Drive to Jindivick with BMW Car Club of Victoria November 15th

clubMINI hosted another joint drive with BMWCCV on 15 November.  On this occasion only a couple of BMWs were able to attend, but together there were plenty of MINIs including a number of people new to our drives.

We enjoyed a morning drive through the spectacular, sunlit spring scenery of western Gippsland.  That was followed by an animated drive on the twisty roads around Noojee – a little bumpy in places but enjoyed immensely by all.  The drive finished with leisurely brunch at the excellent Jindi Caf in Jindivick, overlooking the rolling hills and pasturelands and cloud-capped Mt Baw Baw.

*Words and Photos by Peter Williams

clubMINI at Certified III presented by 100mm at Birrarung Marr

100mm presented Certified III Melbourne Automotive Festival.

clubMINI Victoria attended the 3rd event held at  Birrarung Marr Park on Sunday 1st NOV 2015 by 100 Millimeter.
This festival showcased approximately 200 of some Australia’s best custom vehicles. The event program also included the key elements of a car custom work, lifestyle culture of todays trend and preference.
Some of Melbourne’s best Food Trucks and Stalls where on site to feed the masses. To top off the day, live bands, DJs and dancers provided entertainment. With some shopping opportunities at the many display stands on site.

MINI Garage Melbourne provided giveaways for the club members in attendance and also generously provided T Shirts for those who exhibited their cars on the day.  In total there were 10 MINIs on display, ranging from a Cabriolet, to R56 S and JCW variants, a Coupe and even a MINI Challenge Car. Lastly one of the latest line ups to the MINI range with a F56 S in attendance.

The day started early, with the owners of the display MINIs up at 5:30am.. down at Birrarung Marr to get the site set up.

Owners of the display MINIs L-R Damien, Jerrod, Evans, Jen, Tony, Rob, Jeff, Andrew and Peter (not pictured)

clubMINI Victoria Committee members were on hand to share information about our great club, the cars and also the regular events held. Was even a raffle for club members, with prizes generously donated by MINI Garage Melbourne on Kings Way.

There was  a spectacular variety of cars on show, best captured by photos of course. See below.

A MASSIVE thanks to the clubMINI members that brought their cars to display and of course our friends at 
MINI Australia and MINI Garage Melbourne (aka Kingsway) Thank you!

100mm from Amanda on Vimeo. 

*Photos by Amanda and Damien

clubMINI Motorsport - Winton 10 Hour Relay Oct 17 - 18

The clubMINI Motorsport team participated in the Winton 10-hour Relay Race on the weekend (17-18 October).

The Drivers and vehicles were Geoff Vernon in his R53 Electric Blue Hatch, Peter Kaiser in his R56 Chilli Red JCW, and Craig Lindsell in his R53 BRG Ex-targa.

Peter Kaiser with his CWorks R53

The Support crew where Andrew (Macca), Craig W, Sally P, Tony P, Jeff S, Evans K and Gaylene C.

Day One
Practice went well with the guys working out what lap time to nominate for themselves. Unfortunately (and fortunately) Geoff’s MINI experienced problems during practice when the gear linkage on the shifter came apart!! The guys all joined together to work on fixing the problem. With less than 30 minutes of practice time to go Geoff went back on the track to test the repairs, but less than one lap showed that more tinkering was required.

MINIs getting some shut-eye before the big day ahead

Nominated lap times were: Craig 1:44, Peter 1:45, Geoff 1:50 – Geoff’s lap time was a strategic decision, not knowing how repairs would turn out!?

Craig Ls R53 Ex-Targa

During the lunch break the guys worked further on Geoff’s MINI and with sufficient hammering, and supply of cable ties and lubricants, everything was put back together … okay, there may have been one or two spare bolts and parts left over!

Around 14:00 Craig lined up in 6th position on the ‘grid’ ready for the start of the relay. Craig did really well, earning LOTs of bonus points. Peter went out next and did well too. And then it was Geoff’s turn … fingers and legs were crossed by the team and support crew! … and … Yippee!! Success!! Then repeat … Craig, then Peter, then Geoff.

Geoff's R53 getting some TLC by the support crew member Ev

So at the end of Day One there was great relief, and we enjoyed dinner together at a local Benalla hotel. The guys toyed with the idea of meeting early Sunday morning to check on the repairs to Geoff’s MINI but decided to leave well enough alone.

 

 Day Two

The race started early at 09:30am with Geoff on the track first … it must have been hard for him to ‘slow down’ to aim for his nominated 1:50 lap time. Macca rushed out to ‘the wall’ a few times to ‘impress upon Geoff the importance of going slower’ !?!

Geoff waiting to get out there

Peter went out next and towards the end of his stint there was a three vehicle incident that Red Flagged the event for a while. Fortunately the drivers of the vehicles involved were not seriously injured, but one Alfa Romeo and one Peugeot looked to be write-offs.

PK out on the track

Craig was out next. The day was warming up quickly and so was the track. Then it was a case of repeat … Geoff, Peter, Craig, Geoff, Peter, Craig. The rest of the relay went well for the clubMINI team, with the relay finishing at 15:30.

Craig doing his thing!

The drivers did a fantastic job, and the support crew were awesome too … A big thankyou to everyone for a great team effort!

By Gaylene (with some help from my friends)

And a few random car pics from the day...

Bugeyes galore!

A mean (and cute) Mini machine

The iconic 911 SC

2015 Annual General Meeting and your new Committee

by Peter Williams

Your Committee

Last week, the AGM was held at Chequered Flag stables in Mordialloc.  All who attended enjoyed the opportunity to look at some rare cars, have a bite to eat and have a bit of fun with a trivia contest. Photos from the event are on the club’s Flickr page here.

The new committee was also voted in with some new members to the committee as well as some returning committee members.  From the listing below, you can see we have worked to add additional support into the Events team.  With lots of feedback regarding additional events, the team is now better resourced to review all event options.  I’m sure everyone will enjoy those events that make it to the forward calendar.

We also have the Secretary role currently vacant.  If you are interested in that role, please feel free to speak with Craig at the Great Ocean Road event or contact him via gok4rt@me.com

President  Craig Webb
Vice President Damien Thomas
Secretary Vacant
Membership Secretary Andy Brown
Treasurer Ruth Harrison
 
Motorsport Captain Peter Kaiser
Driver Training Evans Kismawidjaja
 
Events Coordinator Peter Williams
Events Secretary David Goudge
Events Organizers - Drives Damien Thomas, Peter Williams
Events Organizer – non-drive Gaylene Callaghan
 
Media Officer Amanda Withey
Merchandise Officer Andrew Mok
 
General Committee Member Andrew McDonald

Drive to Mansfied via Eildon with the BMWCCV

Todays run clubMINI invited along the BMW Car Club of Victoria.  About 30 cars ranging from MINIs, BMWs, a Lamborghini and a Captiva all met at Lilydale McDonalds at  8 am for the run.

Cars and drivers debriefing prior to the run

Checking out the go fast bits on the Cooper S

From Lilydale the convoy headed for The Black Spur...

Z4, and MINIs cruising through the tall gums of the Black Spur

... and then onto Eildon for a pit stop at the lake

Scheduled pit stop at Eildon

From here the roads to Mansfield take on a scenic and twisty route, the convoy split into two groups - Group 1 took the fast route and Group 2 went the more direct and less twisty route.

Electric Blue F56 S in the rear view mirror of the Captiva

All lined up and ready to roll...

The rose between the thorns or the other way around?? hmmm

MINIs and a 1 Series Coupe just out of view

Enjoying lunch

The run finally arrived at the Delatite Hotel in Mansfield where a well deserved pub meal was enjoyed by all.

That F56 S all by its lonesome

Look at the angles of that Lambo bumper.. oh and nice MINI rims too!

Nice plates oh and Go Pro on the Z4

And one last shot of that gorgeous super car!  

A massive thank you to Eleanor Hughes and Keith Teesdale for the photos!!

COMING SOON - clubMINI MOTORKHANA

Coming soon to clubMINI Victoria - MOTORKHANA 2015

Date to be announced soon!

What's a Motorkhana about?

2 Minutes of Fame - Events Secretary Peter Williams

What is your name and position on the committee?

Peter Williams - Events Secretary.  I organize the club’s events calendar, organize some of the events and coordinate other people to run other events.

How long have you been in clubMINI for?

7 years

What MINI(s) do you have, what color is it and how long have you owned it?

R56 LCI Cooper S, red with a red roof.  Almost 5 years.

Have you modified your MINI, if so what have you done to it?  

Engine is stock.

I ordered the car with softer standard (not S) suspension and an electronic limited slip diff, added a negative Camber kit up front (2.5 deg), Alta 22mm sway bar at rear – so the car cruises more comfortably, I can get the power down better on bumpy roads and earlier, and its cornering attitude is neutral instead of understeer.

Cross-drilled discs front and rear.  4 driving lights.  Short aerial.  Side-stripes.

Inside: red dash panels and trim, JCW gearshift knob, Alta temperature and boost gauges.

Swapped 17” wheels over from my previous MINI.

What is your favorite song to listen to when driving your MINI? 

Even though I’m into music, I don’t generally listen to music when I drive – I prefer to concentrate on the driving.

So if MINI didn't exist, what would be your next choice?  

BMW 220i (of course) for its sophisticated handling and quality.  At a lower price point, Fiesta ST for its brilliant handling - I had the previous model ST (XR4 here) and it was great.

So you find a genie in a bottle, she grants you 3 wishes with one of them being a brand new MINI, what MINI would you choose and why?  

Right now, a 3-door F56 Cooper (not S, just the 3-cylinder) optioned with adaptive suspension, sports seats, JCW gauges and some other stuff – probably a camber kit too! Because 100KW is (just) enough power, and the 3-cylinder means less weight up front for quicker, lighter handling.

But I’d rather wait a year for the F54 Clubman AWD hybrid (even though it’s too big), or better still, either of the Superleggera or the smaller MINI if they ever make them.

What was your first car? And how did this car come to be yours? 

Toyota Corolla, bought from my parents – wouldn’t go more than 70km/h up ANY hill.  First car I chose was a Holden Gemini, which handled very nicely (catching a theme here? J).

Peter's Corolla and below his Gemini 

 So when you see Peter at the next event, be sure to say Hi and have a chat about cars, as you can see Peter is a total enthusiast for anything with good handling! 

Sandown June - MINI MOTORSPORT

Part two of the Frankston Loop involved a trip to Sandown to watch two of our own members compete at Sandown. Geoff Vernon in his R53 Electric Blue Hatch and Peter Kaiser in his R56 S in Chilli Red.

Here's Geoff


And here's Peter






Some of the other marques out on the track


Whilst Sandown has some nice long fast straights, the turns catch some drivers out..







To see more photos from this event, click here

Frankston Loop - Arthurs Seat - Frankston

Eighteen MINIs and their co pilots met at the Frankston McDonalds at 8:15 for a 8:30am start.

We quickly took over the carpark, and ended up with MINIs all around the Maccas restaurant.


We are gonna need a bigger Maccas next time!


These guys need a bigger MINI.


clubMINI first timers - forging new friendships


After a quick drivers brief, we all jumped in our machines and hit the road.


Although today for the first time I can recall, the MINIs got separated and half of us ended up going in the wrong direction! wooops
 

Here we are 'lost' well not really lost, just not where we were meant to be.



Another 10 mins later, our error was corrected and we were back with the main group and enroute to Arthurs Seat carpark.
















Here we are taking over the Arthurs Seat car park



This MINI came all the way from QLD.. and is now relocating to fabulous Victoria!



MINI behinds


From Arthurs Seat we headed off along Arthurs Seat Road, and towards the stunning Marine Drive.. turning heads as our MINIs continued along through Dromana, Safety Beach, Mount Martha, Mornington.. and onto Frankston where we all parked and had breakfast at the Celsius Cafe.

Part two - onto Sandown coming up next!

To see more photos from this event, click here

And finally some advice...