The BMW M Motorsport works driver line-up for the 2024 season has been confirmed. A total of 22 top-rated drivers from twelve nations will be racing around the world as BMW M works drivers. Raffaele Marciello (SUI) and Robin Frijns (NED) are the two top-quality newcomers. The North American works drivers Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and Madison Snow (all USA) are also fixtures in the line-up for 2024.
Having recorded numerous successes in endurance racing and titles in a number of race series, Marciello and Frijns are now joining BMW M Motorsport. In addition to battling for overall wins with the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, they will prove to be valuable additions in GT3 racing. This versatility is a defining feature of the whole line-up of BMW M works drivers.
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “In sporting terms, we have a top-notch, versatile and highly motivated line-up of BMW M works drivers as we look ahead to an extremely intensive season of motor racing in 2024. The total of 22 drivers may seem at first glance to be a large number, but each and every one will prove their worth in the extensive programme of events that we will be competing in around the globe. I am delighted that we have managed to add yet more quality to an already top-class squad, in the shape of top drivers such as Robin Frijns and Raffaele Marciello. As of this season, our North American works drivers Bill Auberlen, Robby Foley and Madison Snow are also now part of the regular line-up, underlining the importance of our involvement in the USA.”
Name
Nationality
Date of birth
BMW driver since
Bill Auberlen
USA
12/10/1968
1996
Connor De Phillippi
25/12/1992
2018
Philipp Eng
AUT
28/02/1990
2016
Augusto Farfus
BRA
03/09/1983
2007
Robby Foley
20/07/1996
2021
Robin Frijns
NED
07/08/1991
2023
Dan Harper
GBR
08/12/2000
2020
Max Hesse
GER
23/07/2001
Jens Klingmann
16/07/1990
2014
Jesse Krohn
FIN
03/09/1990
Raffaele Marciello
SUI
17/12/1994
2024
Maxime Martin
BEL
20/03/1986
René Rast
26/10/1986
Valentino Rossi
ITA
16/02/1979
Madison Snow
26/12/1995
2022
Bruno Spengler
CAN
23/08/1983
2012
Sheldon van der Linde
RSA
13/05/1999
2019
Dries Vanthoor
20/04/1998
Neil Verhagen
18/02/2001
Charles Weerts
01/03/2001
Marco Wittmann
24/11/1989
Nick Yelloly
03/12/1990
BMW PRESS
Dear members,
Where has the year gone? It seems like only yesterday we were saying goodbye to 2022 and welcoming in 2023. The Club has been so busy all year, with over 65 events run this year and as many already booked for 2024, it looks like another amazing year to come.
Some surprising stats again this year, we have continued to grow our membership numbers, even though we have the usual churn of members leaving for various reasons, we are about to click over 800 members, which is just amazing! We never dreamt the club would grow like it has, but like they say, when you build something great then people want to be a part of it, and we thank you all for joining us and continuing to make this the best BMW Club in the world. Over 44.5% of members have attended at least one event this year, which for any club is a great percentage of members participating. This means it’s not just the same old dozen or so people turning up and partaking of the events too. It makes it so worthwhile when Jo and the rest of the Committee put in so much time and effort to run a wide variety of fantastic events.
A recap of December, before I launch into the coming year.
3 December saw the last round of our Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship, run at Phillip Is with AROCA. Was a great day again and our championship and class winners will be awarded at our awards and birthday dinner next year. Thank you again to Andrew and staff at Traction Tyres for supporting our Drivers Championship again in 2023 and many thanks for continuing to sponsor the Drivers Championship in 2024. Remember, if you have any questions about tyres or set up for our track days, Andrew and Shane are always happy to give their time and expertise to help our members. You also get a pretty good discount on road or track tyres, if you show your membership card when you go in, so make sure you use it!
On the same day, we also had a large group head off to Marysville for what was another great drive by Peter, our Drive Meister. Sadly Peter could not make this drive as he was out of action. Thank you to Jenny and Martin for leading this event and for all the other members who helped out as car in the middle and Tail-End-Charlie. We do our drives this way to get messages down the chain as from lead car to tail sometimes the reception is a bit hard to hear. Remember if you are wanting to come on drives in 2024 and you don’t have a UHF radio, they or on sale in our store here.
6 December saw members from the west head off for another midweek drive and dinner leaving from Ceres. It’s great to have members all over, so we can offer such versatility with our events. Thank you Lawrence and Shaaron for hosting and leading this event.
7 December saw the first organising committee meeting for our 2025 Nationals. A lot of ideas were put down and the organising has begun in earnest. If you would like to help us run the Nationals in 2025 send an email to nationals@bmwdcm.com.au and we will give you a job! There is a lot to do and event though it is 16 months away, that time will go very quickly. So put your hand up and let us know you’d like to be involved in the organising.
9 December was the awards night for the E30 Racing club. We attended, both to represent DCM, as we sponsor the series, and also because we, as Bell Motorsport, build and look after a lot of the cars. Was a great night and young DCM Member, Royce Lyne tied for the Championship with long time bridesmaid Brian Burke. Congratulations Royce, all of our members will be watching to see how you go in the future.
10 December was our end of year Christmas Show and Shine and Picnic at Cruden Farm. Again, it was a fantastic event, with over 100 members and their beautiful cars on display and enjoying the lovely gardens and atmosphere. We had special visits from Spiderman as well as Santa and his elf, of course. Thank you to Matt Kenny and his crew for cooking all the egg and bacon rolls, supplied by Bell Motorsport. Also thank you also to Ross from Celebrations Cellars for the club labelled wines for the raffle and prizes. Ross is another great supporter of the club. If you need any drinks for an event or even just passing by, drop in and see him at Celebration Cellars in Clarinda and he will look after you. The winners of the show and shine were awarded a certificate on the day, their trophies will also be awarded at the awards dinner next year.
The Christmas picnic was technically the last Club event for the year, but all were invited to the Bell Motorsport end of year BBQ at Hastings on 16 December. It was a great day, with lots of friends and club members dropping in to say hello and have a drink and a sausage or burger. Even better, Jo didn’t get carted off in an Ambulance this year, so she was on hand to chat and enjoy the day too.
It was great having the DCM Club rooms at the Bell Motorsport yard, we have all our honour boards and trophies on display, as well as all the merchandise. Every one can peruse and purchase items or get their club permits signed. It is a real bonus for the club having an actual base to call home.
The very hardworking committee is having a couple of weeks off over the festive season before we come back and do it all again in 2024.
Straight away in January we start off with a twilight drive on 12 January, then a Cars and Dinner event at Moon Dog World on 19 January and the Festival of Motoring Show at Cruden Farm on 21 January.
February sees a large group Heading to Bathurst for the 12 Hour, where we have our own Club Corporate Suite above the pits. We have some very special things planned for those that join us, so it will be very special indeed. February also sees a member meeting at Melbourne BMW, another twilight drive, a Cars and Coffee event and Round 1 of our 2024 Traction Tyres/Yokohama Drivers Championship at Sandown. Again, a busy month, with something for everyone and pretty much setting the tone for the year.
Keep an eye on the calendar, and emails, as some events have limits and fill up very quickly, and others we send out very early to give you plenty of time to book or organise things, like accommodation. We have weekends away, events of every kind, even an overseas trip in 2024! Early in the new year I will send out a yearly planner to members, so that you can set most of the year in your calendar ready to go, so look out for that.
I must thank you again for joining us, we do try very hard to be a welcoming and accepting club for all and hope that you enjoy your experience with us at any event you would like to come to. As always, if you have any comments or ideas about events, drop us a line, always happy to explore new ideas or modify what we do, if it makes the event better.
I hope you have all had a fantastic Christmas and wish you a safe and happy new year, from all of the committee and myself. Also, a huge thank you to all of the Club sponsors and supporters, old and new, we really appreciate your support in 2023 and look forward to continuing into 2024, your assistance helps us to run so many wonderful events that are often subsidised below their cost to benefit our members, all due to your sponsorship of our Club.
Just to end, while you are out enjoying our lovely summer weather in some of your club permitted cars, make sure:
Remember it is your responsibility to ensure that your club membership and permit is paid and up to date. Do not call us at the last-minute wanting signatures as we are not always available, especially at this time of year. Club permits must be accompanied by a valid financial club membership to be valid. For more information in club permit renewal, review our club permit page here.
Take care out there and see you in 2024.
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
Event date: 12 December 2023
On Tuesday 12 December, we set off to where Blanchard racing team have prepared their cars since 2021.
For first looks we were taken to the RJ Racer Industries, we were all sent round the back to have a look at the new Gen3 cars. The first car that came into sight for most of us was Arron Love’s Super2 Mustang.
As we all gathered around their three cars my first thoughts of many were “Why is there a Tickford car in with two Blanchard cars?”.
The reason was that for 2024 Blanchard had picked up the deal with Tickford to supply them parts for one of their cars and also was because that for 2024 James Courtney would race in one of the two cars in 24.
As the other two cars sat there in their glory, we relaised that one of the cars was the car that only completed one race, being the Bathurst 1000 and the other being the full-time car.
John Blanchard, the CEO of Blanchard Racing came and gave us all the information, like that the new GEN3 cars had been a huge surprise and that they only had just 6 weeks to make the car. Mechanics upon many mechanics slept on the factory floor just so that they could have a car.
As John gave the newly crowned champion of E30 racing for 2023, Royce Lyne, the chance to sit in the Tickford car, he said “The feeling of the car is nice, but it would be hard to do a pitstop in under a minute with a Hans device and a helmet’.
When we went to the Love’s car Royce was easily able to reach the pedals. When I hopped into the Super2 car I was able to reach the pedals which was a surprise. Once I hopped into the GEN3 car that felt big.
As we looked at their database, we were able to find out that in Adelaide, Hazlewood had no radio so they came up with a way to communicate with him through headlights and other means.
We were all given giftbags and we proceeded our way back to RJ Racer Industries to look at their products. There were some great products but we weren’t able to buy anything.
This concludes my summary of the BMW Drivers Club Melbourne trip to CoolDrive BRT.
Mitchell Bergman | Member #890BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
Event date: 10 December 2023
Some pretext .... Two days after my first try day at Broadford my beloved Red ZM was damaged while parked outside a coffee shop. I was devastated, especially as I had completed the drive day without sustaining any damage.
To try and make a positive out of a very negative experience I decided to focus on really lifting the car while keeping it to original spec.
To make the money go further I took on as much work as I could. I ordered parts through my friend's panel shop and organised for them to do a couple of repairs in addition to painting the new front bar and RH guard and re-painting the remainder of the car. I disassembled the car including bars, bonnets, guards, doors and boot lid. Doors, bonnet and original guard were stripped back to bare metal. While disassembling the car I removed the guard liners and thoroughly cleaned them ready for reassembly and resprayed all the fixing screws for the bars and liners. After painting I assembled and gapped the lights and panels. During assembly I cleaned and polished every component to within an inch of its life. While off the road for nearly 5 months I sourced several pieces of interior trim to clean up the interior. Given I want to enjoy driving the car, especially at club events, I had the front of the car wrapped for paint protection before I could gather any stone chips. The final process was to apply Sonax ceramic coating to the whole car. Just prior to the Cruden Farm event I removed all the wheels and again thoroughly cleaned the wheels, hubs, callipers and guard liners. A good detail of the interior and under the bonnet and my car was ready for its first big outing since being damaged.
The weather had not been good, so it was with a prayer to the weather gods that Wendy and I headed off to Cruden Farm. Fortunately, apart from some minor mist the rain held off. In true BMWDCM style the event was well run and supported with many immaculately turned-out BMWs and a few fine examples of other marques. Coffee and a good donation to the Childrens Hospital for a couple of egg and bacon rolls was of first order. We then bought some raffle tickets to support the fund raising for such a worthy cause. While catching up with some club friends we started checking out the cars. The Show 'n Shine competition was going obviously going to be of a very high standard. There was a row of very nice 8 series and some very clean three series including the sublime Alpina. Contrasting some of the older cars were a number of pocket rocket M2s. In the row where I was parked was Lawernce's always impeccable M3 and right next to my car Albion's V8 M3. I did not envy the task of the judges as it was obvious that club members had put much work into presenting their cars. The whole event was enhanced by the beautiful backdrop of the Cruden Farm grounds and gardens.
While checking out the gardens I was taken by surprise to see Spiderman emerge from the greenery. He was eagerly pursued by Jo and an excited little girl. Despite his superpowers he was unable to out manoeuvrer his pursuers.
We had ordered picnic hampers and like last year they were delicious. After enjoying our lunch with club friends, we gathered for the raffle draw and the results of the Show 'n Shine judging. There seemed to be a million raffle prises donated by club sponsors for winning members to choose from. I hope that we raised a good amount for the Royal Children's Hospital. Speaking of children, a man in a Red suit and accompanied by a helper in green was also sighted handing out presents to the club members' children. While Santa didn't give me a gift, I felt like all my Christmas had come early when it was announced that I had received the After 2000 category Best in Class Show 'n Shine award, especially given the quality of the other entries. The Before 2000 category was taken out by an Alpina. The non-BMW category went to Steve Garth's very neat Toyota Supra with the people's choice going to Jeff Palmer's restored "barn find" MGB GT V8. I voted for the MG, a fine example of the marque and very well presented. All worthy winners in a first-class field.
Again, another well organised and executed club event. Thanks to the committee for their dedication and hard work throughout the year. Now my car is back on the road I look forward to participating in club events in 2024.
As you read this, I hope you have had a great festive season, and all club members have a safe and prosperous 2024.
Kent Perdrisat | Member #951BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
Fortunately the rain held off which enabled everyone to enjoy the day in comfort.
Approximately 80 vehicles attended the event, with 16 entered for the actual competition over three classes, plus the People's Choice award.
The winners were:
I was fortunate to take the People's Choice award with my 1975 MGB GT V8.
I acquired this vehicle several years ago, after it had been languishing unused for ten years in a private garage in Mt Eliza. The car required some body work, also minor engine work, however it was overall in very good condition. The car is a genuine factory V8, and is one of only 1839 built with the chrome bumper, with approximately 80 currently registered in Australia. The engine is a Rover V8 with a capacity of 3.5 litres.
It was great to see so many BMWs at one event, along with quite a few other marques in attendance.
Another excellent BMWDCM event; thanks to Jo, Graeme, Lawrence and the numerous helpers on the day.
Jeff Palmer | Member #682BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
Welcome to Summer!
I can’t believe we are nearly at the end of 2023. It's been such an eventful year.
On 7 November we held what would have been one of our biggest drive events ever, with over 80 registered and 50-55 cars attending. We met up at the clubrooms in Hastings, leaving in two groups. The first were all those doing the Cap Schanck Lighthouse tours, the second followed about 15 minutes behind, these members choosing not to do the tour. We all met up at Cape Schanck then toured on to lunch at T’Gallant Winery, where we had a delicious lunch and frivolities waiting for the Melbourne Cup to be run. We had so many there we had to have three sweeps for the Cup. Was a lot of fun and a great day out with a bunch of our wonderful members and friends. Thanks to Peter Williams’ drive instructions not one car or group got lost, even though we criss-crossed the Peninsula on some great driving roads.
We were blessed with the weather, as at 4am the heavens opened up and we in Hastings and on the Peninsula had a dreadful storm, but we woke to blue skies and sunshine in time for our drive and lunch.
If you have not been to Cape Schanck Lighthouse, it is well worth the drive and make sure you do the lighthouse tour as it was very informative. We were lucky to have one of our own members Phil Gleadhill take us all around the light house and I think we all learnt something from his very informative tour.
On 11 and 12 November we had cars on display at the Sandown Historics. Both days had great numbers, we went on Sunday and were a little luckier with the weather being not so windy and nice and warm and sunny. There were plenty of different cars from different clubs too, it's a great event and if you have never been to a Historic racing meet. I would advise you to go check them out at Phillip Island, Winton or Sandown. Thank you to all who turned up with their cars looking so nicely presented.
Sadly, our last Simulator Challenge needed to be cancelled due to a low attendance which was a shame as these nights were a lot of fun throughout the year. The championship was very close, and the winner will be announced at our presentation dinner next year.
17-19 November saw some of our members attend the last round of E30 Racing. Again, we were blessed with blue skies, maybe a little too hot for some of the old E30s who had some overheating issues but great racing right through the field. Out youngest and one of our oldest members in E30 racing were battling for the championship and I am still not sure if the final decision has been made with a count back but there was a draw for the year with young Royce Lyne and Brian Bourke coming equal first on 152 points. This is what you call good close racing. Thank you to our members who came up to watch and help out over the weekend, was great to see you all there supporting the E30 Racing Club and our members racing.
Jo and I took our caravan up with us and used it as an office over the weekend and with the aircon, drivers were able to cool off between races. Jo as Jo is, worked most of the weekend on 2024 events, so watch out for new emails for some great events coming up next year.
We were lucky this round as we didn’t have to tow any of our customers cars up, so a week before we realised we could make a slow trip up to Challenge Bathurst which was on the next weekend. This is a first for us as you know both Jo and I don’t do anything slowly! We are normally always on the run, but this came as a well need rest for us. After Winton we travelled to Lake Hume and set up camp for the night. Then took two days to get to Bathurst ready for five very busy days, three officiating and two running the DCM group of 55 cars.
21-26 November was Challenge Bathurst. This year we had a group of 55 BMWs which was a huge honour for our club. We had members from seven different BMW clubs from all around the country. There was a great range of cars too. What I am most proud of is the volunteers who gave up their time to help run this event. Jo of course who gave so much of her time before during and after this event. Without her we would not have been able to do this. We also had drivers give up their time before the event and volunteer on flag points on Thursday and Friday and partners join the flagging team on Saturday and Sunday to volunteer. BMWDCM had many volunteers who came up just to help. They selflessly gave up their time to help out running the event, but mainly help our team run this event. Thank you all for the time you put in to give the drivers the opportunity to have fun on the track. Jo and I are very passionate about volunteering and within our club we encourage members to join our events as much as they can. It is a great way to be involved in motorsport, and generally officials get treated pretty well. At this event officials received free camping, free breakfast lunch and dinner, shirts and hats and even hot laps on Sunday afternoon in a V8 Supercar.
For all who entered this year and are reading this message, if you are attending next year please bring along some volunteers because at the end of the day it is for your safety. The more volunteers we have out there the safer you will be.
I would like to congratulate the winners 1. Brenton Hammond from QLD, 2. Grant Bray from NSW and 3. David Bushby from Tasmania (who I believe will be a new DCM member in the new year)! Well done ato you all. Some of the other clubs took the regularity part of it more seriously that perhaps any of our members did and tried pretty hard to match their times. For most of our members the thrill of driving Bathurst was all that mattered. Maybe next year we will run an information night about what the regularity part of the event is all about and how to go about trying to win it.
I hope you all made it home safely and are now enjoying telling your loved ones your great stories of the weekend. Remember we would love you to share your tales so please email v.president@bmwdcm.com.au with any articles and photos to photos@bmwdcm.com.au with your on and off track photos.
On the same weekend we also had a group displaying their cars at the Geelong Revival. We were lined up along Eastern Beach Road and the display looked great.
December is here and we have some fun events to finish off the year.
Also in December, is a non-Club event, which all of our members are invited and welcome to attend. 16 December is the Bell Motorsport Christmas BBQ at Hastings, be sure to join us and bring the family.
Jo has been working very hard to secure some great events for 2024 and the calendar is nearly full. Keep looking for updates as we get the events up on the website.
Sadly, Jo will be going back into hospital soon for spinal surgery, so don’t think she is ignoring you if she doesn’t answer the phone or reply to an email straight away. Knowing Jo, she will have her laptop with her and will do her best to keep in contact, but if it is not Jo you really need to talk to contact one of the others on our team.
On the topic of health, our drive co-ordinator and new club Secretary, Peter Williams, is nearly all mended and will be back behind the wheel in the new year. We are very pleased with his recovery.
As for all of our hard working committee, we will be taking a short but very well earned break over Christmas, so make sure you have your CPS papers signed and remember this can all be done via our email cpsrenewals@bmwdcm.com.au all the information on how to do this is on our website. Don’t leave it till the last minute though, as we are all volunteers and all deserve a few days off over Christmas and New Year.
We'll have our driver training, come and try, motorkahana, hill climb and sprint dates up on the website soon. Check back over the next few weeks for all of the dates!
I told you Jo and I have been busy! There are more dates that will be released on our calendar very soon. With the heavy workload we have all had this year, these are all the events we have been able to get out so far, but believe me, there a lot more to come.
We are doing Tasmania again over the week prior to and over Melbourne Cup weekend. Watch out for the event notice as this will be different driving roads and area to our last trip down South.
We have formed a Nationals Committee for our 2025 Nationals, so you will soon be seeing updates regarding that. We have a logo which is yet to be approved by Munich but with Jo’s ideas and Fiona Cooper’s talents, it looks fantastic. We are all pleased with the results, which you will see this in the new year when we launch the Nationals 2025 website.
We are still looking for a webmaster to drive the Nationals website too, so if you or anyone you know can help, please let us know.
It is also getting close to getting the next idrive ready, and we need feature articles. Please send all your articles to editor@bmwdcm.com.au with photos for Jess to be able to use in next year’s magazine.
Remember this is your club and your ideas, help and articles are needed to keep this great club ticking along.
We are so close to Christmas now and I hope you all have a safe December in the build up to our festive season. I don’t know where this year has gone, so enjoy the last month of events for 2023.
Take care out there and I hope to see you at an event somewhere soon.
Event date: 29 October 2023
Earlier this year I was given the role of E36 Registry Captain. I took on this role as I enjoy bringing the car community together with meets and online groups. More specifically, a group with the chassis I know and love the best, the E36. On the 29th of October, we had our 6th Meet and Cruise held down in the Mornington Peninsula. We began by meeting in the morning at the Penlink BP Outbound with a turnout of about 26 cars. Every car there was unique from one another; varying from 318i's to 328i's, different body styles and a range of colours. After lots of chit chat over breakfast, we made our first move, cruising along the freeway then along the beach up to the windy roads of Arthurs Seat.
After some unexpected maintenance and repairs on some of the cars at the top of Arthurs Seat, we then made our way to the Rye boat ramp via the more inland roads of the Mornington Peninsula through Main Ridge and Fingal.
We concluded our cruise at the final meeting spot of the Rye boat ramp car park, capturing some great shots of everyone's E36's, followed by the remainder of the group grabbing some lunch at the local surrounding shops.
Overall, I was very impressed with the turnout on the day. It was nice to catch up with existing members and meet some new faces of the group. I look forward to organising the next one!
Marcus Mimmo | Member #523BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
Clubs Australia announced some time ago that the 100th anniversary of BMW motorcycles and Motorrad was coming up in 2023. The BMW Motorcycle Club of Victoria wanted to celebrate this once in a 100-year event in a memorable way. The question was what, which, where, when and how. The club had previously held a celebration (75 years of motorrad in 1998) so we knew that there would be a vehicle display at the very least.
1. Opportunity to join the German Auto Show
We considered various venues and options, but could not land on anything compelling. As club delegate and secretary, Jacques van Niekerk had become friends with Graeme Bell and Jo Mawson, he suggested that we should speak to Jo to explore the possibility of combining our club’s celebration of this once in a 100 year event with the German Auto Show. Our president, Bob Leggatt, invited Jo and Graeme to our annual BBQ meeting in January 2023 and introduced them to our club’s committee members. The DCM was planning a day at Calder Park in August 2023. We spoke about what value it could bring to have motorcycles join an automobile event. We spoke about this and thought a joint event would be an ideal solution to celebrate in style.
Jacques van Niekerk, Secretary and CA Delegate
2. Site Visit
As the BMWMCC committee member living closest to Calder Park, Bob Leggatt got the job of attending the site inspection. He later reported “I met up with the gang trackside and was surprised at what a friendly and welcoming group they were. I asked what space was available for the bikes, Jo stretched her arms out and said “you can have all of this”. He was amazed. Other clubs who were part of the inspection team were also interested in motorcycles and what this could contribute to the event. The inspection team agreed that we would be able to line up all of our motorcycles along the bitumen strip, member’s bikes on one side and our club marquees on the other.
3. Planning
We had no idea of what exactly we would be doing, just what sort of display we would be able to build, but at least we would have plenty of room to do it.
Now, what to show, it was decided that we could show off all our bikes. BMW had a long history of building bikes, over the years there were many different models, many different designs and engine sizes. Wouldn’t it be a good idea if we could show an example of every model. How could we fit them all in, how could we sort them into some meaningful sequence. Having looked at the club’s list of the various models, President, Bob, stepped in and decided this was too big a task. The decision was then made to make the display of the evolution of the iconic boxer engine models, showing the change in engine, frame and suspension designs throughout the past century. This was considered to be a more achievable and practical approach. Bob then took over as event organiser.
Taking a decade-by-decade approach, a long list of members bikes was perused to select a special number of bikes that filled the criteria. Fate must have smiled upon us, as one of our members knew of a very original and unrestored 1923 R32 (500cc), the first model of motorcycle that BMW ever built. It was sitting in a private museum in a not so far away country town, and yes, the owner would be willing to display it on the day. Next was to convince a dealer to loan us the latest model 2023 boxer of some description. During a courtesy visit to BMW Doncaster, they agreed to supply us with a R-nine-T 1200cc model, thus the two bookends of our special display were formed.
Starting with the 1923 R32, we followed with a1934 R17 (750cc) a pressed steel frame , this example fitted with sidecar 1935 R5 (500cc) very handsome and sporty tube frame model 1941 R75 (750cc) a military sidecar model especially built with extra low and reverse gear 1950/60s R69s (600cc) heavy tube frame for sidecar work and leading link front suspension 1970 R75/5 (750cc) a new approach, lightweight frame, electric start and 12v electrics 1975 R90s (900cc) a high performance sports model, disc brakes and race winner 1985 R80 (800cc) an upgraded model, mono shock rear suspension and cast wheels 1999 R1100 (1100cc) a whole new model- engine, frame and suspension and electronics 2007 R1200R (1200cc) engine upgrade & new frame and suspension 2020 R1250R (1250cc) updated and upgraded 1200 model 2021 R18 (1800cc) a cruiser model, the biggest BMW ever 2023 R-nine-T (1200cc) a retro styled custom bike, based on R1200
4. On the Day
Bob Leggatt arrived on the day, right on time for muster, only to find the whole place in full swing. The area reserved for the 100th display was now taken up, there were bikes parked everywhere. Bob reported, “I hastily tried to gather together my special list of display bikes and get all the strays parked elsewhere, I just about did it, with a little help from a willing volunteer, just the odd one out of place”.
80 bikes were on display, including our special line-up, many customised bikes, including a 1930’s replica streamliner, 2 JPS specials, several sidecars, 2 1950’s racing bikes. A line-up of GS dual purpose models from the earliest (1980) 800cc to the latest 1250ccc model. About 80 club members pre-paid and many more came through on the day. Old friends turned up for this special occasion.
Our own presentation, as well as the GAS ‘Best of Marque – Motorcycle’ award (presented to the owner of the 1941 R75 military sidecar outfit) we had 3 awards of our own which took the form of a book featuring 100 years of BMW motorcycles, The People’s Choice award went to the owner of the 1935 R5, for a beautifully restored machine which had been in his family for 80 years, our own ‘Best of Marque’ went to another member who brought along three bikes, (a sidecar outfit towing a trailer with another bike on it and also managed to bring a third machine as well), the ‘President’s Choice’ award went to a beautiful 1963 R69s and Tillbrook sidecar. 2pm, the day was over so quickly, many hands turned to help with the packing up.
Bob Leggatt, President & event organiser.
The girl’s point of view
Leading up to the German Auto Show, we decided that the club would design a special range of merchandise to commemorate the BMW Motorrad 100-year Anniversary. Using 2 logos provided by the BMW Group we produced T-shirts, polo tops, mugs and stickers with the 100-years anniversary design. We invited Doncaster BMW Motorrad to partly sponsor the merchandise, which they did in return for displaying their name on the clothing. Their support was greatly appreciated.
A number of female club members provided assistance at the merchandise stand for the duration of the show, selling plenty of clothing and encouraging those who missed out to order online on the club website. While at the merchandise stand from start to finish, the day was a feast for our eyes, watching bikes arrive, many carefully unloaded from their trailers and rolled into place for the special display. Many club members attended, also carefully parking their bikes opposite of the display bikes. What an incredible mix of machines and eras. It was wonderful to see so many people milling around the bikes for the entire day. Perhaps many people attending the day did not realise the diversity of motorcycles produced by BMW over so many years, though this is well known by BMW Motorrad enthusiasts. We felt the day was enormously successful and positive thanks to the hard work and inclusivity of the BMW Drivers Club of Melbourne and the volunteers from all the clubs which participated in the event.
Lynne Rosenthal, Committee Member
BMW Motorcycle Club Victoria
Event date: 7 November 2023
On the morning of, we had time to give our car a quick wash down before we headed off to meet at Hastings. Bling! It's back to being shiny clean, looking immaculate (after the dirty rain the night before).
We arrived at Hastings in plenty of time to do some meet and greets, everyone was very welcoming and friendly, just as we'd hoped. There was even time to check out the other cars, so many nice BMW's and we could certainly tell everyone takes great pride in their cars.
With a quick announcement on the day's happenings, it was all systems go. We were in the second group to take off but watched as group one took to the road, on their way to the Cape Schank lighthouse where we'd all meet up again and convoy it to T'Gallants for lunch.
It was our first time driving in a convoy, there were about 15 or so cars in our group, similar to group one. The UHF radio was something new for us, but well worth the purchase and with a quick radio check we were off.
Left turn out of the Club Headquarters and across the rail lines onward through some of the windy roads the Peninsula has to offer, through Flinders we paraded our cars, driving through the township, with many people stopping to admire.
The UHF sure made the drive a breeze and the coordination from the lead to tail car was impressive, advising us where to turn, how many non-group cars were in the mix, regrouping and keeping us in the loop at all times, with some chatter in between.
Arriving at Cape Schank lighthouse and national park we did a quick lap around the car park, it was clearly a busy day for the area, plenty of tourists, so we parked up the main road and walked back towards the lighthouse area. We didn't partake in the lighthouse tour, but by all accounts, listening to others at lunch, it was certainly very interesting to learn about the history of the area and the lighthouse's purpose.
The weather was quite warm as we walked some of the trails amongst the beautiful scenery, sea and rock settings. In the distance we could also see the beach, which we figured was where all the cars parked along one of the roads we drove a bit earlier, led to.
We spent about an hour at the national park before both groups started in convoy towards Main Ridge, for lunch. Off we set, through some main and back roads, up Arthur's Seat, always a highlight to drive, whether it be by car or motorbike. Who doesn't love a bendy road with spectacular views! Then down through Red Hill and onto Main Ridge to T'Gallants.
We really are spoilt for choice on the Peninsula, so many wineries and touristy spots, but what a perfect setting for lunch. The venue was the perfect size for the Club, hats off to Jo and Co. for a great choice and in organising the event.
On arrival, our tables had a choice of T'Gallants red or white wine to indulge in and soon after some tasty platters were served for entree.
It was then down to business, as the list of horses for the Melbourne Cup was delivered to the tables, only to be taken away in haste after realising it was the list from the 2022 Cup. A slight technical hitch, giddy up! A good talking point nonetheless, along with loads of laughs.
Then the correct 2023 horse names were presented in a tub at $5 a horse. There was an exciting buzz around the pavilion with the cross sharing of horse names, as to who had which horse and who's the favourite, which jockey is riding which horse. We all seemed pretty pleased with our lucky dips, after all it's anyone's race.
Mains followed soon after, with an array of tasty food on offer.
There were some fine hats and head pieces on show with a special shout out to Martin's promptly made serviette hat! I'm not sure if an eventual winner was declared, but everyone enjoyed showcasing their hats.
The Cup was run and won with some of the group winning twice, having lucky dipped the same horse. With prizes awarded and claimed, some finished in front $$, others not - we were in the 'not'! Never mind, maybe next year.
With the day's festivities over, coffees had, farewells said, we soon departed. Thanks to everyone for sharing such an enjoyable drive and a great day out.
Susan Wilson | Member #1110BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
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.
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 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.
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.
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!
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.
Event date: 4 October 2023
Not every club event has a structure and once in a while we meet up at Daniel’s Donuts in Geelong in the evening for a natter.
The conversation usually turns to cars, and there is some looking at cars as well, but other things crop up too.
October’s meeting seem to revolve around buying and selling 5 series of various vintages and not buying or selling E21 3 Series.
The great thing is within the group someone has an answer, or at least a suggestion, for just about everything.
I think that’s why we’re in a club!
And it was a good opportunity for me to take my 700 out for a few more people to see and read the “the car that saved BMW” story – people who may not go to the car shows we go to.
Lawrence Glynn | Member #3BMW Drivers Club Melbourne
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