Dear members,
October came and went with a whirl, seems to be a thing lately!
1 October was our last Driver Training event at Broadford for the year and we were sold out, which was a great result. These events are not only great for new and upcoming drivers but also great for training new officials and this one was no exception with us have no less than 15 officials upskilling on the day. Fantastic weather, brilliant day out and a great way to end the driver Training season.
4 October was our drop in Donuts night, and as with all of these nights, we had a great turn out and all enjoyed the coffee, cars and donuts.
8 October a large group headed out for a great drive from Eildon-Jamison Mansfield and Yea. With great driving roads the group enjoyed some amazing drives to end up at lunch in Mansfield. After lunch the drive continued on a scenic drive home via Yea.
12 October was our Annual General Meeting, which was held at the German Club Tivoli. We always love coming here and the food and staff are always fabulous. Our 2022/23 Committee stood down and a new committee were elected for the next year. I am back as President, Jo is again our Vice President, Peter Williams is now our Secretary and Lawrence is taking on the role of Treasurer. Shaaron has been with us for 5 years and due to personal reasons has stood down from this role. I would personally like to thank Shaaron for all her work she has done over the past 5 years. Our new committee are committed to run our great club and take it forward into the future.
On 21 October Jo and I went off to WA for 5 days escape before the next few months of crazy busy events. Yes, I know it’s hard to believe, but we managed to have 5 days off to enjoy the sights of Perth and Southwestern WA.
22 October was our second What Else is in Your Garage Coffee and Cars Day. Sadly, the weather was not that brilliant, but our members did not disappoint us and there was still a fantastic turn out of beautiful cars.
On 25 October a group of members headed out for our first Twilight drive for the end of the year. After a great drive the group enjoyed some food and laughs.
On 26-28 October E30 racing attended the last round of the Victorian State Race Series at Calder Park. So good to see so many of our members there and even to have members join us as spectators. I have raced at this track many years ago and it brought back some fantastic memories. What a great weekend and what a great venue this will be once a few more upgrades are done.
I can’t believe we are in November now and only a few more weeks and we will be winding up for the year and what a year it has been.
7 November is our Melbourne Cup Drive. We are leaving from the Club Rooms in Hastings hopefully by 9.45am to enable 3 groups to get through the Light House tour. Followed by some more great driving roads to end at T’Gallants for a casual lunch then a Melbourne Cup sweep over tea and coffee. This event is closed now.
11/12 November is Sandown Historic Car Display. Join us with discounted entry to enjoy some fabulous historic racing.
14 November is our last Simulator Challenge. Come along to see who this year’s Simulator Champion will be. It is very close with only a few points between first and third. there are still spots left so make sure you register to be part of all the fun, come along as a spectator too.
We're off to Challenge Bathurst on 25-26 November, which will be a brilliant event. There are 55 members joining us from 6 BMW Clubs from all over Australia to enjoy this thrilling event. We are also lucky to have over 20 members joining us as volunteers to help run the event. Jo and I will arrive very early and help out with the sprint sessions and then once our lot are all cleared through scrutiny, we will be managing our group.
26 October is Geelong Revival which sadly conflicts with Challenge Bathurst, but Lawrence will be heading this event, and we are sure to have a brilliant display as per normal. This is a great event to attend as a displayer or just come and enjoy the great event this always is.
Dates to remember:
Preparing for the Nationals
We will be launching the Nationals 2025 website very soon and before we can do that, we are needing a logo!
Working with BMW AG we have strict criteria on all our logos, and this must fit their guidelines. 2025 is also 50 years of the 3 series so we are thinking maybe something to link the two together?
We ask all members to get their creative heads on and see what you can come up with. Get them to us as soon as you can so the committee can pick the best and most appropriate logo and announce the best design in the December newsletter. If you would like to help us with this contact myself or Jo regarding the criteria we have to work with.
We will also be forming a Nationals Committee in November, if you think you will be interested in helping with this event, please contact Jo, on events@bmwdcm.com.au, who has already gotten things off to a great start and let her know what availability you will be able to offer, be it before or during the event.
Our Nationals are planned for Anzac Weekend 2025 which falls over the Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday. Anzac Day being on the Friday.
Mark these dates in your diary, book your holiday leave and make sure you are there to enjoy our Nationals event.
From the Welfare Team
From our Welfare team, some of you may have noticed Peter Williams missing from our drive events. This is due to him having a tumble and breaking a bone or possibly a few bones in his hand and not being able to drive for some time. Lawarence and Shaaron have led a drive and Jo and I will be at the helm at the next two but rest assured Peter is mending well and will be back as soon as he can.
We wish him a speedy recovery and look forward to having him back up front again.
The online store
We still have limited stock of our summer shirts for sale. Go to our store to place your orders for when we get some more sunny weather.
Our UHF Radios kits are selling well, and these are a really great purchase. Maybe a good idea for Christmas if you are stuck for idea. They come with pretty much everything you need for communicating on our drive days. Go to our store to pick up one now.
Join us for a Christmas BBQ
Bell Motorsport (that’s Jo and I) will be having our Christmas BBQ on the 17th December at the Hastings yard. Feel free to drop in and join us from 10 am. It is a casual day with soft drinks and sausage sizzle. Bring the kids and enjoy the company. Jo promises not to be carted off in an Ambulance this year!
Other news
Jo and I were lucky to be invited to the 100 years of Motorrad celebration by Melbourne/Ringwood and Doncaster BMW. This was at a really cool venue which Jo is in communications with for us to hold a twilight/daytime cars and food event at. This will be at the beginning of the year to hopefully enjoy some of our great weather.
CPS renewals are going well with the electronic system, if you don’t know how to do it, go to our CPS page on our website and read the instructions.
Remember this is a very busy time of year and your committee are all volunteers who try to have some home/life balance. If you are wanting to put your car on CPS or needing your renewals signed, please do not leave it to the last minute as we may not be able to help at short notice. We are here for you, but we will need a little notice. Call us before heading down.
If you are reading this now and have a vehicle on CPS make sure you have not let it run out. It is your responsibility to ensure your membership is up to date and your renewals are signed and paid.
Peter and Jo will be putting their heads together to map out some great drives for 2024. Jo already has a lot of great events planned for us to look forward to, but, as always, if you have an idea for an event or go somewhere cool and you think it would be great to take the club to, don’t keep it a secret! Let us know and we will follow up on it or help you get it off the ground.
We have five Driver Training events tentatively booked for 2024! We are still waiting for the motorsport calendars to be finalised, so we can confirm them, but next year looks like a great year with some amazing on track events planned.
We have sent out our sponsorship proposals for 2024 and so far, we have had some very positive results from both new and existing Club sponsors. One new sponsor took up our new Driver Training Pack, so we will be able to offer some cheaper rounds to enable more people the opportunity of getting out on track. If you own or are a part of a business that might like to sponsor the club or advertise in our excellent magazine, idrive, don’t hesitate to ask for our sponsorship proposal pack.
If you are interested in sponsoring the club, please contact Jo on v.president@bmwdcm.com.au and she will be happy to chat with you. We are glad to already have some of our previous sponsors committing for 2024.
Drive safe and I look forward to seeing you out at an event soon.
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
