Neerpasch proposed the idea of a one-make championship after BMW's motorsport division began construction of the M1 in 1978 — the company's first sports car — with plans to enter it in the World Sportscar Championship. A 1977 rule change by the Fédération Internationale du Sport Automobile (FISA) altered Group 5 requirements, mandating a minimum of 400 examples be built to satisfy Group 4 homologation before the car could progress to Group 5. Neerpasch reasoned that the racing cars themselves could count toward the 400-unit minimum, allowing road and race cars to be built in parallel. A one-make series was devised so that the racing cars could turn laps while they could not yet legally compete elsewhere, and to allow BMW to develop them through race experience.
To secure Formula One backing, Neerpasch entered discussions with Max Mosley, head of March Engineering, a constructor then partnered with BMW in the European Formula Two Championship. Mosley, also a member of the Formula One Constructors Association, persuaded other Formula One constructors to support the use of the Procar series as a support race at European Formula One events. A governing body called the Procar Association was established by BMW and approved by FISA.
Announced in spring 1978 at the official unveiling of the M1 road car, the championship scheduled races for the middle of the Formula One season, when the championship remained in Europe. Practice and qualifying were held on Friday of the race weekend; the race itself took place on Saturday. Races lasted approximately half an hour. Prize money was awarded to the top three: US $5,000 for the winner, $3,000 for second, $1,000 for third. Points ran from 20 down to 1 for the top ten finishers, with the overall championship winner receiving a new M1 road car.
The five fastest Formula One drivers from Friday practice were assigned to factory BMW team cars and guaranteed the first five grid positions for the Procar race, regardless of their qualifying times in those cars. This guaranteed a rotating roster of Formula One names across the season. However, Goodyear tyres were mandatory on all Procar cars, preventing several Formula One drivers from competing due to contractual obligations with rival manufacturer Michelin. Scuderia Ferrari and Renault also withheld their drivers, as both manufacturers sold road cars themselves and did not wish their drivers to implicitly endorse BMW.
All Procar cars were built to identical standards, though from different constructors. BS Fabrications built five cars for the BMW factory team. Project Four Racing, a British Formula Two team led by Ron Dennis, and the Italian constructor Osella built cars for other competitors.
Externally the cars received a deep front spoiler, an adjustable rear wing on two mounts, and extended wheel arches accommodating wider 28 cm front and 32 cm rear wheels. Campagnolo alloy wheels used a central locking nut. The interior was stripped to a rollcage; glass windows were replaced with clear plastic. The standard M1's cast iron BMW M88 straight-six (3,453 cc) was modified by a team led by Paul Rosche into the M88/1, producing 470 horsepower at 9,000 rpm versus 277 hp in road specification. The five-speed ZF gearbox housing was retained with multiple gear ratios allowed. Suspension was entirely new with adjustable anti-roll bars; the brakes were redesigned with a driver-adjustable pressure balance and the servo system removed. Pneumatic jacks were added for the 1980 season. The cars weighed 1,020 kilograms, achieved a top speed of 311 km/h, and accelerated from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.3 seconds. Each Procar M1 cost approximately US $60,000.
The inaugural season ran from May to September, supporting eight consecutive European rounds of the Formula One World Championship. A ninth event at Donington Park, held as the Gunnar Nilsson Memorial Trophy for the Gunnar Nilsson Cancer Fund, did not award championship points. Formula One drivers who earned factory seats over the course of the season included Mario Andretti, Patrick Depailler, Emerson Fittipaldi, James Hunt, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite, Niki Lauda, Nelson Piquet, Didier Pironi, Clay Regazzoni, and John Watson. Non-Formula One invitees included Teo Fabi, Tiff Needell, Hans-Georg Bürger, and Michael Bleekemolen. Beyond the factory entry, Tom Walkinshaw Racing, Eggenberger Racing, Ecurie Arvor, and Schnitzer Motorsport entered cars, as did Team Konrad and GS Tuning. Project Four entered a separate car for Lauda on races when he was not in the factory entries. Lauda won the championship.
The 1980 schedule was expanded to start earlier (April) and no longer relied exclusively on Formula One events. Donington Park was retained and now counted toward the championship. Two German events were added: the Procar series was designated as that year's Avusrennen at the AVUS circuit, and the cars appeared as support to the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft's 200 Miles of Norisring. Six Formula One Grands Prix remained on the schedule.
Five drivers — Alan Jones, Jacques Laffite, Nelson Piquet, Didier Pironi, and Carlos Reutemann — were designated as primary drivers for non-Grand Prix weekends. Other Formula One participants during Grand Prix rounds included Mario Andretti, Derek Daly, Jean-Pierre Jarier, Riccardo Patrese, and Alain Prost. Returning teams included Project Four, GS Tuning, Eggenberger Racing, Cassani Racing, and Schnitzer Motorsport. Newcomers included personal entries from Arturo Merzario, Dieter Quester, and Helmut Marko, as well as Swiss sportscar manufacturer Sauber. Piquet won the championship.
At the start of the 1980 season, BMW announced their intention to enter Formula One as an engine supplier for Brabham. The deal came partly through Bernie Ecclestone, then head of Brabham, and the head of BS Fabrications. BMW planned to enter Formula One in 1982, and BMW Motorsport was redirected toward developing the new Formula One engines. That same year BMW officially met FISA's requirement by building approximately 400 M1s; the car was homologated for Group 4 on 1 December 1980, allowing BMW to enter the Championship for Makes in 1981. BMW ended its plans for the Group 5 category after building only two race cars. With BMW no longer needing to rapidly accumulate cars, and with BMW Motorsport committed to Formula One, the series was not held in 1981. The Procar M1s were sold to customers for use in the World Championship and smaller series including the Deutsche Rennsport Meisterschaft and the Camel GT Championship.
In 1988, Motor Racing Developments — owners of the Brabham Formula One team — were sold to Alfa Romeo. Brabham and Alfa Romeo developed a prototype racing car using a mid-mounted Formula One-derived V10 engine clothed in bodywork mimicking the Alfa Romeo 164, intending to revive the Procar concept. The plans never came to fruition and only the prototype was built.
On 30 June 2008, BMW announced an exhibition revival of the Procar series at the 2008 German Grand Prix at the Hockenheimring. Ten original M1 Procars competed, each fitted with a passenger seat for a guest. Former competitors Christian Danner, Harald Grohs, Niki Lauda, Dieter Quester, and Marc Surer drove, alongside former BMW driver Prince Leopold of Bavaria, BMW Sauber test driver Christian Klien, and current M1 Procar owner Marco Wagner. Series founder Jochen Neerpasch drove the BMW M1 Art Car designed by Andy Warhol, with fellow Art Car artist Frank Stella as his passenger. Lauda won the first race on Saturday 19 July; Neerpasch won the second on Sunday 20 July, the morning of the Grand Prix.
This article is based solely on the supplied corpus. No external sources were consulted; claims that could not be substantiated against the corpus were omitted under the drop-the-claim rule.
Gallery · 4 related images
