BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim.

BMW M1 Procar revival at Hockenheim. Past masters roll back the years.
Munich, 30th June 2008. The F1 German Grand Prix programme this year
will see the revival of the most spectacular single-make competition in
motor racing history. The BMW M1 Procar series will be back at
Hockenheim on 19th and 20th July as a field of ten cars. BMW
Motorsport Director Mario Theissen, for one, is looking forward to the
event: "The M1 was unveiled 30 years ago as the first car created
independently by the then BMW Motorsport GmbH. It was a racing car
which BMW customers could also drive on the road, a unique project
which had to overcome some tricky administrative hurdles before getting
off the ground." In order to gain Group 4 homologation, 400 units
of the super sports car had to be built within a period of 24 months.
As Theissen continues: "The idea of organising a single-make
series was born out of necessity - i.e. the requirements of
homologation. Nobody expected the BMW M1 Procar series to go down quite
so well. Just a mention of it today still triggers an enthusiastic
reaction. This revival serves as a 'thank you' to the fans."
"There hasn't been a series as attractive as this before or
since," says Marc Surer. Now working as a Formula One expert on
TV, Surer is well placed to judge. As a young Formula 2 driver, he
conducted testing and set-up work for the prototypes at the time.
"With its mid-engined layout, the M1 was a bit of an animal to
drive and had an outrageous soundtrack. The series fed off the appeal
of the cars and the opportunity for young drivers to measure themselves
against the leading Formula One stars at the time." The five
fastest drivers from Friday practice for the Formula One Grand Prix
earned themselves a drive in the M1 race. The 15 remaining 500 hp
machines were piloted by hungry young hopefuls. "You were really
somebody if you got to drive in one of those races," recalls
Surer. "It was a unique opportunity to pit your skills against the
F1 drivers - and they were certainly pretty quick in the M1. The
handling of the mid-engined car suited them down to the ground. Plus, in
1979 - the first of the two years the series was held - they always
started from the front and were given works cars. That made it pretty
tough for us junior drivers in the independent teams. We had to look
after our car, but at the same time did everything we could to make our
mark." The idea of developing the BMW M1, however, was the
brainchild of Jochen Neerpasch, the head of BMW Motorsport GmbH at the
time, and it was he who initiated the single-make series with Bernie
Ecclestone and Max Mosley within the relatively relaxed structure of F1
three decades ago. A handful of past masters are set to line up once
again for the two show races at Hockenheim. Surer will be joined by
Jacques Laffite, Dieter Quester, Christian Danner, Harald Grohs and
Prince Leopold of Bavaria. Jochen Neerpasch will also be there, at the
wheel of the BMW M1 turned into an Art Car by Andy Warhol. His
co-driver will be none other than Frank Stella, who also created an Art
Car – a BMW 3.0 CSL which raced at Le Mans in 1976. The 72-year-old
remains a keen motor racing fan.