Bathurst is a special place for petrolheads, and the first sight of the letters MOUNT PANORAMA (on the side of the mountain, similar to the Hollywood sign) as you approach the track always gets me excited about the weekend ahead.  We packed many great experiences into the weekend: a podium tour, helicopter ride, tour of the BMW Walkenhorst pit area, dinner with the interstate BMW clubs and walking the grid before the race start.

On Saturday afternoon, Lawrence and I had a surprisingly open conversation in the pits with some Bentley mechanics about their troubles.  It turns out that their chattiness was because they thought (based on the shirts we were wearing) that we were mechanics for the BMW team!

Sadly, it was a weekend of bad luck for Chaz Mostert and the rest of the BMW Walkenhorst team, who eventually retired due to damage from a collision. Nonetheless it was a very entertaining race, and we were wined and dined throughout.  I took some walks to watch parts of the race from various places around the circuit, but with 40+ degree temperatures it was great to return to the air-conditioned comfort of the corporate marquee. 

To finish off the day, we bumped into the drivers of the BMW M4 GT4, who were celebrating finishing first in the GT4 class.

Thanks to Jo and Graeme for organising a great trip.

Simon de Lisle | Member #430
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne

FINALLY, thanks to BMWDCM, I have experienced the Mecca of Australian Motorsport, the Bathurst 12-hour Enduro GT Race!

Having grown up in the 70s and 80s, in the heyday of production car racing, luckily our household had it on tele every year.

Aussies could go out and buy the winning car on the Monday after the race.  How awesome were those muscle cars?

The current GT pro class race cars, are absolute beasts on the track and make for some exciting racing and viewing.  Thanks to Jo and team E30, we had some exclusive access to the BMW M6 in their pits and pre-race on the grid at 5.30am Sunday morning.  We also got to check out the race control tower, a podium tour and another first for me, a helicopter ride around the track, during the race.

The corporate package with airconditioned marque, TV coverage, race simulators and nonstop food and drinks, is the way to go, when the temp outside is 42c.

Unfortunately, the M6 hit a roo and had to retire some time after, after radiator and overheating issues.

A special thanks to Graeme and Jo for getting me up to Bathurst and looking after us like a family.

Mel Sedmak | Member #319
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne