Pulling off the I-15 at the Lenwood exit in Barstow, CA, more than 120 of Bavaria's best swarmed around the local Starbucks, eagerly waiting to paint Las Vegas red. The MFest has commenced.
It all started out as a spontaneous idea from the mind of Chris "Laidback" Naguit. A group of 30 or so M-inspired fanatics had been gathering for several years to get away from the hustle of Southern California and enjoy Vegas with the ones they love most - their cars.
They wanted to share their brand of fun with other enthusiasts and harnessed the power of internet-based forums like the M5board, SocalEuro, Bimmerfest, Bimmerforums, M3Forum, E90Post and My5series. Before long, the huge caravan headed to Sin City. Among its numbers was the legendary Horsepowerfreaks' E46 M3 (pushing a modest 750hp on pump gas), which we witnessed demolish an innocent Z06 en route.
With the majority of the group housed at Red Rock Hotel & Casino, we assembled before embarking to local tuner Eurotech Motoring. The company graciously hosted a mouth-watering BBQ and once local enthusiasts joined us the event registration reached 180 cars and 500 attendees.
Friday didn't end there, though. The party headed to the Cherry Club at Red Rock, where things got even more insane.
Some late-night revelers inevitably missed out on the Saturday morning caravan, which saw a mix of DTM engineering, American muscle and Japanese tuning head to the Strip.
We'd been to many car meets and caravans, but never with a TV crew hovering over us in a helicopter! We were stars in our own right that morning.
Jumping on the I-15 again, we headed for the Valley of Fire in the basin of Lake Mead - a local favorite renowned for its twisty roads and breathtaking, 150 million year-old canvas of sand dunes and eroded sandstone.
Returning to Red Rock, supporting vendors and sponsors had arrived for a Show 'n Shine event. The organizers wish to thank the following for the prizes donated: BMS Tuning, Vorsteiner, VF-Engineering, Dubz Direct, MRTM Design, Stealth Auto, Premier Mobile Group, C&C Collision, DP Engineering, Race Precision, Supreme Power Parts, Powerchip, Speed Venture, Race P2R, Angel iBright, Wheel Power, Dubzdirect, Rimier Motor Sport and Rebus Digital.
After the show, the non-stop action brought us to Tao at the Venetian. But since we all know that "what happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas," those who missed it could perhaps find out next year!
Sunday morning heralded a drive to Spring Mountain Motorsports Ranch in Pahrump, NV to check out the true definition of the M in Motorsport. The seasoned track aces were able to teach some basic skills to the newbies and everybody was soon hitting the apexes. As the hours slipped by it finally signaled the end of the day and the conclusion of a phenomenal weekend.
Unlike other BMW events, MFest provided a variety of fun things to choose from. And beyond the array of automobiles, there was the personal interaction with fellow enthusiasts. So we look forward to the next event and hear rumors that it could happen as soon as September. With plans afoot, Chris stated, "It'll be bigger and better, with activies entirely different from the previous one."
For more details, stay tuned to the Clubs pages in et or to our events pages online at www.eurotuner.com as we bring you all the latest event news up front.