BMW at the races

By Greg MacLeman

| 1 Jul 2016

From its beginnings creating industrial engines, aircraft components and motorcycles, BMW has grown into one of the largest and most successful automobile manufacturers in the world. Its transition from post-war producer of practical economy microcars to leading luxury sports cars has yielded a plethora of cutting-edge designs, many of which tested their mettle on the race track.

From cars such as the Mille Miglia-winning 328 and Le Mans-conquering V12 LMR through to the ferocious 1400bhp M12 engine of the turbocharged era of Formula One and the McLaren F1’s S70/2 powerplant, BMW has pushed the envelope of competition and engineering for 100 years.

One of the Bavarian firm’s earliest motorsport successes came via Fritz Fiedler’s 328, which was built between 1936 and 1940. The model racked up more than 100 class wins in 1937 alone, including in the RAC Tourist Trophy at Donington Park. The following year it became a class winner in the Mille Miglia, and just before the outbreak of war in Europe a trio of roadsters was entered into the Le Mans 24 Hours, where they topped their class. The best-placed 328 came fifth overall, just behind the more powerful Lagonda V12s of Lord Selsdon and Arthur Dobson.

The 1.6-litre era of Formula Two, which ran from 1967-1972, had been dominated by Cosworth-engined cars from the likes of Matra, Tecno, March and Surtees - the FVA unit using a 16-valve head on a production-based block.

Things changed in 1973 with the introduction of the 2-litre formula, and the M10-based BMW engine powered Jean-Pierre Jarier’s March to championship glory. The engine became the series’ benchmark, powering Patrick Depailler and Jacques Laffite to driver’s titles in 1974 and 1975 respectively.

Difficult market conditions in the post-war years hit BMW hard, and it wasn’t until the arrival of the Neue Klasse in 1961 that its fortunes began to change. The model helped to drag the books back into the black and enabled the firm to pay dividends for the first time in 20 years. As well as being a showroom hit, the Neue Klasse – particularly in 1800 TiSA guise – was a fiercely competitive touring car.

In its debut year, the model was driven to victory at the Spa 24 Hours by Jacky Ickx’s older brother Pascal, beating a raft of Mini Coopers, Lotus Cortinas and Alfa Romeo Giulia TI Supers.

By 1972, a hopped-up version of BMW’s latest E9 coupé was made available for racing. The 3.0CSL featured lightweight alloy doors, bonnet and bootlid, and proved to be hugely capable on track. Toine Hezemans won the European Touring Car Championship just a year after the car’s launch, in addition to taking class honours alongside Dieter Quester at La Sarthe.

BMW’s mid-engined M1 enjoyed its own one-make series from 1979-’81. The Procar Championship served as a support series for Formula One, and featured a number of big-name drivers. Niki Lauda won the series in the first season, while the second was topped by Nelson Piquet. Though the series was short lived, the Group 4 cars went on to compete in a number of other championships.

BMW dominated the European Touring Car Driver’s Championship in the 1970 and ’80s, winning nine seasons in a row culminating with the victory of Dieter Quester in 1983. The final race went down to the wire, with Quester’s fourth-placed finish enough to secure the driver’s championship, while the manufacturer’s title was won by Alfa Romeo ahead of Volkswagen.

Though mainly focused on circuit racing, BMW also had a successful stint at international rallying with the 2002 during the 1960s and 1970s. The model made its debut in the 1969 Rallye Monte-Carlo, with its first major victory coming in the 1972 TAP Portuguese Rally courtesy of Achim Wormbald.

Pictured: Bjorn Waldegaard and Hans Thorszelius power to seventh place behind the winning trio of Ford Escort RS1600s in the 1973 RAC Rally.

Between 1972 and 1975, Group 5 Sports Cars and Group 4 Grand Touring Cars contested the FIA’s World Championship of Makes, which comprised six-hour races at circuits such as Watkins Glen, Brands Hatch and Hockenheim, as well as the Nürburgring 1000km and Daytona 24 Hours. The era was dominated by Porsche’s ferociously powerful 935, but was also enriched by the Jägermeister-liveried E21 320i, pictured being driven to fourth position at the 1977 Silverstone 6 Hours by Ronnie Peterson and Helmut Kelleners.

After Tom Walkinshaw’s Jaguar XJ-S ended BMW’s dominance of the ETCC in 1984, followed by the quick and reliable Volvo 240 Turbos of Gianfranco Brancatelli and Thomas Lindstrom a year later, the writing was on the wall for the ageing 635CSi.

In 1987, its Touring Car mantle was handed to the brand-new E30 M3, which brought home both the driver’s championship and the manufacturer’s title, which hadn’t been won by BMW since 1979.

In addition to achieving ETCC glory in its debut year, the E30 M3 also came out on top in the short-lived and controversial World Touring Car Championship. Roberto Ravaglia’s Schnitzer car beat the Ford Sierra RS Cosworth of Klaus Ludvig by just a single point following a season marred by widespread disqualifications.

In 1983, Nelson Piquet became the first person to win a Formula One World Championship driving a turbocharged car – the Brabham BT52. Ground-effect cars had been banned the previous season, so the focus of Gordon Murray’s design turned to maximising downforce and relying on power. That came via BMW’s M12 engine, a turbocharged version of the firm’s venerable M10. It was capable of producing a whopping 800bhp in qualifying trim, which was reduced to around 640bhp for race day.

As well as being a formidable force in touring cars, BMW’s E30 also contested the World Rally Championship with Bastos Motul and Prodrive. The car picked up a brace of podium finishes between 1989 and 1991, but its best result came in its debut year, when it was driven to the top spot in the 1987 Tour de Corse by Bernard Beguin and Jean-Jacques Lenne.

In 1999, BMW won the top prize in sports car racing: the Le Mans 24 Hours. Its winning car was born out of a design partnership with the Williams F1 team and brought the German manufacturer its first and only outright win at La Sarthe.

The open-cockpit racer was a vast improvement on the previous year’s effort, which suffered from poor aerodynamics and high track temperatures. Much of the car was completely redesigned, including a smaller roll hoop, which improved both its top speed and fuel efficiency – so much so that it even bettered its closed-cockpit rivals.