Uploaded: 17/7/08
Running Time: 2:11
Views When Posted: 42,674
Here is a glorious piece of old footage of the short-lived BMW Procar series. This is not to be confused with the Procar series using F1-powered silhouettes, as epic as that would've been with enough interest, but BMW M1s in full Group 4 GT-racer trim blasting around the Monaco Grand prix track. I would say more, but you've just clicked hurriedly on the play button, so I'll wait...
...welcome back to reading. So it wasn't a full race, but it may well be the only footage of it on YouTube, for all I know, and two minutes of M1 Procars racing around Monaco is better than none. Niki Lauda won the race, hence the pun in the title. Unfortunately, the series only ran for two years as a Formula 1 support series, from 1979-80, as after that BMW wanted to focus on Formula 1, but the M1 did survive briefly outside of the Procar series, managing 6th place in the 1979 24 Heures Du Mans. Alas, because BMW couldn't homologate the M1 in time for GT racing, it had to race in the prototype class, and when it was finally eligible in the right class, it was too late for it to be competitive. That doesn't stop it being beautiful, though.
Here's a link to some information on the other Procar series, which never evolved beyond this epic Alfa Romeo prototype.
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