Recent Club Events:

Thunder and Lightning - BMW Club Night at the Motorplex

It was Whoop Ass Wednesday at the Motorplex drag strip with special discounts for BMWs and Club members turned out to try their cars on the track. The day was hot and, as the cloud built up, there was thunder and lightning, both in the sky and on the ground. The street-standard BMWs were matched against each other and against other road cars to see who has bragging rights over the standing 400 metres, and sometimes the pairings included some pretty serious drag cars.

The pairings went pretty much as you might expect: The M5 just held off the M4,

the M4 put the AMG Mercedes hot hatch back into its proper place

and the M650i calmly wooshed its way past all comers, until they brought out The Charger.

As might be expected the drag strip special beat the road car but he had to pull a wheelstand to do it.

Back in the queue, an E30 3-Series had fun against a more modern 1-Series.

A different type of sheer driving pleasure, but still a fun day (evening) for those who gave it a go.

Successful Technical Morning at Westcoast BMW

Club members enjoying the annual technical morning with the service team at Westcoast BMW at their state of the art facility in Wangara. "Energy" was the topic delivered this year, with Master Technician Marcel discussing the way BMW is advancing efficiency without sacrificing performance and the joy of driving. We were also able to see in detail the engine from the awesome BMW M5 F10.

The F10 M5 uses a 4395 cc variation of the S63 4.4L V8 engine, which produces 412 kW (560 PS; 553 bhp) at 6000 – 7000 rpm and maximum torque of 502 lb-ft (680 Newton metres) from 1500 – 5750 rpm and it was great to be able to see this wonderful piece of engineering up close.

Thanks to Westcoast BMW for a very interesting event, greatly appreciated.

BMW Club (WA) / Porsche Club (WA) Combined Drive to Dwellingup

What could be better on a warm and sunny September morning that to meet up with a couple of dozen BMW drivers for a scenic drive through some of Perth’s most scenic roads to a hearty lunch? How about combining that with an equal number of similarly inclined Porsche drivers?

This was the mouth-watering scenario that greeted participants in the inaugural combined “Spring in the Valley” drive to Dwellingup. Initially planned as a drive to Toodyay and the Chittering Valley, the challenge of feeding 50 people necessitated a rethink in terms of lunch location.  Some previous visits to the Dwellingup Hotel by some committee members raised the lovely southern town as a possible alternate lunch location and the hotel manager was more than happy to take on the challenge.

The scene at the muster point at the Baldivis BP was impressive with a collection of 30 of both marques' finest from today and yesterday.

A scenic route was planned via the stunning forest around Jarrahdale to Serpentine Dam, flowing on to Dwellingup on the lovely Del Park Road. I was fortunate enough to be a passenger in a 330i convertible and the experience was stunning given the number of wildflowers coming into bloom (the dead kangaroo that we passed was memorable in a different way) – you really do feel connected to the landscape.

Town was buzzing when we arrived at the Dwellingup Hotel with the steam train arriving and numerous other displays bringing in huge numbers of visitors.  The pre-ordering of lunches proved to be a real-time saver for both guest and the hotel staff. The hotel laid out a separate room for us all and the food came out in a steady stream – many thanks for Stu for his loud meal calling voice!

Lunch provided club members to mingle with their counterparts and discuss the various merits of their cars. Frequent topics involved service costs, great driving roads, model reliability, motorsport opportunities and the old depreciation chestnut! It was really refreshing to discuss these topics with enthusiasts with a different viewpoint.

Many thanks to Stu MacGregor for his event management and organisation of the lunch venue, and to BMW Club President John Slade for initiating the combined event and marshalling duties and welcome address on the day.  Special thanks also to Peter King, a member of both clubs who liaised with the Porsche Club and to Grace Tan for managing communication on the Porsche Club side.

Weekend Away to the Albany Classic Sportscar Races

Albany first experienced motor racing in 1936 with the 'WA 50 Mile TT Car Race'. Fast forward to the 2017 June Long Weekend when twenty of us travelled to the Albany Classic Vintage Sportscar Races around the Town and Hill Climb event.

The Albany Classic Motor Event is run through the heart of Albany's CBD, overlooking Princess Royal Harbour. This spectacle of historic motorsport presents a wide variety of cars from vintage wire wheels, post-vintage and classics as well as open wheel racers and muscle cars. 

We enjoyed a tour to the Great Southern Region as a Club group taking in the excitement of the vintage sports car racing – BMW driving through wonderful countryside, great food and friendship.

German Car Day

Many thanks to everyone that joined us for German Car Day on Sunday, contributing much needed funds to the Wheels for Hope Charity.

Fifteen BMWs made the drive from Auto Classic BMW to Perry Lakes, the location chosen by the Mercedes Club to hold this year’s display. Event photos are available for purchase from Anthony Matteo, AJ Film and Photography. Please email Anthony (fzstforce@gmail.com), for details and the following link takes you to the German Car Day selection.

https://www.facebook.com/pg/ajfilmandphotography/photos/?tab=album&album_id=1413514528711540

Classic Cars & Coffee Sunday 9 April

A very enjoyable Sunday morning with 15 members and their partners attending followed by breakfast in Nedlands.

150 cars of various makes and models ranging from BMW, Porsche, Mustang, Aston Martin and Bentley turned out on a beautiful sunny Sunday as WA does so well.

BMW Club WA Centenary Show'N'Shine

Our traditional Club Show'N'Shine was held on the banks of the Swan in Peppermint Grove as a car display and club picnic. This year it marked 100 years of the BMW marque, so classic and special edition cars were particularly honoured. We put on our best-ever display of club cars, with examples from right across the range of classic and modern BMWs. Prizes were awarded to the best-kept BMWs in a range of classes and this year we had more prizes than ever for Members who entered their cars into the judging.

Club Sponsors participated including vehicle displays and prizes from Westcoast BMW. Michael from Diamond Cut Wheel Specialist and Doug from Auto Pro Dent Removal were also available to give advice on any imperfections owners might have had with their BMWs.

The following link will take you to a short film of our 2016 Show'N'Shine.

Thank you to everyone that participated and made the event an enjoyable day and great success.

https://youtu.be/aHnsI7_dOqw

The following link takes you to a great short film made by AJ Film and Photography of some of the BMWs on display at the 2015 event: https://www.facebook.com/ajfilmandphotography/videos

The judges' scores were very close for the best-kept BMWs, with many beautiful examples of the marque on display, but in the end John Cokis's immaculate and original E28 528i came home ahead.

John was presented with a BMW Driving Experience prize for owning the Best in Show BMW from Westcoast BMW, a fantastic prize for the effort John had put in.

Allan Perry was the winner of the People's Choice award, with the most votes from members of the public for his recently acquired Verona Red E34 535i MSport. Allan's prize was presented by Margie Smith-Haas, a visiting friend from BMW Club USA and former Le Mans Porsche driver.

Como Rotary Club Car Show

Display your BMW at the Car Show, in amongst 100s of other classic cars of all shapes and sizes, as part of a fundraiser for worthy causes. Or alternatively, just come along and admire all the cars on display for charity.

 

BMW Club WA Show’N’Shine 2017 - Sunday 12 November

The stars aligned on Sunday, literally, when the best display of BMWs ever in Western Australia lined up in the shade of the peppermint trees at Manners Hill Park, by the side of the river in Peppermint Grove.

I’m not sure if anyone counted the cars but at least 60 Club members’ cars were on display, surpassing last year’s Centenary Celebration numbers, and the quality of the display was enhanced by the presence of an i8 and a latest release X3, courtesy of our friends at Auto Classic.

The weather was nearly perfect and the atmosphere was fantastic. The judging tent threatened to blow away with the sea breeze gusting higher as the day went on, but 20 members’ BMWs passed through the tent before we called it quits and added up the points (and dismantled the tent before the wind did it for us).

A full list of cars judged and scores will be published shortly in the club magazine but a simple summary goes like this – every class had a worthy winner and all the cars judged were great examples of the marque. Well done to all the owners – your investment in elbow grease showed up on the score sheets. But in a unique outcome, the Best Car in Show, the Best 5 Series and the People’s Choice award all went to Allan Perry for his superb E34 535iS.It’s not always the case that the people and the judges agree but they did last Sunday. Well done Allan!

Soon there will be a video of the day uploaded on the website, which should give you a clearer view of how good the display was this year, and high resolution images of all the cars will be available from AJ Photography for purchase. If your car was in the line-up at some time throughout the day, then there’ll be a photo of it. In the meantime, take a look at these members’ photos of some of the cars on display.

JUNE 18 2017 BINDOON BAKEHAUS and NEW NORCIA HOTEL RUN AND LUNCH

A fine turnout of some thirty Members in a nice range of BMWs took part in this Club event with their partners and friends and were greeted with pleasant weather.

The meet point on the Sunday morning was Stirling Square, Guildford and everyone had a pleasant drive (with only moderate truck traffic) from there via West Swan Road and Great Northern Highway to stop for morning tea at the Bindoon Bakehaus.  Once refreshed, the Members took the road less travelled (particularly by roadtrains) via Mooliabeenee and Mogumber to arrive at the Hotel of the historic New Norcia Benedictine Monastery for lunch on its upstairs balcony.

Members have expressed their enjoyment of the lunch and drinks, the views over the town from the balcony and the opportunity for an interesting walk around afterwards. 

Returning Members had the choice of retracing the outbound route or going straight down Great Northern Highway as best suited them.

Westcoast BMW Technical Morning

On Saturday March 18 Westcoast BMW turned on the hospitality and provided members with a variety of opportunities to indulge their love of all things BMW.

Around 30 members were greeted at the immaculate showroom with delicious morning tea and an opportunity to see and touch the full range of new cars. After some brief introductions members  were left in the care of Master Technician Marcel who gave a hands on discussion on the evolution of the VANOS system that has been seen on BMW’s petrol engines for 25 years, after debuting on the e36.  A range of vehicles from e36 to e92 were on display and Marcel discussed and demonstrated how the VANOS technology has progressed over various engine generations and the specialised diagnostics that can be run to monitor their performance.

The choice of the day was fortuitous as well as it coincided with the official launch of the all-new 5 Series sedan which features a large portion of the incredible technology already seen in the 7 Series.  Members were able to have a close look at the new 530i demonstrator and a detailed description of the systems on board was given by the sales team. The level of autonomous driving ability of the new car is astounding!

The hospitality was extended further with $150 in gift cards given away in a raffle as well as providing once off special discounts on parts and accessories.

Special thanks to the staff at West Coast BMW for their hospitality for a great morning.

Visit to Westcoast BMW

Stuart Mackay, General Manager of Westcoast BMW invited the Club Committee to hold its monthly planning meeting at their first class facility in Wangara, Western Australia. During our visit we received a briefing by Westcoast’s Service Manager, Stephen Botha, on recent changes made by BMW Group Australia to the price of servicing and parts for BMWs including older models. Competitive pricing and manufacturer warranty on parts offer advantages to Club Members. Westcoast’s technicians work not only on the current state of the art BMWs, but have a passion for older models.

 For the last 4 years the Westcoast Service Team has ranked Number 1 in Australia for customer service satisfaction within the BMW Dealer Network. To be eligible for discounts BMW Club members must show their 2015 Membership Card to the Service Team.

 For more information contact Stephen Botha on telephone number 9330 5888, email enquiries to service@westcoastbmw.com.au

BMW Club WA Annual General Meeting and Christmas Lunch

Fifty-something members, partners and offspring braved the unseasonally wintry weather on Sunday 6 December to attend the Club's AGM and catered picnic lunch at The Houghton Winery in the Swan Valley.

The winery was very helpful in allowing us to establish ourselves alongside the old homestead building and erect some shelters in case the rain and wind intervened. This, coupled with our planning committee's response to the weather forecast of bringing every gazebo and shelter dome we could lay our hands on, meant that we were prepared for almost anything.

Ultimately, the forecast of "showers, easing" came true and we were able to picnic on chicken and salad with fruit mince pies for afters without any significant interruptions from the weather.

President John Slade brought us all to order for the AGM and the Agenda was progressed with unanimous support. John and his Committee were re-elected for another year and some minor changes to the Club Constitution were adopted.

Under the heading of General Business, a motion was passed unanimously that longstanding Club member John Oppermann should be awarded Life Membership for his outstanding service to BMW Club WA, and he was presented with a commemorative certificate. John is currently  a Committee Member and our Historic Vehicles Registrar, but has been a long-term President and led the rebuilding of the Club from a low point in the early 2000s towards its now strong and healthy status among the Australian BMW Clubs.John's well-deserved life membership was supported unanimously by the members present.

  It was great to see such a large turnout on a day that could easily have deterred many members and it was especially pleasing to meet a number of new members and their partners, for whom it was their first Club event. We look forward to catching up again early in the new year when the Club rolls out the first events on its 2016 calendar.

Club Tuning Day

Sixteen Club members, with 15 BMWs and a Golf, presented themselves at the appointed time on Saturday 02 May, for a briefing, some instruction and then some hot laps at the RAC Driver Training & Education Centre.

BMWs on the track ranged from an E30 track car and an E28 535i, through a wide range of Motorsport and M cars to a brand-new 650i coupe. Peter T had a great time bedding in his 1-week-old black beast.

Everyone seemed to enjoy themselves and the cars seemed to appreciate the opportunity to stretch their legs in a safe and legal environment. The availability of instruction was welcomed by all the participants, who were able to check their skills and techniques with an expert before they went solo.

More words and pictures will appear in the next edition of B'EMMING. The Club hopes to run at least one more of these events in the coming months.

Introducing the BMW M6 GT3 to Perth - a Q&A Session with Steve Richards at Auto Classic

Forty-three Club members took advantage of an invitation from Auto Classic to view the mighty M6 GT3, in town for the upcoming round of the GT3 Championship as part of the V8 Supercars round at Barbagallo Raceway. Driver Steve Richards was on hand to describe his team's involvement in developing the GT3 and racing it in Australia as part of BMW's re-entry into motorsport in this country.Steve's involvement echoes that of his famous father Jim, who raced 635s and M3s for various BMW teams in the 1980s.

Thanks are due to Auto Classic for inviting us to what was a great evening and to Steve Richards for answering all the questions thrown at him, for posing for innumerable selfies and staying on right to the end to talk with the fans.