The BMW GTP was an
IMSA GTP
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.
History
The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill ...
sports racing car
Sports car racing is a form of motorsport road racing which utilises sports cars that have two seats and enclosed wheels. They may be purpose-built prototypes or grand tourers based on road-going models. Broadly speaking, sports car racing is o ...
built by
BMW in 1986. Four
March 86G
The March 86G was a Group C and IMSA GTP sports racing car built by March Engineering. Built as simply a chassis with no engine, it was branded as one of three cars, the BMW GTP, the Buick Hawk or the Nissan R86V depending on which engine was pla ...
s were rebuilt by BMW North America into the BMW GTP, and fitted with a
Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
-derived
BMW M12/14 turbocharged straight-four engine. Like the F1 cars that used the M12 engine, the BMW GTPs were fragile, and often retired from races; however, when they did complete a race, the BMW GTP was usually classified in the overall top ten. For longevity purposes in endurance races, it usually ran around . However, in qualifying trim, was feasible; combined with the aerodynamics the 220+mph top speed was limited only by gearing.
Design and development
In 1986,
BMW North America decided to enter the
GTP category of the
IMSA GT Championship
IMSA GT was a sports car racing series organized by International Motor Sports Association. Races took place primarily in the United States, and occasionally in Canada.
History
The series was founded in 1969 by John and Peggy Bishop, and Bill ...
.
Using a modified
March 86G
The March 86G was a Group C and IMSA GTP sports racing car built by March Engineering. Built as simply a chassis with no engine, it was branded as one of three cars, the BMW GTP, the Buick Hawk or the Nissan R86V depending on which engine was pla ...
chassis (the company had purchased four of these),
a modified version of the
turbocharged BMW M12/14 Formula One
Formula One (also known as Formula 1 or F1) is the highest class of international racing for open-wheel single-seater formula racing cars sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The World Drivers' Championship, ...
engine was fitted.
Unlike the 1.5-litre capacity used in Formula One, the GTP used a 2-litre variant of the engine, capable of producing over in racing trim at 9,000
rpm
Revolutions per minute (abbreviated rpm, RPM, rev/min, r/min, or with the notation min−1) is a unit of rotational speed or rotational frequency for rotating machines.
Standards
ISO 80000-3:2019 defines a unit of rotation as the dimensionl ...
and in qualifying trim.
The chassis consisted of an aluminium
monocoque
Monocoque ( ), also called structural skin, is a structural system in which loads are supported by an object's external skin, in a manner similar to an egg shell. The word ''monocoque'' is a French term for "single shell".
First used for boats, ...
, reinforced at key points with
carbon fibre
Carbon fiber-reinforced polymers (American English), carbon-fibre-reinforced polymers (Commonwealth English), carbon-fiber-reinforced plastics, carbon-fiber reinforced-thermoplastic (CFRP, CRP, CFRTP), also known as carbon fiber, carbon compo ...
honeycomb
A honeycomb is a mass of hexagonal prismatic wax cells built by honey bees in their nests to contain their larvae and stores of honey and pollen.
Beekeepers may remove the entire honeycomb to harvest honey. Honey bees consume about of honey ...
, and a steel tube
sub frame, with the engine mounted in the
middle in a
longitudinal
Longitudinal is a geometric term of location which may refer to:
* Longitude
** Line of longitude, also called a meridian
* Longitudinal engine, an internal combustion engine in which the crankshaft is oriented along the long axis of the vehicl ...
fashion.
It had ventilated
disc brakes all around, and used
Goodyear Eagle
Eagle is the common name for many large birds of prey of the family Accipitridae. Eagles belong to several groups of genera, some of which are closely related. Most of the 68 species of eagle are from Eurasia and Africa. Outside this area, j ...
tires.
Racing history
![BMW GTP rear](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/15/BMW_GTP_rear.jpg)
BMW North America attempted to debut the car at the
1986 24 Hours of Daytona, which opened the IMSA GT season; however, a fire during a
Road Atlanta
Road Atlanta (known for sponsorship reasons as Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta) is a road course located just north of Braselton, Georgia, United States. The facility is utilized for a wide variety of events, including professional and amateur spo ...
test left the only completed car too badly damaged to race.
Instead, the BMW GTP made its debut at the
Grand Prix of Miami, with
Davy Jones and
John Andretti
John Andrew Andretti (March 12, 1963January 30, 2020) was an American race car driver. He won individual races in CART, IMSA GTP, Rolex Sports Car Series, and NASCAR during his career. He was the son of Aldo Andretti, older brother of racer Adam ...
driving one car, whilst
David Hobbs partnered
John Watson in the other. Although the Jones/Andretti car crashed out after 41 laps, resulting in the pair being classified in 25th, Hobbs and Watson brought their car home in ninth, having completed 122 laps. At the
12 Hours of Sebring, BMW North America attempted to run three cars, but they withdrew after
Bobby Rahal
Robert Woodward Rahal (born January 10, 1953) is an American former auto racing driver and team owner. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the 2004 ...
's car was involved in a big accident.
Only one car was entered at the
Grand Prix of Atlanta, which Watson drove; the car lasted just one lap before retiring, resulting in Watson being classified 23rd overall, and 15th in the GTP category. Following the stream of mechanical failures experienced by both the BMW GTP and the
Brabham BT55
The Brabham BT55 was a Formula One racing car designed by Gordon Murray and David North for the Brabham team owned by Bernie Ecclestone. It used a BMW four-cylinder turbocharged engine tilted over on its side to allow a clear supply of air to t ...
F1 cars, BMW withdrew from the
Lime Rock Grand Prix
The Lime Rock Grand Prix (2010 name: Memorial Day Classic) is a sports car race held at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Connecticut, United States on the Memorial Day weekend. It had been a part of the Grand-Am Rolex Sports Car Series, SCCA Nation ...
.
They returned for the
Watkins Glen Grand Prix
The Six Hours of Watkins Glen (currently sponsored as the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen) is a sports car endurance race held annually at Watkins Glen International in Watkins Glen, New York. The race dates from 1948, and has been a part of the ...
, with the same two-car entry that had competed at the Grand Prix of Miami; this time, both cars held together, with Jones and Andretti taking fifth, a lap ahead of Watson and Hobbs, who took sixth.
At the
Portland Grand Prix
The Portland Grand Prix was a sports car racing, sports car race held at the Portland International Raceway in Portland, Oregon from 1978 until 2006. It began as a round of the IMSA GT Championship, and became an American Le Mans Series race in ...
, Andretti retired after 39 laps, and was classified in 20th overall, and 16th in the GTP category; however, Watson and Hobbs took fourth overall, and finished on the lead lap. Fortunes for the two pairs of drivers would reverse at the
California Grand Prix; Watson and Hobbs retired after 59 laps, and were classified 18th overall, and 14th in the GTP category, whilst Andretti and Jones took fifth overall, again finishing on the same lap as the leader. However, the
Road America 500 saw a dramatic disintegration of the team's recent form; Jones crashed out after just two laps, and was classified 60th and last overall (16th in class), whilst Watson and Hobbs experienced a fuel system failure after 71 laps, and were classified in 43rd overall, and 12th in class. At the
New York 500, Watson and Hobbs retired after 67 laps, and were classified in 21st, and 11th in the GTP category; however, Jones and Andretti won the race by just over 24 seconds, and took the fastest lap in the process. The penultimate round of the season, which was the
Columbus Grand Prix, saw both cars retire within the space of four laps; Jones and Andretti after 70 laps, which saw them classified 26th overall, and 15th in the GTP category, whilst Watson and Hobbs lasted the extra four laps, and were classified two places ahead overall and in class. Things improved at the
Daytona Finale, which was the final round of the IMSA season; Jones and Andretti lasted for 83 laps before retiring, and were classified in 20th overall, and tenth in the GTP category, whilst Watson and Hobbs finished the race and were classified ninth overall, and seventh in class, after 91 laps. In the driver's championship, Andretti was the highest classified BMW GTP driver; he finished 22nd, with 37 points, whilst Jones took 25th, and Hobbs and Watson shared 28th. However, BMW withdrew from the IMSA GTP series at the end of the season.
The car's career had not quite ended, however; BMW entered two cars at the opening round of the
ADAC Würth Supercup season in 1987, which was held at the
Nürburgring; however, they never actually competed in the race, and the BMW GTP was never used again.
References
{{Commons category, BMW GTP
IMSA GTP cars
GTP