The M1 Returns:

I wish I could make it to the German Grand Prix at Hockenheim later this month. Aside from being able to watch the latest episode in an enthralling three-way championship battle between Ferrari, McLaren-Mercedes and the new upstart, BMW, there is also the prospect of a mini re-creation of one of the most exciting one-make series in racing history.

I refer to the BMW M1 Procar Series, which not only provided some spectacular action during the two seasons it was contested, 1979 and 1980, but also represented one of the last opportunities to watch current Formula 1 Grand Prix drivers plying their trade in unfamiliar surroundings. Thirty years later after the original launch, BMW is celebrating the M1 by lining up 10 of the 500-horsepower supercars for a couple of show races where they will be handled by several accomplished exponents of the genre, including former Grand Prix drivers Marc Surer, Jacques Lafitte, Dieter Quester and Christian Danner.

As BMW Motorsport Director Dr. Mario Theissen admits, Procar was effectively born of necessity. The original intention was to produce at least 400 of the charismatic mid-engined coupes to ensure homologation into the Group 4 and Group 5 categories of sports car racing. The M1 featured a 3.5-liter straight-six powerplant and styling by noted Italian designer Giorgetto Giugiaro. Production was to have been handled by Lamborghini until the company ran into severe financial difficulties which forced BMW to take the project back in-house after just seven examples had been built. By the time cars began rolling off the production line in any numbers in 1978, the M1 was in grave danger of being an expensive white elephant. (Arguably, it still was.)

As interest in the M1 as a race car dwindled, its creator, Jochen Neerpasch, the head of BMW Motorsport GmbH, hit upon the idea of a one-make series coinciding with the FIA Formula 1 World Championship.

In the late 1970s, Formula 1 as we know it today was in its infancy. The Formula One Constructors Association had been formed in 1974 as a means of providing more of a structure for the competing teams, but it was only after Bernie Ecclestone took charge in 1978 that any real progress was made in terms of providing a sensible level of remuneration. Ecclestone's agreement with Neerpasch to establish the BMW M1 Procar series called for most of the cars to be run by "privateer" teams, although five were held aside for the leading Formula 1 drivers of the day. The identity of that handful was decided during the opening practice session of the individual Grands Prix, with the top five on the timing charts being invited to race the M1s - and being guaranteed a starting position at the front of the grid.

Niki Lauda won the inaugural Procar title in 1979, driving a car prepared by Ron Dennis' Project Four organization and sponsored by Marlboro, while fellow F1 World Champion Nelson Piquet took the honors in 1980 after a late charge.

The new series was an expensive endeavor for BMW but it achieved its aims. Everyone emerged a winner. The racing was spectacular and the crowds loved it. So did the drivers, because aside from the competition aspect, they earned good money, with $5000 for a win plus appearance bonuses. There's little doubt that Mr. Ecclestone would have benefited financially from the project, and it helped BMW showcase its great-looking - and sounding - car in front of a substantial audience.

I don't suppose the races at Hockenheim will see the drivers competing with as much intensity as they did 30 years ago, but I still reckon it will be worth watching.