BMW(1991 - 1996)

1991 1992 1993 1994

1995

 1996
BMW M3

BMW 318is

 BMW 318i

BMW 318is

 BMW 318i BMW 320i
J. Palmer T. Sugden J. Winkelhock J. Winkelhock D. Brabham J. Winkelhock
S. Soper A. Menu S. Soper S. Soper J. Cecotto R. Ravaglia
T. Sugden K. Nissen   R. Ravaglia   P. Kox
C. Danner          
W. Hoy T. Harvey        
R. Bellm S. Soper        
  R. Bellm        
T. Harvey          
L. Bristow        

Will Hoy - 1991 Vic Lee prepared BMW M3

There were effectively three BMW teams entered for the 1991 BTCC season all of them running the BMW M3. The 'works' team with cars produced by Prodrive entered a two car team sponsored by Mobil and BMW Finance.  The cars were driven for the most part by ex F1 driver Jonathan Palmer and Steve Soper although Tim Sugden usually deputised when Soper's clashing commitments in the German Touring Car Championship prevented him from competing on home ground.  Christian Danner also drove in several rounds during the season.  Vic Lee Motorsport ran two teams consisting of Lawrence Bristow and Tim Harvey in the 'Labatts/Listerine' sponsored cars and Will Hoy and Ray Bellm in the 'Securicor - Omega Express' team. Will Hoy set the early pace winning the first two races of the season with good support from Ray Bellm. Steve Soper also started well for the works team although the BMWs were challenged hard by the Cavaliers of Jeff Allam and John Cleland all year. Tim Harvey had suffered disqualification earlier in the season because of exhaust system infringments, losing points as a consequence, effectively ruling out any challenge for the championship.  All three of the BMW teams scored wins during the season, with Hoy and Soper grabbing three apiece.  For the last race of the season at Silverstone it was a two horse race for the championship, with seventeen points separating Hoy and Cleland (Vauxhall).
The day proved to be a good one for the Vic Lee motorsport run teams. Tim Harvey won the race, and Hoy finished far enough ahead of Cleland to win the title. Rounding off the perfect day, BMW also took the manufacturers title.  Two works supported teams entered the '92 season with a total of six drivers. Pro-drive ran a two car set up which was fronted by Tim Sugden and supported by Alain Menu and Kris Nissen in the second car. The Shell-Listerine sponsored team ran a three car entry all season of Steve Soper, Tim Harvey and Ray Bellm. The first half of the season was pretty quiet for both BMW teams, with Toyota and Vauxhall getting most of the results. Sugden had scored some podium placed finishes but the results were not consistent enough, and the Pro-drive outfit did not figure in the top half of the table . In the latter part of the year the partnership of Harvey and Soper was spectacular and the pair soon started to dominate the run up to the close of the season, often gaining 1-2 finishes. The final round of the season, at Silverstone, saw Tim Harvey win BMW's second drivers title following an incident packed race. Harvey had managed to secure 6 race wins on his way to the drivers championship, the only BMW driver to win a race all season. BMW just failed to secure the manufacturers title finishing 2 points behind Vauxhall.

Tim Harvey - 1992 BMW 318is Coupe

Joachim Winkelhock - 1993 BMW 318i

 Only one BMW backed works outfit was on the grid for the 1993 season start with crack Bavarian team Schnitzer taking control under the guidance of team boss Charly Lamm.  The team had won everything worth winning in touring car racing, including the World, European(twice), Italian and German titles.  German 'ace' Joachim Winkelhock joined Steve Soper in a two car line up. It was an effective and efficient move with the two BMW 318s in dominant form all season. The Schnitzer team were slightly off the pace towards the end of the championship but the pair were regular podium visitors throughout the season. Winkelhock took five race wins to finish in 1st, and Soper with three taking 2nd in the drivers championship, ensuring BMW took their second manufacturers title. Both Winkelhock and Soper were retained for the following season, with Roberto Ravaglia also competing in selected rounds.
The results were slow in coming during 1994 , the championship being dominated from the start by the Alfa 155s, of Tarquini and Simoni. BMW didn't score their first race win until, Winkelhock won round 15 at Oulton Park, nearly three quarters of the way through the season. Winkelhock went on to take a further three race wins but the resurgent form of the 318i came too late for the Schnitzer team. They finished 4th in the manufacturers table, with Winkelhock and Soper finishing 5th and 6th respectively in the drivers competition. Although a dissappointing result, the German team had done well to recover in order to finish in the top half of the table.  1995 saw the team field an all new driver line up coupled with a change in team ownership. Ex F1 driver David Brabham in his debut season was partnered by Johnny Ceccoto, a proven three times champion in foreign competitions. Team Schnitzer was re-deployed to the German Super Touring Cup, and were replaced by BMW M Gmbh's own Nurburgring-based motorsport team.  It proved an unsuccessful marriage however, and the season ended with BMWs worst performance in the BTCC. Neither driver performed well all year, the 318i suffered from a 50Kg weight penalty due to being rear wheel driven, and was off the pace in qualifying and race trim. Many races ended without either Ceccoto or Brabham finishing in the top ten placings, and no podium visits were recorded at all, culminating in neither the team nor the drivers figuring in the final championship tables positions.

Tony Soper - 1994 BMW 318is

Peter Kox - 1996 BMW 320i

Consequently BMW  reverted back to Team Schnitzer's proven talent for the 1996 series with Winkelhock and Ravaglia returning to the fold. The new 320i had also been subject to much development work in liaison with McLaren Cars. Expectation was high amongst the team but ultimately neither Winkelhock nor Ravaglia were able to produce a sustained challenge for the title, finishing fifth and sixth, just one point apart. Dutchman Peter Kox who had tested for the team was given a third car for the last three meetings and notched up three fastest laps and one second place in his six race starts. In what proved to be their final year in the BTCC BMW did beat all the front wheel marques to finish second in both the manufacturers, and team, points tables, beaten only by rival German manufacturer Audi.

BMW were the only manufacturer to win the BTCC championship more than once during the 'Supertourer' era.
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