BMW M1 Procar Championship

BMW M1 Procar Championship
CategoryOne-make series
CountryEurope
Inaugural season1979
Folded1980
DriversVaried
TeamsVaried
ConstructorsBMW
Last Drivers' championBrazil Nelson Piquet
A Procar BMW M1, painted in the colour scheme used by BMW Motorsport

The BMW M1 Procar Championship, sometimes known simply as Procar, was a one-make auto racing series which featured professional drivers from the Formula One World Championship, World Sportscar Championship, European Touring Car Championship, and other international series, using identically modified BMW M1 sports cars. It was created by Jochen Neerpasch,[1] head of BMW Motorsport GmbH, the racing division of automobile manufacturer BMW.

Billed as an opportunity to see a mix of drivers from various motorsport disciplines,[2] the championship served as support races for various European rounds of the 1979 Formula One season, with Formula One drivers earning automatic entry into the Procar event based on their performance in their Formula One cars.[1] Austrian Niki Lauda won the inaugural championship. In 1980, the series held some events outside of Formula One schedule, and was won by Brazilian Nelson Piquet. BMW chose not to continue the championship in 1981 to concentrate on their entrance into Formula One.[1]

  1. ^ a b c "BMW (E26) M1 Part 3: M1 Group 4 Procar Championship 1979 – 80". QV500. Archived from the original on 2008-05-14. Retrieved 2008-07-05.
  2. ^ "Past masters to revive BMW M1 Procar at Hockenheim". Formula One Management. 2008-06-30. Archived from the original on 2 July 2008. Retrieved 2008-07-03.