Dear members,
October has come and gone and we now have daylight savings, which is great for getting out to enjoy our cars.
The month that was
On 8 October we met at Advanced Detail for a very comprehensive lesson on the best way to look after your BMW and other special vehicles. There were also some great products to purchase with full instructions from the staff on which to use for your daily and show needs. We have been offered discounts on detailing and products which will be shared soon on social media.
10-13 October was Bathurst 1000 where we had several of our members take the long trip to Bathurst to help run the event. Thank you to all the volunteers, without your support these great events do not happen.
Young member, Royce Lyne, scored a Toyota Gazoo Racing Scholarship drive in one of their amazing factory cars. This was the first time Royce had driven the car and also the first time at Bathurst, so a huge achievement for him and a very exciting time for him and all his family. We were all so proud of how he drove over the weekend and if you managed to watch you would have seen him out there doing us all so proud.
On 19 October we had a lunch meet then a nice drive through the Yarra Valley. We met at Elevations in Emerald for lunch, heading off after our drivers briefing using the TourBoss app for the first time as a full group. All who attended had the app, which was really handy. If you have not yet downloaded the app, please do, as this is the way of our future drives - safe, efficient and environmentally better, as there is no need for paper navigation instructions.
After a few stops along the way to stretch our legs and to check all were happy with the app, we were back on the road to have our final stop at Hardorf Chocolate Café in Montrose. This was a real gem with lots of different chocolates to purchase and great gift ideas. If you need something nice for your loved ones, it is worth a drive to get something special. Thanks again to Peter Williams for the drive and fantastic venue stops. This event was well attended with over 40 cars on the road with us.
25-27 October was the final round of E30 racing, with quite a few of our members in attendance. Jo managed to secure a new M3 touring for the course car and of course the Racer Industries Safety car was there on track as well. We had Scott Long as Clerk of the Course, which was a great achievement for him running his own race meeting, which we're very proud of. Scott had come in the last few years of mentoring by us and other heads of motorsport. There were a lot of our other members out there officiating, but I can't name them all. I can say that we're all very proud of our members who do consistently put in and volunteer at motorsport events.
Racing at the event went off without any hitches, with Royce Lyne taking out the championship which is just amazing. We are all so proud of him and what he has achieved at only 17.
On 29 October a group of intrepid members went off to Tasmania for a 10-day touring trip. They are still there, so watch our social media post for updates on their trip, it is looking like a great event again planned by both Peter and Jo who do an amazing job with all these social outings.
Sadly, Jo and I didn't get the opportunity to attend this trip as I had my operation on the 25 October and will be out of action for at least 6 weeks. For 3 weeks I'll be pretty much house bound with bed rest, but after that I'll gently returning to day-to-day life activities. Thank you to all who have sent messages of support while I have been in hospital. Things went a little sideways on Friday and for a long-time Jo did not know where I was and what was happening. A 24 hour stay in ICU and then up to the ward was not what we were expecting but the care I have been given has been amazing. Jo has been with me day and night only leaving to get freshened up, get clean clothes and back in she comes.
The month ahead
November is here and it is a little scary that we are nearly the end of the year. The big man in red will soon be visiting.
9 November is our car display at the Sandown Historics. There are still spots available if you want to attend.
10 November was our Hill Climb event but unfortunately, we had to cancel this due to me being in hospital and Jo having to care for me. Don’t stress we will try to get something booked in for early 2025.
14 November is our Annual General Meeting; this will be held at the Tivoli German Club and we welcome you all to attend and come early for some great German Food. If you are unable to attend, please send through a proxy vote to secretary@bmwdcm.com.au so the voting can be successful. Proxy forms should have been sent out but if you have lost yours contact Peter at secretary@bmwdcm.com.au and he will be happy to send you a form.
12 November has us up at Challenge Bathurst again with a great bunch of drivers and their crew. This is a 2-day event for us but the event runs from Thursday till Sunday so if you are available to officiate over some of the days, please let us know, so Jo can make the correct arrangements. It is great to see members joining us from most of the clubs in Australia, we have Melbourne of course, Victoria, Canberra, New South Wales, Queensland and South Australian members all attending. We love these interstate events, they bring all the BMW Clubs Australia members together and make a harmonious event. Jo and I are hoping to attend this but at this stage we are just doing day by day, it will all depend on my health and if I can get clearance from the medical team.
12 November also sees a few selected cars attending Motors and Masterpieces which is a re vamp of Motorclassica. This should be a really good event and even if your car is not on display be sure to pop out and check out all the wonderful vehicles on display.
We will finish the month on 29 November, our first twilight drive for spring. Peter is taking us for a drive up to Mount Dandenong to enjoy the sunset at the top of Sky-High Restaurant. We are not sure if the café will be open when you get there so if you are attending, grab something to eat before you head off from the roadhouse. We will be using TourBoss again for this event, so have this downloaded ready for a seamless drive experience.
Looking beyond November
Dates ahead to remember:
Check out the calendar for our full list of events and to register for those listed above.
2025 Clubs Australia Nationals
We are very happy with the registrations that have come through so far for our 2025 Nationals. If you have yet to book, please get your registrations in as accommodation if filling quickly, so be sure to get your reservations done before the end of the year and also grab the early bird special pricing on events.
We have a few of our members, including me, who have been under the weather and our welfare team have been helping them behind the scenes which is fantastic, and I personally thank them for their support.
Other news
We have plenty of merchandise in our store which you can order at any time.
Nationals merchandise is on the nationals website, so have a look and get your orders in.
We are getting to that time of the year where Jess, our editor of idrive and all things wonderful, will be starting to put together our next edition of idrive. Jo sent out emails asking for articles and if you have any life experiences with your BMW, please share with us through an article to editor@bmwdcm.com.au.
Any great photos you take at events, please send to photos@bmwdcm.com.au and this will go up on our website and also may make it into the next edition of idrive.
Lawrence and Shaaron are now back for there trip to Europe, where they had a great visit with BMW Classic and also did some fantastic tours of their facilities. I am sure Lawrence will be doing an article for the next idrive for us all to read about. Be sure to let us know if you are planning a trip to Munich, with plenty of notice so we can put you in Contact with the correct people for you to get some behind the scenes experiences.
This will be all from me as I am not really writing this month’s presidents report, but my loving nurse Jo is typing while is dictate from my hospital bed.
Until I see you again, take care and thank you for the kind words to both Jo and I and my children as this has been a troubling few days/week for us all.
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
