One of the most ferocious BMW M1 racing cars ever built will make history next month when it takes to the Phillip Island circuit for the very first time at the annual Classic Festival of Motorsport. The event takes place from 11-13 March and will include no fewer than 12 competition BMWs – nine of them ex-JPS Team Touring Cars.
A further nine JPS road cars will be put on display alongside more than 30 cars from the BMW Club of Victoria, ranging from early 2002 models through to the latest M5s, but all eyes are expected to be on Chris Bowden’s BMW M1 Procar.
Built to contest Jochen Neerpasch’s short-lived one-make championship, it played a starring roll during support races for the 1979-’80 Formula One World Championship. Racing luminaries from the world of motorsport – and a mixture of disciplines – were invited by BMW to compete against one another in identical cars, each capable of producing more than 450bhp and weighing just 1020kg. Among the headline acts was Niki Lauda, who won the inaugural championship, and Nelson Piquet, who took the second.
By 1981 the championship had been scrapped, with many of the Group 4-eligible cars heading to the World Endurance Championship. Chris Bowden’s car, chassis 1077, spent five years racing in Japan after conversion to Silhouette Group 5 specification, but has now been returned to its Procar roots following an extensive restoration.
