Germantrack Snetterton

E36 M3

Simon McGee and Richard Hands

The guy we bought it from had just prepared it for show ’n’ shine,” laughs Simon. “We didn’t have the heart to tell him what we were doing.” Which, in a nutshell, was to strip it out, weld in a Sparco cage and take to the track. A 3-litre M3 in white with no sunroof, it weighed in at 1250 kg once the interior had been ditched and was an ideal basis for a track car, especially once the KW Clubsport suspension and White Line anti-roll bars were added. The cunning acquisition of no less than 10 wheels allows the pair to run two different sets of tyres and still not let a puncture spoil their day.

The car replaces the duo’s previous E30 325i, which ended its life parked in a barrier at Cadwell Park. In 5000-miles worth of track days all they had to do was change the clutch and Simon hopes the E36 will prove to be similarly reliable, especially since tuning mods are limited to power pulleys and removing the viscous fan. “It’s got more power than the E30 and the turn-in is so much better,” he comments. “It still understeers a bit but we’re hoping to dial that out.” His verdict? It’s a surprisingly similar drive to his M3 CSL road car.

Z4 M

Chris Spearing

The Z4 M Coupe isn’t exactly commonplace, so when we spotted Chris’s example at Snetterton we were impressed. Featuring a superbsounding Chris’s car is otherwise standard apart from a strut brace which he reckons goes a long way towards dialling out the understeer. “I’ve not been here for nine years,” he grinned, “But it’s great fun on track... I really need to upgrade the brakes now though!”

E36 325i

Alan Quayle

When we spoke to Alan in the paddock, he reckoned his standard 325i might be outclassed in a field of M3s and GT3s but after doing we reckon the 192 bhp four-door made a good account of itself, looking nicely controllable and stable at speed.

Running AC Schnitzer suspension and anti-roll bars might have something to do with it, while the 18-inch ACS rims look as good as ever. When we left Alan, he was tinkering with tyre pressures in a bid to reduce understeer, which seemed a common concern among the BMW drivers at Snetterton.

German Cars

Well known in BMW circles, Norfolk-based German Cars have been preparing BMWs for the track as long as we can remember and brought along some impressively sorted machinery, some of which will form the basis of a fleet for their new hire-and-drive venture.

The idea is a simple one and is bound to go down well: the plan is to assemble four or five cars for hire, the aim being to offer customers a full race experience: as boss Wayne points out, not the wimpy corporate day where an instructor shouts at you as you struggle with a restricted rev limit on road tyres, but a proper day’s track time.

The E30 320i forms the core of the fleet, with the lighter handling 318i on hand, plus the E30 M3 and 320iS. As Wayne points out, a day’s track time in a hired car also gives you a feel for whether you’re up to tackling a properly set-up car before you mortgage yourself into the world of motorsport. We’ll be bringing you more details on the project soon.

Thorney Motorsport M3

The GT3 pilots didn’t stand a chance, despite their super-sticky track day rubber and expensive driving shoes. Yup, their overgrown Beetles were reeled in and spat out by what is essentially a standard and pretty miley M3.

John Thorne was keen to get in as many shakedown laps as possible and at racing speed the months of preparation could be felt working – the KW suspension, the AP brakes, Richard’s detail work in setting up the chassis – and of course the paring down of the lardy M3 to just 1300 kg.

It's all put into perspective when you realise that the car was originally bought and prepared for just £20,000: check the prices of GT3s and you'll see why our money remains firmly on Munich engineering. And the engine's in the right end, too.