Event date: 25 November 2021

With 23 members in what is loosely called the “Geelong and District” group we are holding a few meetings or drives in the Geelong area – open to all now lockdowns are gone but most attractive to those living near by.

We’ve hit on a regular venue at Daniel’s Donuts as it has outdoor but sheltered seating right by the car parking area.

There is no format or agenda, just rock up and have a natter. Any car will do but BMWs are especially welcome.  The conversation is not confined to car talk, although that does tend to take up a fair bit of time.  Issues we discussed this month in a free ranging conversation went from “Do we like ABS brake?” (mostly Yes but some prefer to go native) “Should the i8 have had a much more powerful engine that the 1.5 litre one?” (mostly Yes to make a proper supercar but is that what was intended?) and “Are house painters allowed to use stilts to reach higher walls and ceilings?” (seems not, but we don’t know hay).  Don’t ask me how those topics got joined up but in the course of an hour and a half or so a lot of ground can be covered, even allowing for some car looking at time.

Lawrence Glynn | Secretary, Geelong resident and Member #3
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

Event date: 21 November 2021

7:30am Sunday, 21 November begins at Phillip Island with drizzle after a weeklong forecast graduating from rain to mostly sunny.  I arrive in the hope the weather bureau has got it right, not keen on the wet after a long break.  I’ve not driven the PI Circuit since 2019 and even then very much an amateur of this circuit.  My best lap time 2.14.8.

On arrival I’m met by Jo Mawson, who proudly presents my D Class Winners Trophy, funnily enough also from 2019.  Looking back, our BMWDCM track days aren’t so much about lap times as they are about consistency.  In 2019 I obviously attended enough track day events with reasonable enough results to warrant that Trophy.  A big thank you to our club, a very nice looking Trophy to boot!

For those of you who don’t know me, I drive a club plated 1987 Red BMW E30 325i Coupe.  Whilst not fully race prepared and albeit road driven to each sprint event, it does run a set of AD08R tyres & EBC pads along with race seats, harness, extractors and strut brace.  I purchased it in late 2016 as a factory auto (believe it or not) with Bell Motorsport converting to manual early 2017 ready for track day events that year.

So back to where I started.  My practice and session one were very disappointing, totally off my lines, braking & gear selection abysmal.  Best lap time 2.17.0, losing 2.2 secs since 2019. Then after lunch I overheard Graeme Bell suggest the race prepared E30’s line up together to follow him, so as to improve their form & lap times.  Well I decided to follow suit, lined up behind and followed the 5 E30 race cars around the circuit for as long as I could keep up, losing them out of sight after about 3 laps.  

So the remaining 3 sessions of the afternoon were spent doing just that.  This pushed and motivated me to keep my speed up, follow their lines, braking & accelerations points.  Well what a difference that made, having achieved a 2.11.6 by end of the day.  So I left the day feeling pretty chuffed with myself, 5.4 secs better for that event and 3.2 secs better than 2019.

See you at the next one guys and thank you to AROCA & BMWDCM for a great day!

Simon Meens | Member #45
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

Event date: 21 November 2021

Driving go karts on a wet track is a lot of fun, but messy. Not only do you get wet but the little bits of rubber which come off the tyres get stuck all over you.  Not everyone thinks the combination of fun, wet and mess is a good idea! I do.

Leading up to our drive from Caldermeade to Stony Creek Go Karts the weather forecast was for rain, if not all day at least some of the day. So, a messy but fun day looked like what we would get. But no. The day was actually lightly overcast but mainly sunny without being too hot. One has to admire the bravery of weather forecasters giving us hour by hour weather predictions!

Using another of Peter Williams’ world famous how-to-make-a-sortish-journey-longer-but-much-more-interesting drive routes we departed from the BP on the side of the freeway at Caldermeade heading for Korumburra for a toilet stop and then on to Stony Creek Go Karts, taking about twice the time of the most direct route but at least 4 times the fun.

Peter was unable to join us due to a knee swelling up dramatically (now under control but the fix may take time) so I assumed the role of lead car and Tim Oh graciously agreed to be bring up the rear and make sure we did not leave anyone stranded.

With a lovely collection of cars of different vintages and capabilities we had an enjoyable drive along a mix of easy and twisty sections, arriving in time to have lunch before the karting session if one choose to.

The Stony Creek track is excellent, challenging enough to require actual braking and throttle modulation and wide enough to allow overtaking by faster karts (the session is not run as a race so position means nothing). I definitely prefer overtaking to being overtaken but experienced both.

The timing system records each lap time and outputs a sheet for each driver of their times each lap, fastest lap, fastest lap in that session, rather deflatingly the fastest time ever, and a “race position” based on average lap time. The honours went to Mark Mackenzie for fastest average over the two sessions and Luke Devlin for fastest outright.

We don’t yet have a “fun-o-meter” but if we did I think the readings would be very high all round. Perhaps more importantly everyone improved from session 1 to session 2, so we all learnt something.

Lawrence Glynn | Member #3
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

On the occasion of its 50th anniversary, the classic "BMW Motorsport" emblem returns – on request for BMW M automobiles and BMW models with M Sport package. Kick-off to a year full of product highlights and major appearances by the performance brand.

May 24, 2022 marks the 50th anniversary of the foundation of BMW M GmbH. Almost a quarter of a year earlier, the BMW Group subsidiary is already demonstrating a sense of tradition and anniversary spirit on its current products. Customers who opt for a BMW M automobile or a BMW model equipped with an M Sport package with a production date from March 2022 can have their vehicle’s front, rear and wheel hubs decorated with emblems inspired by the classic "BMW Motorsport" logo. As an alternative to the conventional BMW emblem, it signals passion for racing and for the roots of the BMW M brand. This unique offer in the history of BMW M will be available for order from the end of January 2022.

In addition to the emblems, 50 iconic and historically significant BMW M paint finishes will be offered for selected models in the anniversary year 2022. Style-defining colors such as Dakar Yellow, Fire Orange, Daytona Violet, Macao Blue, Imola Red or Frozen Marina Bay Blue refer to the various eras of BMW M's 50-year history.

The BMW logo with the shifted semicircles in blue, violet and red was first used in 1973 on the racing car of BMW Motorsport GmbH, which had been established a year before. In 1978 and with the debut of the BMW M1 the three color stripes slanted to the right and leaning on the letter M followed. Even beyond the motorsport scene it became a trademark with particularly high recognition value and identification power. The legendary BMW M1 was the only BMW M high-performance production vehicle to bear the historic motorsport emblem in addition to the logo with the three color stripes. In both logos, the blue stands for BMW, while the red symbolizes racing and the violet expresses the connection between the two. In the meantime, the violet has given way to a dark blue, and BMW Motorsport GmbH has been operating under the name BMW M GmbH since 1993. Nothing has changed the high symbolic power of the brand and logo. In its 50^th year of existence, the company is more successful than ever as the world market leader in the performance and high-performance automotive segment.

"With the classic 'BMW Motorsport' emblem, we would like to share our joy about the anniversary of BMW M GmbH with the fans of the brand," says Franciscus van Meel, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW M GmbH. "We have a great year ahead of us, which will be celebrated with unique product highlights and exciting performances. The M has long been considered the strongest letter in the world, and in our company's anniversary year it is stronger than ever."

BMW M GmbH is also aiming for another sales record in 2021. Its performance and high-performance automobiles are enjoying steadily growing popularity worldwide, which will be fueled once again with new product highlights in the anniversary year. For the first time, the company is launching a BMW M3 Touring in the course of 2022. In addition, particularly performance-oriented fans of the brand can look forward to a spectacular special model of the BMW M4 Coupé series. The successor model to the successful BMW M2 is also already at an advanced stage of its series development process. In parallel, the electrification of the BMW M brand is also being driven forward. In the anniversary year, the first electrified high-performance model in the history of BMW M GmbH will be launched.

BMW M GmbH will not only celebrate its anniversary with attractive new products, but also with numerous events. Anniversary performances are planned in May 2022 at the Concorso d'Eleganza Villa d'Este on Lake Como in Northern Italy, followed by the Goodwood Festival of Speed in Great Britain and the Concours d'Elegance in Pebble Beach, California. The 24-hour race at the Nürburgring is also a welcome occasion for BMW M GmbH to review its own successful history together with fans and to thrill them for the future of BMW M GmbH.

BMW PRESS

Event date: 9 November 2021

Last Tuesday we had our first face to face meeting since lockdown.

What a great way to start back at a great venue where we could have a couple of drinks a meal and catch up with fellow members of BMWDCM.

Of course when we arrived we had the smiling faces of Jo and Graeme greeting us and  making sure we all checked in and were double vaxed!

After that we were free to wander around the amazing Café/motorcycle and motor memorabilia venue that is The Naked Racer! I remember the night when the birth of BMWDCM first took place at its first meeting at this exact venue. It’s amazing how our club has grown over the time since then as has the Naked racer Café in its size and display!

After a look around and a chat with members by the fire, Jo took the reigns and welcomed us all back with a short meeting and brief on events that are coming up. Once that was over we all sat down and had a great meal that we had pre-selected earlier. I must say, that was my first Burger since lockdown ended and it was amazing.

Thanks Jo and the team for organising a great way to get back together again. Looking forward to seeing you all at the annual Show and Shine at Cruden Farm. What a venue. Fingers crossed for great weather!

Matt Kenny | Member #98
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

idrive magazine

CLUB PARTNERS

Members are welcome to submit their business to be shared on the Club Partners page on our website and idrive magazine. 

We believe in supporting those who support us.  If you would like your business listed email us with your details.

____________________

As always - thanks for reading, we look forward to seeing you at an event soon!

President | Graeme Bell 0407 186 296
Vice President | Jo Mawson 0412 661 900
Secretary | Lawrence Glynn 0414 563 290 
Treasurer | Shaaron Glynn

Proudly supported by:

All Commercial/All Residential Real Estate
Bell Motorsport

Berwick BMW

BM Tech

Creative Custom Cars
German Auto Haus

Mornington BMW

Shannons Insurance
South Yarra BMW

Southern BM

Traction Tyres

Waverley BMW

Zagame Autobody

 

Dear members,

Hopefully this was our last month in lockdown and I for one, have been going a little stir-crazy waiting to get out and socialise again.

We started the month, for our regional members at least, with a “Drop in at Daniels Donuts” night, in Geelong, which was well received and all who attended had a nice catch up and some nice Donuts too, by all accounts.

We did try to re-visit our Warrnambool getaway in October but unfortunately that had to be cancelled for the third time.  Don’t worry, we will get there next year in whale season and hopefully we can finally get out to see those whales.

Our October members meeting was via Zoom and was very interesting learning about how to become an official and further your training.  We were very lucky to have several representatives from different disciplines of motorsport officiating, which was very informative. Thank you to all who logged on, it was a great night. 

We finally got the green light to be able to socialise within our metro or country areas with some restrictions, so we arranged to have a metro drive down to the Mornington Peninsula and a regional drive down the Great Ocean Road.  Both drives were brilliant and it was fantastic to see so many attending and having so many new members there too.  Welcome to you all and thank you for coming along. We really enjoyed the Peninsula drive, it started out a little wet, but soon cleared up to a beautiful sunny day for a picnic. We had two groups leave Hastings with over 30 cars - it was a sight to see, so many were eager to get their beautiful cars out for a run.

We then held a members only virtual event with Steve and Clay Richards.  It was great to chat with both Steve and Clay.  Darryl O’Neill also won the model M6 GT3.  It is always a pleasure to be in the company of the Richards family and this night was no exception.  Steve will be racing at Bathurst this year in the Toyota 86 Gazoo Series against Clay, so be sure to watch and cheer for both Steve and Clay, who will be hoping to beat his dad.

Our last event for October was session 3 of the BCCM live from Munich nights, or should I say early morning at 3am our time.  It was great to see so many of our members getting up in the middle of the night and attending.

Looking ahead, November is a jam-packed month starting with our members meeting at the Naked Racer in Cheltenham, on 9 November.  This is where we had our launch night, it's such a great venue to check out all the memorabilia, have a chat and something to eat and drink.  Now that restrictions have ended and we are reunited with our country friends and family, we can start doing some more normal events again.

On 21 November, we have 2 events. Unfortunately,with the length of lockdown some events were cancelled and others postponed or shuffled around.  Getting a track booking was hard so we have the final round of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship at Phillip Island and a social drive and karting event at Stony Creek both on the same day.

28 November will be our Annual Show and Shine - Christmas Picnic at Cruden Farm.  We have the venue booked exclusively for us so this is going to be a great event. The gardens are amazing, so come along and have a picnic or pre-order your lunch. There is a rumour Santa may even pop in for a quick check on all the little and big kids to make sure they are all behaving, so if you have your Christmas list be sure to bring it on the day.  There will be open class judging again for the show and shine so we encourage all member BMW and non-BMW owners to bring your cars out for what looks to be a great day.  Bring the family for a fun picnic and let make this a huge day. If you don’t want to bring your own picnic lunch, we have arranged for grazing boxes to be pre-ordered and delivered on the day to make life easier for all.   We will have photos with Santa, gold coin donation going to the Royal Children’s Hospital Appeal. 

Looking further ahead, German Auto Show, which was supposed to be held in August has be re-booked for 30 January.  Be sure to register, we are hoping this is going to be one to remember. 

11-14 March is the Clubs Australia Nationals hosted by BMW Car Club Canberra and this is really shaping up to be a great event.  We always enjoy getting together with the other clubs around Australia.  If you haven't ever attended a Nationals event, we highly recommend you do.

Jo and I have spent several hours planning for 2022.  It is really shaping up to be a huge year with so much to see and do.  Make sure you watch out for event notices coming your way real soon.  The year’s events will start early to take advantage of all the good weather, with some weekends away, social drives, car displays, sprint days and lots more.

We had a great response to pre-ordering UHF radios, mics and antennas at our first drive out of lockdown.  If you want to be ready for the next drive, go on the online store and pre-order your radios, mics and antennas. It makes it so much easier on a drive if we can communicate with you and you can hear where we are going, as well as interesting information as we are driving along too.

I must say thank you to all the members that responded favourably to my last email about events and vaccinations.  There are some that don’t want to get vaccinated and that is their choice, but as event organisers we have to run events under the conditions imposed on us.  Whether that be by the venues we attend or by the laws in place from the Government.  This is something we have no control of and we hope you all understand that we are governed by the rules of the venues we attend. I do not want to hear or see anyone abusing our committee members, venue staff, or anyone for that matter. It is the world we now live in and we are doing the best we can to run events for everyone. If you choose to come to an event and cannot get in because you are unvaccinated, we will take a no tolerance approach to any violence or aggression towards any other members or volunteers.  With the ever-changing road map, please ensure you read the event notices to the bottom, to make sure you receive all the necessary information.  Also, our final reminders quite often have important information regarding the event, such as your drive instructions, so don’t just file it away, read it please.

Our membership is still growing, we are very proud of the way our club is developing into a very friendly, welcoming place for all who come along. Again, welcome to all the new members who have joined us over the last few months, and I very much look forward to meeting you at an event soon.

Finally, I would like to say a huge congratulations to my daughter (and our Editor) Jess, who has just finished her final exams and is now a Law Graduate.  We are all so very proud of you Jess and know how hard you have worked to achieve this.  Thank you again for all the behind-the-scenes stuff you do to make our club look so good.

Take care everyone, enjoy getting out and about again and seeing your friends and family and I look forward to seeing you soon.

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

We now have 26 members in “Geelong and District”, basically west of the M80 ring road, and have run a few events over “this side of town” which are starting to gather momentum.

Given the fairly small numbers I wanted to find somewhere for an informal get together, somewhere where we could see our cars, and somewhere which had some sort of purpose for being there – such as the ubiquitous coffee.  And I found such a spot at Daniel’s Donuts on Belmont High Street. The outside seating alongside the car parking area has cover and there is inside if needs be.

Once the COVID numbers in cafes, etc in Regional Victoria eased (yes, I know, sorry Metro Melbourne members) I picked an evening in early October where it looked like there may not be rain – an uncertain business around here! We had a very pleasant evening nattering about this and that and agreed to do it again.

Once the Metro Melbourne travel limit was lifted and the Mornington drive date set I organised a parallel drive ending up at the ever popular Anglesea Chocolate factory – as Regional were unable to drive into Metro Melbourne. A select group had a very enjoyable drive for about one hour and then settled in for lunch.  With two children in our group (by age, somewhat more by disposition!) both the café menu and the vast array of chocolate items were well received. Oh, and they do ice cream too. It was a great opportunity to get to know some of our members and their family a bit better including a prospective new member (who has since joined).

Reprising the Donut drop-in produced a larger crowd, seven in all, despite the arrival of vey heavy rain at about 5:30pm in contradiction of the longer range forecast – without which we would have been 13. Whilst the rain eased off for a while it returned in earnest at about 8:30pm and we headed inside for the final half hour.

I will try and make this a regular fixture and have plans for some weekend informal meets and drives which I will fit in around the other (and now many!) club events. In future these will be open to all members who want to attend as long as the Metro/Regional border remains open. Its part of the club growing and catering to all of our members – it’s quite a drive from Geelong to the usual meeting venues!

Lawrence Glynn | Member #3
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

Event date: 26 October 2021

We had a fantastic evening with Steve and Clay Richards on Tuesday night for our monthly meeting. It was a great chance to catch up with the Richards boys before they head off to Sydney for the next round of the Toyota 86 Series, supporting the Supercars round at Eastern Creek this weekend.

All that joined our Zoom meeting got to chat and ask questions of the Richards boys and hear about the past and future aspirations of Clay as he continues on his motorsport career.  It was great to see the excitement of both Steve and Clay with the announcement they will both be driving in the Toyota 86 Series at Bathurst in December too.

This was a member only meeting and just another reason to join as and enjoy the benefits of membership.  Our famous wheel of prizes was also in action and Darryl O'Neill was the lucky winner of a signed model of Steve's M6 GT3 - thanks to Tim Oh letting it be redrawn, as he already has one of Steve's models. Very kind of you Tim. 

Thanks for logging in everyone and good luck to Clay at Sydney this weekend.

Graeme Bell | Member #1
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

This would be one of the zoom meetings in my day I actually look forward to. Always great to catch up with the best club in the world and hear what our members are up to. This meeting was very special as we got to spend a virtual night with my hero Steve Richards and his son Clay. Steve’s dad Jim, yes THE Jim Richards knew my uncle so I’ve always had a soft spot for them. Given Steve’s success at Bathurst, it’s just a pinch yourself moment being in their company – even on the screen.

They shared about Clays time in motorsport so far with his Toyota 86 campaign and Formula Ford racing - when they could race. Being fellow Victorians they have been locked in too but for them they were able to work on their cars and have them ready for the season ahead. Probably like we all have been. A great feature of the meeting was we got to ask them questions towards the end. That was amazing. They are both so approachable and love motorsport fans. My interest the in the 86 racing at Sydney on the weekend was higher due to Clay’s involvement now. Spoiler alert, he had a bit of a shunt so his car needs repairing. Dad will be busy.

Then we got to what I think is the most important part of our meetings – the lucky “door” prize. I’ve watched a few great prizes go to other members along the way (Msport luggage, brollies, clothes, hats and drive days), so it was an absolute perfect finish to a perfect night for me – I won a car! It’s 1:18 scale but I still won an M6! Thanks must got to the Richards’ for donating it but also a massive thanks to my buddy Tim Oh who won it first but as he already has one, said to redraw the prize, and my name came up. Thanks Tim – coffee on me next time we meet.

Darryl O'Neill | Member #52
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 

I thought it was a bit funny that someone would put a painting on a car.  I thought I would put a dotty pattern on a car and I also like rainbows. I couldn’t choose so I made a dotty car with rainbow coloured dots.

I enjoyed colouring it in. I put a lot of hard work into the car and triple crossed my fingers that I would win.  When I was in the middle of my art car I saw how much effort I had put into it. I had spent my entire visit to my Nanna and Granddad’s house doing the art car. I realised that if I put so much hard work into it I might just win.  It would be fun to paint a real art car but it would take me more than 20 visits to finish it.

When the results came out I looked and I realised that my car was one of the winners. It made me feel very proud and I also thought that if I got that $20 voucher I could go to Smiggles and buy a calculator with a sharpener and a pencil case attached. But the voucher was not enough so I got a slap band and a Plushie instead. Maybe Granddad will take me to buy the calculator!

Eliza Piera | Member #564 (age 6)
BMW Drivers Club Melbourne