BMW M Festival hits South Africa
BMW M Festival hits South Africa
By Farzana Chaumoo
Attending the BMW M festival media day was one of those days where all your friends hate you, and every motoring journalist is beyond grateful for their job.
Prior to the opening of the event, BMW South Africa hosted the media on the 19th October at the Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit. As an obsessive BMW–fan and proud owner, this day is one I hope to never forget. And without doubt, if you haven’t purchased a ticket to the Fest you should be experiencing major FOMO right now.
We were treated to our hearts’ content with M cars on the track. Along with an instructor beside us, we got to test drive the brand spanking new BMW M4 CS. Developed by the BMW M GmbH division, the vice president was there to address us and give us a breakdown of the specification of the car.
In addition, we got to drive the M2, M3, M4, M4 DTM Championship, X5M, X6M, M140i, M240i, and the 760Li. My personal favourites were the M3 and 760Li. Why the 760Li? The steering is absolutely light, the car runs as smooth as butter and just oozes luxury. The M4 performance cars are a harder drive, because they are sports cars, of course, and their mechanical underpinnings are much different.
What can visitors expect at the BMW M festival?
- Hot Laps in the latest BMW M products.
- The International BMW DTM Motorsport Team.
- BMW M drag races and drifting.
- 20 Gourmet Food stands.
- The largest BMW test drive event in South Africa.
- BMW M Kids area which will be filled with fun activities for all ages.
- 20 High Performance exhibitors.
- BMW M Showroom with all the very latest in BMW cars and an exciting retail offer to match…
- Top South African music line-up with 15 of the hottest local DJ’s and Artists such as Goodluck, DJ Kent, Shekinah, Culoe Da Song and international artist DJ Alex Schulz (Germany).
For the learning enthusiast
BMW are offering a Learner Driver Experience whereby learner drivers will have the opportunity to drive a BMW. Trained instructors will assist in a special area and all you need to do is bring your learner’s license along with you.
Fun for the whole family
There will also be a dedicated M Kids play area that will feature a variety of activities, competitions and entertainment “to give the little ones a taste of BMW M.”
The area includes:
- 3D M Graffiti logo
- Inflatable race track
- Obstacle race track
- Drag race tracks
Time: 21 & 22 October 2017 (11h00 – 22h00 ticket depending)
Venue: Kyalami Grand Prix Circuit (Midrand)
Tickets: Tickets for Saturday are all sold out, however if you’re quick enough you can still grab one for Sunday.
There are between 9,000 and 10,000 tickets already sold for the show and has exceeded BMW’s expectations. In Japan the BMW Motorsport Festival hosts 6,000 people.
More on Ticket Information can be found here: http://bmwmfestival.co.za/tickets.html?channel=OS