
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We are looking at having a corporate suite at the Bathurst 12 Hour in 2024. Dates are 15-19 February 2024. Event details will open soon so watch this space as this will sell out quickly. Make sure you book your own accommodation this year. Contact Jo to get a code for the Mantra Hotel in Bathurst, we have secured a limited number of rooms at the Mantra.
Our welfare team have, as always, been working in the background to assist some of our members who are needing some emotional help. Thank you guys you do a great job and remember, if you need help in any way your club is here to assist. Whether it be an ear to listen or a shoulder to lean on, get in touch.
Merchandise is selling well, and we still have a few of the summer stock which is heavily discounted. Check out our store here.
Membership remains over 750, welcome to all the new members joining our wonderful club. Like all clubs, people come and go for different reasons, but it is great to see we are still healthy and growing. The club is what you make it, so if you have any suggestions, drop us an email or give us a call, we are always open to new ideas and suggestions for events or things you’d like the club to be involved in. We try and do different things to suit everyone, but always open to something new, or indeed, if we have done something in the past you’d like to do again, let us know.
As always, take care out there, wet roads and bad drivers are everywhere, so take extra care and I look forward to seeing you out at an event somewhere soon.
Graeme Bell | President
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne Inc.
PO 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
