We held our traditional end of year meeting in PJ Kavanaghs pub in Portlaoise.
Some items discussed were:-
* BMW CC Irl. Region committee/roles and the way forward
* track days - should we continue using Mondello Park?
* do you want to some foreign trips?
* 2006 details (including monthly pub meets (e.g. every 2nd tuesday))

Pictures from the event are available in the gallery.

The BMW Car Club Ireland made their 5th visit to Mondello recently for another tarmac outing. Having booked the entire International Circuit we arrived and found that Mondello had only booked us in for the smaller National Circuit. However, this didn't appear to have spoiled the track fun.

As usual there were plenty of cars ranging from the old (2002 & 1600 Alpina) to the newer models E31 840Ci and E39 M5, E46 M3 etc. These events as you all know are the greatest concentration of E30, E36 and E46 M3s around!

Photos can be viewed online in the gallery

Following discussions between Eamon Reilly and Tom Cunningham of Capital Cars BMW in Tullamore, we held a show and shine in conjunction with Capital Cars Approved Used Car Event.

A large number of new and older BMW‘s turned out for the competition, from ‘02s to E30s to the E46 3 series.

We were blessed with the weather, which made the gleaming cars stand out in the sunshine.
There was plenty of food and refreshments lined up and also some TVs so we could tear ourselves away from teh BMWs and watch the GAA All Ireland Hurling final (where Cork beat Galway 1-21 to 1-16)

We held two concurrent competitions. One where BMW Car Club members chose their favourite three cars and the othe where the public chose their favourite cars. In the end, Eamon Reilly‘s E30 M3 Cecotto and Dave Ennis‘s E30 M3 won both prizes including cleaning packs kindly donated by Capital Cars. The prize also included a weekend in any car in stock at Capital Cars - there is no word yet on what they chose!

Photos can be viewed online in the gallery

We set out from Oughterard ‘the gateway to Connemara’ toward the Maam valley with the sun shining a perfect day to tour the west of Ireland and what better way to do it other than in my recently acquired 1988 E30 320i with only 35k original miles on the clock with that unique purr from the 6 cyl engine and the company of 6 other BMW enthusiasts, I thought it does not get much better than this??

As we made our way from Oughterard to Leenane the famous village at the base of Killary harbour where the film ‘the field’ was made we met several vintage and classic cars on the road including a 1932 lancia driven by Roland Frein from Naas Co Kildare a BMW dealer in the early 1970’s an old Merc. a mark 2 Jaguar etc. We went along the north side of Killary harbour an old Famine road where we stopped at a memorial to Mahatma Gandhi and South Africa for the aid they sent to Ireland during the 1841 famine. One of our group, Dick Klynsmith from south Africa who now lives in the west of Ireland was quite surprised by the monument. We look forward to seeing his 1972 Csi at future BMW club events when it arrives in Jan ’06 from South Africa.

All of us took in the views of the Mweelree mountain. Doogh Lough and in front of us Croagh Patrick, there were no volunteers to climb the mountain barefoot and ask forgiveness at the top, not today anyway!

The road wound its way down Clew bay at the base of Croach Patrick into Westport harbour with stunning views on the way, including that of Jude Nelson’s 1973 2002 in my rear view mirror, the 02 certainly has a poise like no other on the road.

We stopped for some refreshments and a light lunch at the Sheebin pub where all participants received some BMW car care products kindly donated by Barry Motors Ltd BMW main dealers in Galway..

We then headed back the Liscarney road to Leenane and returning to Oughterard. Round trip 100 miles of majestic scenery and a variety of interesting roads. A smile a mile – we all agreed. Thanks to all participants on the day – Kevin Farrell in a E30 318is, Jude Nealon in a 2002, Adrian Healy who travelled from Tullamore in his E39 523i and Brian, Dick Klynsmith and all the others who took part.

Yours
Kevin Barry.

Many members decided to head up to Antrim town on Saturday August 13th for the MAX BMW show. This show was organised at short notice by NI-BMW after Bimmerfest was cancelled. There was a total of 83 BMWs on show from a lovely 850CSi to many different M3s to a fabulour E34 M5 and so on. The intermittent rain was not strong enough to dampen the spirits of everyone there.

Thanks to Richie and Niall for supplying the BBQ and to the others (David!) for going out and getting refreshments (did he drive back to Galway to get them?). Many of those ho travelled there stayed overnight and looking at photos, it seems like great craic was had.

In the end, the Irish contingent won three prizes in the beauty contest - congrats guys!

Adrian's light foot annoys OPEC
May 22^nd 2005

Adrian Healy demonstrated on the BMW Car Club Irish Section 2005 Fuel Economy run what can be achieved by treading lightly on the loud pedal. His victory on handicap was 9mpg clear of the next car.

The event started at Pat Keogh Ltd. BMW dealers on the Tipperary Road in Limerick. The Irish Section of the BMW Car Club greatly appreciates the support given by the staff of Pat Keogh Ltd. in organising this event. The weather was threatening to change as the event started. There were thunderstorms within a few miles of the start, these may have led to Jim O’Hanlon and his team deviating from the route. Jim was driving a 2001 520i, Adrian Healy was in a 1997 523. Other competitors were Ludo 1999 Z3 2.8, James Braddish 2003 M3 and Andrew Kett 1999 318is.

Event organisors Diarmuid Mallon and Gerard O’Connor had set a 78.1mile route through Limerick’s Golden Vale with a wide variety of road from narrow lanes to dual carriage way. Also included in this years event was a number of Treasure Hunt clues to spice things up.

The lunch halt was in the village of Foynes. A hearty lunch was had at the Shannon House Restaurant followed by a visit to the Flying Boat Museum. Foynes was the Terminus for Trans Atlantic air travel from 1939 to 1945. The museum has a reconstruction of the radio room and passenger manifests showing the pseudo names used by a number of WWII allied leaders when travelling between Europe and the USA.

The weather was sunny for the route back, which crossed over the outward route a few times to try and confuse the competitors, but everyone followed the route, which was given by Tulip diagrams, exactly.

The cars were refilled at Pat Keogh Ltd. and Treasure Hunt clues checked. The event was then discussed and analysed, leading to the conclusion that it was a good challenge and enjoyed by all.

Full results (in MS Excel format) can be downloaded from www.BMWCarClubIreland.com/Economy_Run_2005_Result.xls.

Sunday May 1st
It is amazing how anti-car Ireland is. We have high motoring taxes, poor infrastructure, etc. We also don't have a proper state funded National Transport Museum. However, there are places around the country that work to preserve our motoring heritage. The Howth Transport Museum is one of these places.

Situated in the grounds of Howth Castle, this museum is home to many commercial vehicles that were found in Ireland since 1883. There were old busses, trucks, vans, trams amongst others. Two trams had been restored and looked absolutely magnificent. However, there was one tram there which had apparently been hand made a century ago and before coming to the museum was badly burnt by vandals!

The museum is totally funded by private donations and recieves no help from the state. The staff there were very courteous and were wanting to offer a discount to BMW Car Club Ireland members but this was declined and everyone paid the normal (cheap!) rate of €3 as well as a donation towards the upkeep. It is a great place to visit but sadly the museum needs more funding to keep our motoring heritage. Visit the museum sometime!

After we all wandered the aisles of the museum we spent time discussing our various cars, buying bulbs off Richie and Niall and just enjoying the sunshine.

See photos in the gallery...

As I headed out the N4 from Dublin towards Enfield the weather was pretty poorly and the thought crossed my mind that not everbody that signed up for the second Rolling Road session would actually turn up . My thoughts were realised when I arrived at Westward Precision . We were about 5 members down on the original list . 6 members did show however and after a couple of introductions we headed in .

We were greeted by Martin and Joanna , the propriaters of Westward . They're nice people and very professional . Likewise , the actual premisses is immacualate and well laid out .

At 10 am the first car was tested , Kevin Farrell's e30 316i . It's got to be said that this car is in excellent condition and is probably the best spec'd example of a 316i that i know of (Brand new 15" BBS and LSD for example , more to come also). As the 316i was built with around 102 bhp, Kevin said he'd be happy with around 100. It came in at a healthy 103!

Second up was Niall Barrett (Topazman) in his e46 320ci, sporting a K+N panel filter and Stainless exhaust. 170bhp standard , Niall had released 185 horses with these simple mods.

I was up next with my e30 318is. Altough tested a year ago with a result of 140bhp, I had since then installed a Viper2 chip from ChippedUK so a trip to the rollers was needed. 147bhp was the result , although she was running too lean. A little bit of tweaking and maybe an FSE power boost valve should see me over the 150 brake mark.

Next was Paul Donnan (Llatsni) in a e36 316i . He hadn't planned to do the session (obviously just wanted a free breakfast) but as numbers were low , he decided to jump aboard . 102bhp was his result which is about right for this car. A couple of tweaks and she'd be on the ball.

Next up was a very interesting car . John Treacy and his bright red , wide arched e30. This car was originally a 320i but John has fitted the running gear of a 323i and now, the engine from a late model 325i . All John has done is added a Chip that he bought from ebay (methinks it's the Viper2 but he's not certain) . This car was pushing out 172bhp and it was only running on 5 cylinders when tested. It should be up to about 185bhp when fixed up. Apparently John is planning a 2.7 conversion on this!

John Kenny brought along a non turbo 2002 (racing spec) for testing altough he knew it wasn't set up properly but wanted to have a go anyway . The car was running a pair of Webber 45 carbs which he borrowed and he knew they weren't balanced to suit. John only realised 87 brake but wasn't expecting much
anyhow.

Finally came Turlough Nolan (Technoviolet) in an e36 323i . He also hadn't planned to run on the rollers (another sponger!) but after a bit of coaxing, he obliged. Interestingly he had also only added a PiperX panel filter and Stainless exhaust. 170 bhp standard, Techno achieved 185 bhp, the same as Niall Barrett.

So, the morning came to an end. After a few words and advice from Martin and a bit of a photo session outside (Thanks Richie), we all departed.
Thanks to all who showed up and a big thanks to Martin and Joanna at Westward.
Stephen (stevo) Kearney

Well, at last, we drove the International circuit! This added about an extra mile to the National and whole heap of super corners. From my point of view I found the extension to add another dimension to the circuit, making it far more enjoyable to drive. Look for a detailed write up of a lap of the international circuit elsewhere, here I’ll summarise the day!

Firstly, the club would like to recognise the sponsorship of BMW Automotive (Ireland) who were very helpful towards the club on the day. In previous years they have been very forthcoming in offering driver-of-the-day prizes, but this time around, their sponsorship made it feasible to drive the International circuit for the price of the National – so everyone who drove benefited. Thanks to Kevin Barry for arranging this – a very important gesture towards recognising and supporting the club.

The day itself was magnificent – blue skies and a light breeze, temperatures in the teens. The Porsche club had booked the circuit in the morning and many BMWs had arrived to watch them in action. There was an AC Cobra 427, a Honda NSX and a TVR there too to add to the spectacle. At 13:00, they stopped and we could access the paddock. It was great to see so many drivers arrive in plenty of time, so registration started early and was progressed very quickly.
Niall, Richie Mooney, Killian Bannon and Ger O’Connor manned the registration desks and very efficiently dealt with all enquiries, with separate sections for new members, pre-paid applications, on-the-day applications and passenger. The logistics have never run better – so thanks must go to the lads for organising it so well. The Mondello briefing was conducted and immediately after we did our “ducks and drakes” slow lap of the International Circuit for the first time.
Shortly after 2pm, the first (lower powered) session got under way. The first few laps were purely exploratory for most people – learning the braking points and corners mostly. After a seemingly short time, the second (higher powered) group got going. Throughout the day the two groups swapped around at around 12-15 minute intervals. About 35 cars took part, from a race prepared ’02 right up to E46 M3’s and an M-Coupe. All other formats were represented, including two 323i E30 Baurs with a cross section of other E30s, a Z Coupe, quite a few E36 M3s, an E34 M5, a 325tds, a large variety of E36s, E39s and E46s, an E34 530i and a few other too!

Despite a few offs, everyone was obviously having a lot of fun and the standard of driving was amongst the best we’ve seen to date. The weather couldn’t have been better and Richie even brought a barby – he even brought extra grub for those who didn’t!

At the end of the day, everyone had their fill of the event, around 60+ miles of track driving. There was unanimous agreement that the International circuit was much more interesting – so we have to arrange for this again (please Killian!). Personally, I enjoyed the most out of all the BDDs we’ve done – the best logistics, the best Mondello Park support, the best driving, the best value and the best circuit. Roll on October!

The Irish Region of the BMW Car Club held its Annual meeting in the Spa Hotel in Lucan on Saturday, Feb 26th. The aim of the meeting was to resolve a few issues and to plan out forthcoming events for 2005. 

Attendees:-
Paul Austin
Ludovic Balagny
Killian Bannon
Niall Barrett
Robbie Bradford
Geoff Elliott
Mike Harrington
Steve & Callan Kearney
Gus Kelly
John McGrath
Diarmuid Mallon
Richie Mooney
Gerard O'Connor
Brendan Purcell
Eamonn Reilly

Issues Covered:-
* All contact with BMW Ireland will be through Kevin Barry
* We should continue the group buys, with reductions on prices of products for club members.
* Increase dealer and indy awarness of the club through a profile review submitted with the assistance of the dealer/indy. These profiles will be on public display on the website (www.bmwcarclubireland.com). Richie Mooney will also look into the possibility of having leaflets/app forms available in dealers, etc.
* With regard to magazine submissions, Brendan Purcell has agreed to act as editor and will submit articles to the magazine editor. If you want to write a review of an event, etc. then submit it to Brendan and he will forward it to the mag editor.
Richie Mooney will act as a form of PRO and will make contact with the media to promote the club.
* Event List 2005:-

Photos from the day can be seen in the gallery

with thanks to Gerard O'Connor

At 7:30 on the 21 February 2005 Six members of the BMW Car Club Irish section met at Kylemore Karting in Dublin for a test of their endurance (the previous BMW karting event was a GP consisting of numerous shorter races).

The Endurance event consisted of short practice session followed by two 25 lap races. The first race went off with Barry Rabbitt vanishing into the distance followed by Max Drennnan and Richie Mooney. The second race grid was a reverse of the finishing order of the first race. This put John McGrath on pole. This led to pile ups at the first and third corners as the quicker drivers made up places. Gerard O'Connor was sin binned for T-boning Richie Mooney at the last corner and Joe Newman spent 2 laps stuck in the tyres after a spin. Barry Rabbitt cruised around again lapping almost every one in the process.

As always many drivers blamed the equipment for their performances at the post race analysis in the Red Cow Inn. Barry and Max recounted their experiences at the Nordschleife, this has convinced four people that Nurburgring is the place to be. Everyone is also planning to be at the Mondello track day on Easter Saturday.

The Results
Race 1
1 Barry Rabbitt  best lap  25.84
2 Max Drennan  26.32
3 Richie Mooney  26.96
4 Gerard O'Connor  28.40
5 Joe Newman  29.44
6 John McGrath  29.28

Race 2
1 Barry Rabbitt  best lap  25.60
2 Max Drennan  26.56
3 Ritchie Mooney  27.68
4 Gerard O'Connor  27.20
5 John McGrath   28.64
6 Joe Newman  28.96

Barry Rabbitt won the overall prize

Our next outing on track will be Mondello Park on Saturday March 26th. We will be using the full 2.2 mile international circuit (or now that we are metric - 3.5km!). This is our fourth experience here and looks to be the best with new challenges facing us. You can download an application form here and then post or fax it to the office (details on the form).
Drivers will be expected to sign in between 12:30 and 1:30 and will be required to bring their full drivers licence, their club membership card* and either the appropriate fee or their receipt for advance payment. Drivers will not be allowed out without these.
* you can of course join or renew your membership on the day.

Spot prizes of a mug and four hats were also given out on the day.
Well done Tomas on some superb driving throughout the quarter finals, semi-finals and final, and for setting the fastest lap time of 24.98. Congratulations to everyone that participated in the hugely successful event, we are sure this type of event will be run in the near future!
Finally, thanks must be extended to Clare O’Neill from BMW Ireland, for supplying us with such fantastic prizes, at such sort notice. It was greatly appreciated by all the members that attended the event.

BMW Automotive Ireland and Joe Duffy Motors had a big day to both launch the new X3 and host our show and shine event on Sat 26th June last. With great weather (despite rain forecast) it turned out to be a brilliant event with plenty of BMWs to see. Joe Duffy's M3 CSL was on display and we even had a members old 3.0 CSL down for the competition.

Thanks go to BMW Ireland and to Joe Duffys for hosting this and for providing lunch. Thanks must also go to Howard Walker who travelled all the way from the UK to help judge at the event. However, it was possibly worth it for him just to drive his mint M6.

Cars were judged on a similar basis to the event at Motor Import Ltd. in 2002 and the top 5 are as follows:-

1. Eamon Reilly E30 M3
2. Brendan Purcell E30 318is
3. Robin Hillis 1602
4. Unrecorded owner E30
5. Marty Fagan E21 316

Well done to the winners!
Photos of the event can be seen here.

The last event was an economy run in the Midlands on May 23rd. Cars travelled over a route stretching from Portlaoise to Clonmacnoise and back again and the aim was to use as little fuel as possible.
Read the report (MS Word)
View the pictures

A Rolling Road session was held on March 27th. Cars were tested for torque and bhp at Westward Precision Engineering and there was some emissions and engine analysis. Pictures can be seen here.

An unofficial gathering was held on Saturday 30th August at Lumville House, near Newbridge, Co. Kildare. In total, we had five cars (4 E30s [including a beautiful M3] & 1 E46). It was a pleasant afternoon where we chatted about each others cars and the track day in Mondello Park.
View Gallery

This event was an economy run from Urlingford (south of Portlaoise) to Clonmel and back again, mostly cross country. Thanks to Gerard O'Connor and his fiancee for choosing a marvellous route and for organising superb course notes. Thanks also go to both Gerard and Ian Hetherington for keeping the drivers under control during the day! The weather was excellent for most of the day. We would also like to thank Bolands BMW in Waterford for kindly donating spot prizes for this event. We would also like to thank Michael Lavin in the Clonmel Museum of Transport [an excellent place to visit in Clonmel] for his kind hospitality. Pictures for this event are available here. You can also download the scoresheet for the day in PDF format or MS Excel 2000 format.
View Gallery

Meeting in Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone (May 3rd 2003)

Meeting in the Hodson Bay Hotel, Athlone (July 6th 2002)
Concours competition @ Motor Import Ltd (Oct 5th 2002)