Munich/Spielberg. 37 years after its premiere on the
race track, the BMW M1 will once again generate a fantastic atmosphere
among motor-sport fans in the warm-up for the Formula 1 World
Championship race. BMW Group Classic is staging a revival with the
racing cars in the Procar Series just before the race for the
“Austrian Grand Prix” at the Red Bull Ring in Spielberg. Races with
these cars were enthusiastically received in the supporting programme
on Formula 1 weekends in Europe. When the first Procar Race was held
at Zolder, Belgium, in May 1979, contemporary Formula 1 racing drivers
competed in identical racing versions of the BMW M1 against national
sports-car professionals, private drivers and talented upcoming
drivers. Some of these drivers are now taking the opportunity to get
back into the cockpit of the BMW M1 at the Legends Parade in Spielberg
– including the three-time Formula 1 World Champion Niki Lauda, who
won three Procar Races in 1979 and also succeeded in claiming the
overall placing.
Lauda from Austria will be campaigning against a number of former
rivals at his historic home competition, driving the BMW M1.
Hans-Joachim Stuck (DE), runner-up in the overall placings in 1979 and
in third place in 1980, is returning to the cockpit of his successful
car. Jochen Mass (DE), Christian Danner (DE) and Marc Surer (CH) are
also behind the wheel of precisely the models of the BMW M1 in which
they raced during the Procar Series. Austrians Dieter Quester and Sepp
Manhalter, and Markus Hotz from Switzerland will also be rekindling
their memories of exciting battles for position in Procar races.
Gerhard Berger (AT), Jos Verstappen (NL) and Jan Lammers (NL) are
three other former Formula 1 racing drivers who will be taking part in
the Legends Parade. The field of celebrity drivers is completed by
Harald Grohs (DE), who won races in the German Touring Car
Championship (DTM) driving the BMW 635CSi and the BMW M3, and BMW
brand ambassador Leopold Prinz von Bayern (DE). Both drivers once
lined up on the grid in a BMW M1 for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and they
are being joined by multiple Touring Car Champion Johnny Cecotto from Venezuela.
The sporting spirit of yesteryear is being reawakened with the
comeback of the Procar Racers in Spielberg. Today the focal point will
continue to be the BMW M1, as it was then. This was the first vehicle
designed from scratch by BMW Motorsport GmbH to compete in racing. The
series version generating 204 kW/277 hp was propelled to a top speed
of almost 265 km/h and delivered the fastest road-going German sports
car of its time. The Procar Series not only provided the perfect stage
for the first super sports car from BMW, but at the same time created
an entirely new form of competition on the race track. The trial of
strength in the racing versions of the BMW M1 constructed in
conformity with the Group 4 regulations and each generating 345 kW/470
hp turned into a big success with spectators. And today the drivers,
too, continue to eulogise about the handling characteristics of the
mid-engined coupé, the sound of the legendary inline six-cylinder
engine and the sporty appeal of a race series that was all about the
skills and abilities of the drivers.
This is the third time that the Legends Parade staged in the context
of the Austrian Formula 1 race has reflected very special chapters of
motor-sport history. Last year, the BMW Group took part in a
rendezvous of historic Formula 1 racing cars. The Brazilian Nelson
Piquet drove the Brabham BMW BT52, which he had previously driven to
victory in the Formula 1 World Championship in 1983. This year, BMW is
providing the entire starter field in celebration of the centenary
anniversary of the company. The 14 former racing cars in the Procar
Series which were registered for the Legends Parade are currently
almost without exception in the ownership of private aficionados and
collectors who are as fascinated by their comeback on the race track
as the drivers. Two of them will even enjoy the privilege of being
able to race in their own vehicle. Gerhard Berger is the proud owner
of a BMW M1 Procar, as is Sepp Manhalter, who owns precisely the
vehicle that he drove past the finishing line in seventh place at the
Zolder race circuit in May 1979. He will be driving this car on Sunday.