NEW BMW M-SAFETY CARS UNVEILED AT THE JEREZ MOTOGP

Prior to the start of the race, BMW showcased their entire safety car fleet on the starting grid at Jerez, Spain.  A new comer in the fleet is the X6 M Safety Car.  Other than safety car duties, there will be an additional 12 X6 M cars that will be used as VIP shuttles.

The X6 M is powered by a V8 M Twin-Turbo engine producing 555 horses which will help ensure its no slouch when compared to its safety car partner, the M6 which makes 507 horses from its V10 engine.  

Other notable vehicles seen around the paddock is an M5 touring for the race director, a 330i Touring medical car and an M3 Sedan for the Safety Officer.   Also, the race stewards can be seen shuttling around in their X5 4.8i's.

But thats not the end of it,  BMW will also like to remind you that they're not just about 4 wheels, and at the start of each GP, will be 2 brand new BMW motorbikes in the form of the new RS1000 RR and HP Sport 2 as safety bikes. 

*source Motogp.com

Night out with the E90 M3

"Where's your bimmersclub TT" asked Ivan Khong. "I have M3 with me". Great I thought. First thing that came across my mind was, E92 M3 since the M3 coupes have always been the regular M3 of choice around these parts. To my surprise (in a good way), the M3 turned out to be the E90 4dr, which was better, as this was more of a rarity, and also the first 4dr M3 since the E36 with BMW skipping the E46. Unfortunately after a couple of calls, I found out that there wasn't any bimmersclub TT this friday, since many were out of town. But it was too good a chance to pass up, so I told Ivan to meetup at Kayu Mamak in Aman Suria. We were also joined by part-time racer, bmw owner and fan of anything fast, Joe Meng First impressions of the car is, how sedate it looks. From the inside, you'd hardly know you were in something as special as an "M" car. The exhaust note at idle was as quiet as your regular uncle's bimmer. The only thing that catches your eye is the bulge in the bonnet giving away the fact that this is not your regular E90. On the move, the ride was as comfortable as you would expect of any standard bmw, riding over bumps so well, you wouldn't believe this car rides on 18" run-flats... but when the loud pedal was pressed, "Wwwoooooaahhh!" as 420 horses unleashed with a high pitched V8 wail that pushed you back in the seat with the M DCT gearbox upshifting at 8,000 revs giving you a big shove in the butt.. now we're talking. 200km/h came in a blur with no real sensation of speed other than the massive acceleration, and the suspension hardening up thanks to the controllable damping. Massive sideways moments are possible even with the huge sticky rear 265 section Michelin PS2's as Ivan demonstrated at a U-turn. Before I continue to jabber on like an idiot about what a cool car this is, check out more pictures, and discussions about the E90 M3 here in our forum.