Group A BMW M3 E30 - General info and history

[GTRMagic]

She is a bloody beauty

[chunterer]

Indeed GTR, that was one of the best white M3 liveries, arguably prettier than the BMW works white with red/blue diagonals from the period?

David, Fair do's I understand your view on this.

[David Towe]

They are important pics fellas, there is a car being offered for sale here by Jervis Ward which is being promoted as the #56 car, it's not. Notice the 4 antenna holes in the roof, his car doesn't have them, mine does. There are more indicators of this fact as well.

[brown dog]

how to put in a hot lap at Bathurst, Longhurst style, love the soundtrack too!:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJ5BOagJ09Q

[DAVID PATERSON]

David Towe, are you watching this?

[David Towe]

Thanks Brown Dog, I've seen that video before, it's great!
David P, watching what?

[DAVID PATERSON]

Originally Posted by David Towe

I've seen that video before, it's great!
David P, watching what?

Watching the video. I expect a similar performance next Easter.

[David Towe]

No problem David, I'll just need a 2.5 engine with slide throttle bodies and a8 injectors, an evo aero package, 18 inch wheels, 40 kgs taken out of the car, a 6 speed Hollinger box and someone else to pay all the bills should I have an accident, other than that no problem!

Seriously though, it was a good drive by Tony wasn't it!

I was watching the 88 Bathurst last night and Crompton was driving my ex Brock car and he kept remarking that he couldn't hear the radio communication because the car was so loud inside, this is true and apparently loud outside too if you listen to the folks at Lakeside.

[jminsh]

Originally Posted by KA

Yes, this came up in the Silverstone Festival thread as well
http://tentenths.com/forum/showthrea...114226&page=29

Either Ian Beckett or Jason Minshaw confirmed somewhere back in this thread that the Demon Tweeks car started life as the original Prodrive Frank Sytner BTCC car from 1987, then bought by Alan Minshaw for 1988.
It did have a major shunt early in the '88 BTCC season- at Oulton park from memory- AM got taken out by Sytner and the M3 ended up on it's roof- and was rebuilt into a new Schnitzer shell. I'd assumed it changed from LHD to RHD then, but hadn't looked closely at the 'period' pics

???? Amazing how stories are made up It's the same shell it had when new ??
After the crash Dad (AM) couldn't get on with LHD so after the year with Roland (ace bloke rip) we had it converted by prodrive . There was never any plan of recking a perfectly good car into a daft 2ltr thing !! so i guess bar the RHD bit it's probabley one of the few proper grpA cars left.

[E36ST]

Originally Posted by KA

Don't suppose you've got any video or pics from the Wellington WTCC round?

There was a fascinating behind-the-scenes documentary filmed that followed Schnitzer's preparation and racing in the 1989 Wellington street race.

Some great interviews with Lamm, Ravaglia, Soper, Giroix, Pirro etc and some wonderful footage.

http://www.nzonscreen.com/title/mona...ellington-1990

Just in case any of you haven't seen it.

-------------------
Director's Perspective

When it began in 1985, the tough 500km Wellington Street Race quickly gained an international reputation. This was no smooth purpose-built circuit! It was a bumpy, twisty, 'round-the-houses' event where city streets were converted overnight into a race track.

It was a narrow unforgiving alleyway with no hay bales or safe run-off areas. To make a mistake meant going into the wall. Only tough cars and top drivers had a chance of surviving- let alone winning. So it was only a matter of time before Europe's top Touring Car team would arrive to accept the challenge and pit their skills against the Kiwi and Australian drivers who had dominated the early years of the race.

In 1988 Team BMW Schnitzer came to Wellington and won. In 1989 they returned - determined to make it two in a row. The drivers were Roberto Ravaglia (Italy), Emanuele Pirro (Italy), Fabien Giroix (France) and Steve Soper (UK). They were led by their charismatic team boss and tactician Karl 'Charlie' Lamm and accompanied by their entourage of wives, girlfriends and mechanics.

This documentary was filmed during their stay in New Zealand. It questions some of the myths and mystique surrounding the team. Are they playboys, highly paid petrol-heads, entertainers or professional sportsmen?

To the motor racing fan, this is an informative look behind the scenes at what it took to win the 'Wellington 500'. To the curious, it is a fascinating glimpse into the lifestyles of the rich, famous ... and fast.

Sadly, the Wellington 500 would fall prey to local political squabbling and would be run for the last time in 1996. But those who were there still remember it as the most thrilling era of New Zealand saloon car racing.

Monaco Monza Macao Wellington was the first documentary I ever made - so I was understandably nervous about capturing on film all I would need in order to make it a good story. But I needn't have worried - the amazing drama just unfolded before us and the 'storybook ending' was more than I could have hoped for.

My most memorable moment was in the lead-up to the event when the team were doing some promotional activities for BMW New Zealand at Pukekohe racetrack. One of the drivers, Emanuele Pirro, said to me "If you want to make a film about motor racing you must know what it is like to drive fast. Get in!"

He took me on some 'hot laps' around Pukekohe and changed my life! I'd never been that fast before. I felt sick, I wanted to vomit, but most of all I wanted to do it again and again! Within weeks I had bought my first racing car and for the next 5 years would compete in sports car racing events. I even won a minor local series. But most of all, it was filming this documentary that made me realise what a special breed racing drivers are - and to go on to make my other motor racing documentary.

[ian beckett]

A most enjoyable film,many thanks for posting it.Do any of you guys have pictures of the rather obscure BMW's that appeared at this race? Ian.

[Jesper OH]

Very good film, but I'd liked to watch it as a DVD - hate to sit stationary in front of my pc for the 50 minute duration.

I spotted a white and a red M3 among the cars, but don't know how many M3s supposed to have been in Wellington 1989.

Jesper

[blinkybm]

Originally Posted by David Towe

........... I now own #44 Bathurst JPS Richards/Longhurst M3 1987 which is also the #56 Bathurst Mobil Brock/Richards 1988 car..........

Hey David the thing with these websites and forums is that they get taken as the gospel truth.
It might be worth suggesting that your new car is possibly the Brock 88 car, until you are 1000% sure, and which you can back up with hard evidence, and the CAMS eligibility people have signed off on it ??

[David Towe]

Thanks for the tip blinybm, I had thought of this fact already and do have it covered including the letter sent to CAMS the week before last, thanks for you concern.

[Francesc]

Hi. I've a question if someone can help me.
How many M3 E30 race cars built BMW Motorsport in total? And also know by model:
How many 2.3- 2.3 Evo Gr.A, 2.5 Sport Evo Gr.A and 2.5 DTM.

Many thanks.

[CSpeed]

Hi, I'm a long time M3-lover and since a few months I'm trying to realise my dream : buying an ex-DTM E30. I can tell you : it's not easy...

Now I have knowledge of a chassis (no engine no gearbox) that is rather well preserved and supposingly is an original Motorsport-chassis : M3 11320, and the Matter plate is showing 06.89
The seller has no documents or history.

Is this equal to M3-1-132?
Does anybody know who built this car?
Does anybody know any of it's history?

Any help would be very very welcome! I am interested to buy this if it's a correct chassis, so I can restore it in a perfect condition. I hope to post some nice pictures in future....

Greetings!

[grelley]

Chassis numbers M3-1-128 and and M3-1-139 are both Schnitzer cars 89 and 90 respectively. That is the closest chassis numbers to yours that I have, so the year is about right, although a chassis could sit around for while before being built up. The chassis number you give will be M3-1- 132. It should be stamped in the centre of the wiper cowling on the front edge.
Good luck with your purchase if you go ahead.Parts are available for these cars but unfortunately they are not cheap.

Regds Grelley

[Alex E]

M3 chassis M3-1-132 was actually a Group A car, not DTM. It was built along with another M3 by Bigazzi in mid `89 for a customer, not for their own use. Probably forr Hillclimbs as not many places were still using Gp A rules.
Chassis M3-1.139 was actually an `89 car I think.
Alex

[David Towe]

Hi guys, can anyone tell me what the European alternatives are for the original 110 litre fuel tanks used in the M3s is? I need one as mine is now 20 years old and the local options are going to set me back around $2,000 AUD.
Cheers
David

[grelley]

Mine has a current Fuel Safe bag tank fitted. This car came from Germany so that would suggest that this may have been a cheaper source than a European manufactured item. I dont think any of them are cheap.
Grelley

[Alex E]

If you don`t need that much capacity you can fit a circular ATL saver cell in the wheel well. I think they hold about 45 litres. Much cheaper option. Uniroyal made the original M3 tanks, hate to think of the price now !
Alex

[David Towe]

I fitted an ATL Fuel Cell to the other car and it worked out at about $1,100.00 and is close to the original for that car which was never used as an endurance car by JPS. The new car was always fitted with an endurance tank and was a Uniroyal tank originally, I'd like to keep it as original as possible and was seeking other alternatives. It would appear as though that experience shows the costs will be about the same as having a copy of the original tank made here in OZ. Thanks for the help.

[Alex E]

David,
To replicate the original Uniroyal cell I would expect to be quoted £2500 at least. So your local quote looks not too bad to me. Alex

[David Towe]

Thanks for the tip.

[CSpeed]

Thanks Grelley and Alex!
Indeed the number is at the spot you described.
It's possible the car was Group A and maybe later updated to 2.5 Evo-specs. Somebody says it was early 90's driven by Patrick Slaus in the Belgian Procar-championship?
Alex, you have any documents or info to prove it was made by Bigazzi?