GT Build

 Powered by Max Banner Ads 

Racing through time with the BMW M3

From 1995 through 2006, BMW of North America’s BMW M3 racing program boasted 53 wins in 118 races entered, and 14 championship trophies. The first generation M3 swept through the racing circuits of Europe like wildfire. Winning the World Touring Car Championship in 1987, eight European Championships, and an additional 60 national titles, by 1992 the E30 M3 became the most successful touring car of all time.

While the car was officially sold here, North American enthusiasts read about the M3’s racing triumphs with fervor, but reading was one thing – they wanted to see it in competition for themselves. Beginning with the introduction of the second-generation E36 M3, they got exactly what they wanted – in spades.

Victorious from the start

BMW of North America began its first racing program only days after its incorporation in March 1975. With BAVARIAN MOTOR WORKS lettered across the top of the windshield, the overall win by a BMW Motorsport-prepared 3.0CSL at the 12 Hours of Sebring set the winning tone for the twists and turns of the next 30 years.

After the CSLs, the ’70s decade ended with the 320 Turbo program that introduced BMW’s move to a more refined, up-market model. Known affectionately as the “Flying Brick,” the fame-throwing coupes delighted sports car racing fans with their signature exhaust fire.

The program also added reams of data to BMW’s turbocharging technology – information that would help a BMW-powered Brabham win the 1983 Formula 1 World Championship. There were a few more flery years in the late ’80s in IMSA’s (International Motor Sports Association) top prototype category with the  BMW GTP.

The very expensive program netted only one win, but added incalculable experience to BMW of North America. Back to production cars, BMW of North America sponsored a pair of E34  M5s to an IMSA Supercar championship. When the second-generation M3 debuted in 1995, the company was ready for a major effort in production car racing.

The two M3s that rolled off the BMW Team PTG (Prototype Technology Group) race truck at the 1995 24 Hours of Daytona looked very much like they had come directly from the showroom. They were, however, surprisingly fast, as longtime BMW driver Dieter Quester took the GTS-2 class pole.

This was the beginning of a long and successful run for the second-generation M3. When the M3s appeared at Daytona the next year it was obvious that things were getting very serious. The M3s almost leapt from the PTG transporter. They were lower, wider and meaner.

A second consecutive pole resulted in a podium finish (third), and the team  knew they were finally on the right track. Later that season, in May, a 27-year-old Bill Auberlen joined the effort at Lime Rock Park. Auberlen would go on to win more races in an M3 than anyone in North  America, and to personify “The Ultimate Driving Machine.

If the  addition of Auberlen was the program’s “tipping point,” it was Sears Point Raceway in July that was the program’s turning point. The  team introduced its new, lighter “sprint” M3, and the new car led a  1-2-3 BMW sweep. Three more wins garnered BMW the 1996 IMSA GTS-2 Manufacturers’ title.

The next two years, 1997 and 1998, were arguably the most rewarding. After serving notice the previous season, the BMW Team PTG M3’s declared ownership of sports car racing’s GT class. Wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring, plus six more victories, gave BMW its second Manufacturers’ Championship, the Drivers’ crown to Auberlen, and the Team title to PTG.

As it did on the street, the four-door M3 sedan was an equal part of the team, adding win after win. The success continued in 1998 with victories again at both Daytona and Sebring. Racing in two series simultaneously (USRRC and SPORTS CAR), the BMW Team PTG M3s won seven more times, sweeping the Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Team Championships.

New competition arrived in 1999, limiting the E36 M3’s success to wins and the ALMS Team Championship. The 2000 12 Hours of Sebring saw the introduction of the all-new E46 M3, but the competition continued to be strong, and it was not until the tenth round, at Laguna Seca Raceway, that BMW Team PTG reached the top step of the podium. It was the new M3’s only victory in a development season.

BMW was back on top in 2001 as two BMW Team PTG M3s combined with two BMW Motorsport M3s to dominate the ALMS GT class and sweep the Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Team titles with the awesome, V-8-powered M3 GTR. However, these proved a little too awesome, and racing rule changes made the car ineligible to return with the V-8 engine.

After a hiatus in 2002 and a diversion to the SCCA’s World Challenge Series in 2003, BMW Team PTG entered the Rolex Sports Car Series in 2004 and 2005. With new six-cylinder-powered E46 M3s, BMW Team PTG won 10 of 12 races to take the 2004 Manufacturers’, Drivers’ and Team Championships. The next year saw seven more wins with the team missing another Manufacturers’ title by only seven points.

Returning to the ALMS for its final season in 2006, the M3s worked hard against competition with larger engines. In an unfamiliar role as underdog, the BMW Team PTG M3s reached the podium three times, showing that even as a six-year-old design, the M3 could still compete with more modern, powerful machinery. Although winless in 2006, the BMW M3 retired as an overall winner.

When the checkered fag fell on the last race of the 2006 season, BMW of North America wrote the final page of the most successful chapter to-date of its 31-year motorsport story. From 1995 through 2006, BMW of North America’s M3 racing program drove to 53 wins in 118 races entered, adding 14 Championship trophies to corporate display cases – and a shine on the roundel like never before.

About the Author

Dreaming about new BMW 3 Series? No problem, visit our e-magazine about new cars and motorcycles.

top 10 supercars of all time.