A taste of BMW M's fastest weekend

There’s no way to easily categorise a BMW fan. They come from all walks of life and aside from having one thing in common – an unbridled love for Bimmers. But there’s no particular paradigm for what a BMW enthusiast looks like.

On a sizzling 35-degree day at the Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in South Africa, there’s a fashionista strutting his stuff in a floor-length leopard-print jacket, children dressed head to toe in red, white and blue and a VIP area full of glamorous women in stilettos sipping Moet & Chandon.

And, they’re all here for one thing – the BMW M Festival.

The BMW M Festival is a celebration of the German manufacturer’s performance models, both past and present.

So far, these events have only been held in Canada and Japan, this year returning to Kyalami Grand Prix circuit in Johannesburg for the second time, serving up a weekend of gorgeous machinery and trackside fun, even for those that don’t identify as a rev-head.

In a make-shift showroom, there’s the famous BMW M1, along with a restored first-generation 530 MLE and a 1975 BMW CSL race car.

There’s also a range of fresh metal, including the upcoming X5 M and X6 M performance SUVs, the new 1 Series and plenty more.

This year, a total of 24,852 visited the circuit over the weekend – slightly less than the 30k predicted – with locals saying numbers were likely down on the Sunday due to the Hindu festival of lights being celebrated at the same time.

Out on the circuit, local race car driver Sheldon van der Linde takes punters for hot laps in his Shell M4 DTM, while Dutch racer Beitske Visser is close behind in her M4 GT4 – beaming passengers by their sides.

There’s also a chance for festival-goers to experience hot laps with professional driver trainers in some of BMW’s fastest machines, including the M2, M3 and M5 as well as X3 M and X4 M SUVs. That is however, if you’re prepared to queue up for a few hours – you win some, you lose some.

When the clock strikes midday, the on-track party really gets going with celebrity drag races and a stuntman hooning down Kyalami’s straight on the back wheel of Bimmer’s new S1000R M super bike.

BMW die-hards aren’t here alone – they’ve made a day of it with families and groups of friends in toe – with a little something for everyone to enjoy.

Throughout the day, there’s a kids’ area to keep the ankle biters amused, a beer garden and gourmet food trucks to keeps the older ones occupied and a bunch of rides including a merry-go-round and the ye ol’ faithful chair swing ride. And, a tip? If you’re holding a microphone and tell them you’re making TV, they might let you on for free!

Those looking to splash out on a new set of wheels can head upstairs to the pop-up dealership to secure their new ride.

Around 200 BMW M Performance and M cars are on site, and the idea is to take zero of them back to BMW showrooms. That’s right, BMW (ambitiously) plan to sell that many cars in two days at the one location.

If a car’s a little out of your price range, there’s merchandise stands with hats, shirts, bags, teddy bears – you name it and there’s probably a BMW logo on it. There’s even a barber in case you need a fresh cut before nightfall, when the real party kicks off.

As dusk approaches on Saturday, the music stage bursts into life, with (what we’re told) are some of South Africa’s hottest DJs and plenty more entertainment at the ready.

So… can we have one in Australia!?

Maybe.

Because it’s a local initiative, if we hassle BMW Australia enough, we could, technically (and collectively) make it happen.

And, the boss of BMW M, Markus Flasch, has already said he wants to visit the land Down Under.

It seems only fitting that we give him a celebration to remember – Aussie style.

Shoey anyone?