What is it?       

Bowden’s Own Snow Blow Cannon

What does it do?       

Covers the car in a snow like foam blanket to soften and lift dirt – hose it off and possibly avoid the need to hand wash. Helps reduce swirl marks and cleaning effort.

Does it work?

But the car looked very clean after just a rinse which got most of the baked on bugs off – the rest were much easier to get off than normal.

What else do you need?

What does it cost?        

The kit costs $99.99 and the Snow Job solution is $54.99 for 20 or more washes.

Where can I get it?

Online or through most auto accessory retailers. Autobarn carry most of the Bowden’s range.

Anything else?        

They’re an Australian company with a real interest in cars.  The family has a fantastic collection of important historic touring race cars  two beautiful JPS 635.

There was plenty of overtaking and enough for a BMW fan to cheer at, even if the Roundel was not first over the line in the headline Australian GT race.        

To make the weekend even more special, one of our attendees, Sam O’Neil scored a hot lap with Steve Richards in the GT4 M4, courtesy of BMW Australia.

Sam collected his pass from BMW Australia’s headquarters in Mulgrave on the Friday in his E30 convertible, which attracted the attention of several staff members. “Cool E30” was the remark. Despite the inclement weather they had him line the car up in front of the corporate signage for a photo or two!

He described his hot lap as awesome. “WOW, that thing flies, the sheer force when Steven braked, I thought I would hit the screen. And the way it was gripping around the bends and hitting the apex, the car just does not slide at all. Half way around the track Steven did the thumbs up just to check if I was still with him,  and boy was I ever!”

Needless to say he was very happy.

The great thing about racing at this level is you can go into the pits and chat with the drivers and the crew, as long as they are not too busy or just getting ready to send the car out.

The Steve Richards Motorsport (SRM) pit was not only welcoming, but professionally kitted out with nice white wall with a count down timer and TV screen, floor matting and all the gear you could need neatly stowed - almost F1 level.

Sadly the results on the track do not match the dedication of the team, stuck as they are with the rigid “balance of performance” settings, which are applied worldwide in GT3 racing.

Basically all the GT3 cars from all the manufacturers are adjusted to give identical lap times on a FIA designated circuit with a FIA designated driver.  Those settings result in quite a variation in performance at any given track.

The BMW M6 does well at Bathurst, especially over the top of the mountain, at Phillip Island and The Bend, where SRM finished third in Round 1.

Sandown does not suit the M6 as well, but it is fearsome under brakes.

Starting race 1 on Sunday in seventh spot, Steve had made up one place before the compulsory pit stops.

Here is another form of handicapping unique to Australia - all drivers are graded.  Grade 1 drivers have to have a driver swap and a longer pit stop.

Steve is a Grade 1 driver so the car resumed with Ricky Capo in the drivers seat in tenth.  Unfortunately he had a spin and finished the race in 13^th.

This meant a starting position of 13^th for race 2.  Steve managed to work his way up to tenth before the pit stop.  Ricky then finished in tenth, not far behind ninth, being the fastest car on track in clear air.

For the M6 overtaking at Sandown is tricky with the best spots being under brakes at the end of the back straight, or through the S bend to the start of the front straight.

To make easier for spectators each car carries a digital display, just above the race number in the windscreen, which shows their race position in class or how long the car has been stopped in the pits (minimum pit stop times apply).

The other race featuring BMWs was the Production Car race which was won by BMW in all four starts over the weekend. BMWs 1^st and 2^nd in the final race and 3 or 4 in the top 10 in each race.

Sadly, due to the weekend being on Mother's Day, the crowds were low.  However we proudly showed our BMWs to the few who were there.

The next round of the Shannons Nationals is at Phillip Island June 1 – 3.

The Committee |  BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 
The Ultimate Driving Club

After starting up our new club just under three weeks ago, we had a lot of planning to do for future events.  We decided to kick things off at the Naked Racer Bar at Antique Motorcycles in Cheltenham, feeling that it had something for everyone.

With 57 registered attendees, we were very excited for the night.  Arriving just before 6.30pm people were already starting to follow, it was overwhelming with new members flooding in and more signing up on the night.  

In the end, we had over 70 people attend, which was absolutely fantastic!   All attendees had a ball, chatted with friends, the night was a complete success!  We are so grateful for the support we have received from all of our members.  We are so very proud that in a little over a week after opening up for member registrations, we now have over 100 members!

"I personally want to thank you all, you are the reason we have taken this road and all the work that has gone on over the last few weeks, which has been considerable, is more than worth it when so many people come out and enjoy the company of like-minded friends in such a great atmosphere!  Also thank you to John for hosting us, it is an awesome venue and we will be back again soon!" – Graeme Bell.

We are now up and running 100% and looking forward to giving you the members, the ultimate club experience.  It is your club and we are here to run the club for you!  So please tell us if you have any ideas for any kind of events at all.  We mentioned at our launch night some of the events we have in store, but please don't hesitate to contact us if you have something you think will be fun to do!

"The last few weeks have seen a lot of work by some amazingly hardworking, dedicated, passionate people, it's not just me and Jo that have done all the work getting BMWDCM off the ground, initially yes, but since the word got out so many have come on board and helped be a part of this and get it up and running, I want to especially thank Lawrence and Shaaron Glynn, Jess, Chris and Sean Bell, Jenna Patan, Jason Gibson, Garett Sandeman, Alex Jory, Rob and Mia Pavlov, Andy Kaos, Peter Williams and anyone else I have forgotten to mention! (sorry) Also, I want to thank the Executive of BMW Clubs Australia and the International Council for their help, advice and assistance in getting BMWDCM off the ground and accepted as Member of the worldwide BMW Club family, I am incredibly proud and excited about the future with you all on board for the ride!" – Graeme Bell.

Keep an eye on the website for updates on upcoming events.  We will send out notices to full financial members but non-members are also very welcome at our events.  So keep checking and see if there is something you might like to come along to, or even help organise or run.

Thank you to all those who attended and gave their support, without you this wouldn't be possible.

Looking forward to seeing you all at the next one! 

The Committee |  BMW Drivers Club Melbourne 
The Ultimate Driving Club