News

As BMW Clubs Australia Interim International Delegate, I attended the BMW Clubs International Council Virtual Meeting last night 14 Nov.  I have the message from Trevor Dean, Chairman of BCIC to pass on to you.  

This is an update of the BMW Clubs International Council meeting 2025 and the next 13 Nov Virtual Meeting.

Support of BMW Group Classic

Thank you to all in BMW Club and Community Management for their tireless work to help deliver the best Council Meeting that the Council has experienced.

Matthias Neuer was responsible for the organisation and the management of the Council Meeting.

And to Helmut Käs, Head of BMW Group Classic, for his ongoing support and leadership.

Helmut introduced Ulrike von Mirbach, Head of BMW Group Customer Formats; BMW Brand Experience, as one of the 5 guest speakers for the Council Meeting.

We also had a presentation from Tatjana Otto, Head of BMW Group Archives.

 

Keynote address

For the first time, BMW Clubs International Council was invited to attend a major launch by BMW Group.

The development of the Neue Klasse was the result of the biggest investment by BMW AG in the history of the brand.

Oliver Zipse advised the new BMW iX3 is the start of a new era for BMW.

 

Farewell Dinner

To finish off a wonderful Council Meeting, BCCM still had some surprises in store.

All members of BCCM were at the entrance of the restaurant in traditional Bavarian clothes to welcome the Council.

Scott Blazey was presented with a scale model BMW i8 with SB plates as a parting gift.

Gerry Hodges advised he was attending his last Council Meeting and was presented with a BMW M3 E30 Jägermeister model. 

 

BMW Clubs International Council Board

We welcome KK Wong to the Board of BMW Clubs International Council as the Vice Chair Motorcycles.

He joins Colin van Son, who is the Vice Chair Classic and Types and Martina Günter, Vice Chair Cars.

KK has a long history with BCIC and he will issue an introduction to all in his new role on the Council.

We farewell Scott Blazey as the outgoing Chair of BMW Clubs International Council.

We fondly acknowledge Scott’s time as Chair with his strong administrative and leadership skills and we value his friendship.

Scott will be welcome to attend any meeting of BMW Clubs International Council in the future.

Council Meeting 2026

BCIC would like to give certainty for the location and date of the next Council Meeting so that participants have plenty of time to plan for the CM and the pre-tour if they wish to participate.

There was one complete proposal from BMWCCA in conjunction with BMWMOA presented at the 2025 Council Meeting.

The submission was fully costed and detailed in the planned agenda and activities. 

Council members requested the opportunity for other Umbrellas to forward submissions to hold the Council Meeting in 2026.

The Council agreed to this request and advised that any further proposals were required to be submitted by 30^th October 2025.

There is a full explanation of requirements available for holding a Council Meeting including a budget template from BCCM.

All submissions received for Council Meeting 2026 will be circulated to Delegates and Observers prior to the Virtual Meeting.

It is intended that there will be a brief presentation of the proposals to the Virtual Meeting by the proponents.

Voting for Council Meeting 2026 will be conducted by secret ballot by BCCM after the Virtual Meeting.

 

Virtual meeting

The next Virtual Meeting will be held at 11.00am CET on Thursday 13^th November.

Matthias will send a MS-Teams meeting link to all participants.

 

Newsletter

The third edition of the BCIC newsletter was unveiled at the Council Meeting. Thank you to Colin van Son collating the contents and Scott Blazey for completing the editing and layout for the magazine.

Once again it is a very professional newsletter with articles from many BMW club members.

Please circulate the newsletter to your members.

BCIC Newsletter Edition 3 2025

As discussed at the Council Meeting the fourth edition will contain articles on the BCIC annual Council Meeting and the Neue Klasse, as well as articles from BMW club members.

We are fortunate to have 7 Delegates or Observers offer to submit an article at the Council Meeting.

The newsletter topics from the Council Meeting are attached. If anyone would like to volunteer, there are still 3 topics available.

The objective of this newsletter is to give an insight into the workings of the BMW Clubs International Council and what occurs during the year and at a Council Meeting.

Any further insights are most welcome. Martina Günter will be collating the articles for this edition.

It would be appreciated if these articles could be submitted to Martina in October, prior to the Virtual Meeting, so Martina can update the meeting on the progress of BCIC Newsletter edition 4.

Matthias Neuer will be able to supply any photos of the Council Meeting or activities to assist with the articles.

Scott Blazey has generously advised he will layout the newsletter once the articles are received.

BMW Server

The photographs taken by the professional photographer commissioned by BCCM have been uploaded to the Server.

The link to the server is : BMW Group Classic - Download server - Council meeting 2025

BCCM will send the password in a separate email.

Please use any of these photographs for your journals or for articles for the BCIC Newsletter.

BMW Clubs International Council website

The Council members advised they would proactively support the BMW Clubs International Council website.

This will be an agenda item for the Virtual Council Meeting.

 

BMW Clubs International Council is a positive, vibrant community.

It is the same as your local club. It thrives on the energy that each of you contributes.

Thank you to everyone for a very successful and enjoyable year.

 

Regards

Trevor Dean

Chairman

BMW Clubs International Council

Hi Club Members,

I hope you enjoyed BMW Clubs and Community Management and BMW Clubs International Council newsletter Issue 1 BMW Club's World Newsletter.

There are now three Issues and a new one before Christmas.  You will find them all on https://bmwcic.org/newsletter/

Issue 2 from 2024 is https://bmwcic.org/bmw-clubs-world/ and take a look at 100 years of Motorrad 

And look at BMW Group Classic

Hi Club members,

Remember, if you are visiting Germany and intend dropping in to Munich, then as a BMW Club Members there are thing to see.  You can visit BMW Museum, BMW Welt, BMW Group Classic then experience Plant Tours and there are special club member deals.  Contact me, your Club Delegate to BMW Clubs Australia, for details and assistance with bookings and tours. 

Take a look at BMW Group Classic

We owe it to our Club Members to provide quality driver training. Coaches play a pivotal role in the development of drivers across all levels and disciplines in motorsport. Thank you to our eleven expert drivers who have completed the Motorsport Australia Coaching qualification. 

Drivers, please let me motorsport@bmwclubnsw.asn.au know when you have completed that official course and you will join our Coach Team.   

For those experts who haven't taken out this Coach qualification, please take a look at  https://motorsport.org.au/officials/coaching/

A coach provides training and guidance to drivers, focusing on enhancing their driving techniques, safety knowledge, and overall performance.   Get qualified.  It is your time well spent. Motorsport Australia Coaching is a free program 

1. Apply for a licence via your Member Portal, or submit an application form   Coach Application

2. Apply for a Working With Children Check (WWCC) – Do that at Service NSW –  application for WWCC is free for volunteers.      https://ocg.nsw.gov.au/working-children-check

3. Complete the Online Coaching Module.     

BMW AG have made the massive announcement of the start of a new era. The new BMW iX3 that is a fully electric Sports Activity Vehicle (SAV).  It gives customers their first on-the-road taste of a whole new era of Sheer Driving Pleasure.  Download the Announcement 

 

What a fantastic day for Round 4 of our 2025 Motorkhana series!

This past Saturday, we descended on the skidpan at Sydney Motorsport Park for what was an incredible day of grassroots motorsport. We had a massive, full field of 40 entrants, and the weather gods were definitely smiling on us!

It was awesome to see the sheer variety of cars being pushed to their limits. Alongside a stunning lineup of BMWs from classic E36s to modern G87 M2s, we saw everything from nimble MX-5s and a Focus RS to a Subaru BRZ and even a classic Commodore. It’s this variety that makes our events so special!

Drivers battled it out across four challenging tests: Crazy Square, Plumb Crazy, Crossover, and Big Eyes, with some incredibly tight times being posted throughout the day.

A massive congratulations to our podium finishers who put on a masterclass in car control:

1st Place: Andrew Best in the Ford Focus RS

2nd Place: James Hughes in the Mazda NB MX-5

3rd Place: Alex Wong in the E82 135i

BMWs

1st Place: Alex Wong in the E82 135i

2nd Place: Chris Benny in the F87 M2

3rd Place: Philip Middlebrook in the F82 M4

Others

1st Place: Andrew in the Ford Focus RS

2nd Place: James in the Mazda NB MX-5

3rd Place: Patrick Kong in the Subaru BRZ

Shootout

1st Place: James in the Mazda NB MX-5

2nd Place: Alex in the E82 135i

3rd Place: Patrick Kong in the Subaru BRZ

A huge thank you to all the drivers for the great competition and sportsmanship, and of course, to our amazing volunteers who make these days happen. We couldn't do it without you!

We can't wait to see you all at the next one!

Compliance pathways for modifiers

Transport for NSW offers pathways to show that a modified light vehicle meets the required standards. Compliance can be demonstrated by following either a compliance specification or the relevant provisions of Vehicle Standards Bulletin 14 (VSB 14).  Transport standard compliance specifications include:  VSCCS Bulletin 2   Brake Assessment Manual (BAM)   Interim NSW Vehicle Emissions Test Procedure   Suspension and Ride Height manual.   These documents outline how a modification can be carried out and assessed. Certifiers should only apply one compliance pathway per modification and must follow it in full.    This approach helps ensure consistency, clarity and safety when certifying modified vehicles.    For more information including links to the specifications, visit the standard compliance and specifications page on our website.  Disclaimer: This information is provided to support certifiers in understanding regulatory requirements. It does not replace the relevant legislation, and certifiers should always refer to the applicable legislation where clarification is required.

Round 3 of the 2025 Motorkhana Championship was held at Sydney Motorsport Park on Saturday. It was a quiet one compared to our usual attendance, possibly due to school holidays keeping some of our members away. As a result, the competitors got in quite a few extra runs of each test as well as an extended drifting session at the end of the day.

Thank you to Bob Williams (Clerk of Course), Victor Yee (Photographer), Dominique Oakes, Max Levesque and Paul Pettersen (Timing) who assisted with running this event.

At the next Motorkhana round, we'll be adding in Come and Try entries, perfect for those who are interested in trying Motorkhana for the first time and don't have an annual Motorsport Australia licence.

Enjoy the video of Alex Wong in his manual E60 M5 tackling Triple Loop in the most sideways way possible. Not the fastest way around but a Motorkhana Test but definitely fun.

https://www.facebook.com/bmwdcnsw/videos/754135826998374

Congratulations to the winners of this event!

Overall

1st James Hughes (NB MX5)

2nd Kim Hughes (NB MX5)

3rd Alex Wong (E60 M5)

BMWs

1st Alex Wong (E60 M5)

2nd Mark Daly (E86 Z4M)

3rd Philip Middlebrook(E92 335i)

Others

1st James Hughes (NB MX5)

2nd Kim Hughes (NB MX5)

3rd Patrick Kong (Subaru BRZ)

Shootout

1st James Hughes (NB MX5)

2nd Patrick Kong (Subaru BRZ)

3rd Kim Hughes (NB MX5)

Transport for NSW have released their DRIVE Lite Vehicle Safety Certificate of Compliance update.

Those members with conditionally registered vehicles please note.  

There is an article relating to inspections of vehicles at an event conducted by the Chrysler Car Club and not unexpectedly, TfNSW and NSW Police were more than interested, ensuring vehicles were safe and that they passed muster in terms of the eligibility needed for either Historic or Classic Vehicle Registration.

 Please check out this web  link:  Drive Lite VSCCS July 2025

Please note that due to the onerous requirements that have been imposed by Motorsport Australia (which are followed, as required, by the ARDC, the managers of Sydney Motorsport Park) on Electric, Hybrid or Mild-Hybrid vehicles and on the Club and its Officials if such vehicles were to be accepted by the Club, such vehicles cannot be accepted in Motorsport Australia events or at that venue.

As the Club cannot accept such vehicles for our events please don’t try to register in any of our Motorsport Events in an Electric, Hybrid or Mild-Hybrid vehicle.