1984 BMW M1 #109
Pilots: P. Dagoreau, J-F. Yvon, P. de Thoisy
Team: Helmut Gall
Race: 14th overall (1st in B class) at Le Mans in 1984
Spark - S6409(resin)
Published 12/13/24
The M1 was BMW’s first bespoke racecar, a car that should stand up against Porsche’s 935. The 935 was the poster-boy for Group 5 cars, cars that in essence were silhouette cars. A Group 5 car only needed to share the bonnet, roof, doors and rail panel with the production version. And since these cars looked very similar to the street-legal versions, Group 5 racing was very popular. With that, BMW was keen on getting into the action. Designed by Giorgetto Guigiaro, and with a chassis from Dallara, production of the M1 began in 1978. To power the new car BMW designed a brand-new engine, the M88. A 3453 cm³ inline-6, it had DOHC and 24 valves, delivering 204 kW (273 hp) in road trim. However, for the tracks, the M88 was not enough, so BMW used an improved version, the M88/1.
The M88/1 engine was marginally bigger, with 3498 cm³. It also had forged pistons, sharper camshafts, bigger valves and oil cooling for the transmission and rear differential. That allowed a hugely increased output of 346 kW (464 hp). Even so, despite BMW’s best efforts, the M1 was a disappointment. It was heavier than the 935, slower, and just as bad, lacked reliability. To the point that BMW even created the Procar series, a race series exclusive for the M1, to improve sales. Nonetheless, industrious privateers believed in the car, taking the M1 even to Le Mans. The first time a M1 raced at La Sarthe was in 1979, and came in second in IMSA. As a Group 5 car the M1 first raced in 1981, coming in fourth. In the following season the M1 #61 finished in third, though 1982 would be the last season for Group 5.
Despite Group 5 being a very popular class, there was something bigger in motorsports: Group B. In rallying, Group B attracted absurdly huge crowds, so the FIA thought the class could do well in circuit racing. With that, in 1983, FIA replaced Group 5 with Group B. The idea was to lower costs and attract more manufacturers to the racetrack, which was working for the WRC. Rules were very similar to Group 5, and the manufacturer only needed to build 200 homologation cars. By 1981, when the M1’s production ended, BMW produced 453 M1. Consequently, with a few tweaks, the M1 was race-legal for Group B. At Le Mans, the first M1 to race in Group B was Brun Motorsport’s #90. Unfortunately though, a broken gearbox eliminated the car on the 160th lap.
The following year, two M1 lined up for the race. A broken suspension took out car #91, yet M1 #109 here finished the race. And not only did it finish the race in 14th overall, it came in first place in Group B. And in 1985 team Helmut Gall repeated the feat, and using the same car (chassis #WBS59910004301062). The 1984 class win by the M1 #109 (and again in 1985) were the best results for the M1. The last time a M1 raced at La Sarthe was in 1986, and it DNF. Despite the M1’s gorgeous looks (THE best-looking bimmer ever?), on the track it wasn’t so hot. Nonetheless, though I already had three other M1s, the winning M1 #109 was a sure buy. In 1:43 model form it’s your regular-fantastic-Spark-model, so there’s not much to say. Great model + class winner = buy.