The Older We Get The Faster We Was

An unusually warm November day was the perfect environment for a day of good beer, fast BMWs (and a few other cars), and stories of racing. The parking lot rapidly filled with over 100 BMWs of all kinds, from a Turner Motorsports Speedvision 328, Dan Mull's spotless 2002tii, and at least 35 M cars. Thanks to the unseasonably warm weather, the car show outside was definitely one of the day's primary attractions.

Much was going on inside as well. Free Warsteiner on tap was certainly among the most popular attractions. Euro-Sport's E30 M3, Dick Shuman's M1, and a Mazda RX-7 based GT2 car made for a very eye catching display. Various BMW racing videos played on the big screen TV for the morning.

Throughout the day numerous prizes were raffled off in between speakers. Many BMW CCA celebrities were there, including Yale and Bette Rachlin, Joe Chamberlain, Michel Potheau, Mark Luckman, and Michael Izor. They were called upon frequently to draw the winning numbers for the raffle throughout the day.

Finally, a PTG M3 was available for test drives. Well, not really, but the "Cyber Drive" version was set up for all to try racing it for themselves, whatever their experience.

Numerous speakers talked about their racing exploits and answered questions throughout the day. Will Turner discussed his and his team's efforts in the Speedvision Cup. His entertaining discussion was interspersed with video clips of his victory last season. Like fans at a football game, the crowd cheered as Will's yellow and blue 328i passed the Acura Integra on a restart and took first place. They booed as he was penalized back to second for jumping the green flag, but cheered again as he retook first place cleanly on another restart.

The crowd went wild when the Integras in second and third place collided, slowing everyone else down and giving Will a lead of several seconds, securing his victory in the final laps. He followed the video of his win with footage of some of the season's not-so-good moments – some rather spectacular crashes. According to Will, this year his team made six trips to the body shop. Frames were unbent four times. They went through six hoods, several windshields, and numerous other parts. It's not easy being a Speedvision Cup car.

Kermit Upton, two-time IMSA champion, also spoke briefly about his experiences. Currently, Kermit is racing in the Motorola Cup series.

Next BMW CCA club racers Don Salama, with his famous blindingly bright M3 on display outside, and local 323i racer Steve Fitzgerald said a few words about BMW CCA Club Racing. They discussed how relatively inexpensive it is to get involved, and suggested that the best way to prepare for club racing is to take as many drivers schools as you possibly can.

Joe Marko, president of HMS Motorsport, talked about safety harnesses and the importance of correct use and installation. Though admittedly less exciting than watching BMWs crash into walls, this was some of the most useful information provided during the day's activities. A properly used harness will not only provide superior crash protection than a standard seat belt, it also holds the driver firmly into the seat during regular driving. This enables the driver to concentrate entirely on driving the car rather than hanging on for dear life around 80mph sweepers.

Finally, Erik Wensberg provided his consistently informative and entertaining insight into the operations of BMW as well as the PTG racing team. He showed a video of the GT3 season summary, including PTG's ups and downs from the year. Work is well in progress on E46 based cars for the 2000 season.

Erik also discussed BMW's involvement with the V12 LMR and Formula 1. He shared some details about the E46 M3, and some inside information that the BIMMER is not allowed to share yet! All of the information was interspersed with Erik's personal anecdotes, which were quite entertaining. Erik had just flown in from a track day in Virginia with PTG, and he brought some interesting items for the raffle. His contributions included some V12 LMR posters, and a few pistons from PTG's M3s that were autographed by the PTG drivers.

Many thanks to Kenneth LaPointe of Euro-Sport Motorcar for coordinating this joint White Mountain and Boston Chapter event. Given the tremendous turnout and popularity, he intends to make this an annual event, and promises that the sequel will be even bigger and better.

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