---BMW Team Alpina E30 M3 WTCC 1987---
Livery Re-Creation
AMG and Mercedes, Gazoo Racing and Toyota, ABT Sportline and Audi. These are examples of companies involved in modifying, adjusting and tuning specific brands to such noteriety, that the manufacturers themselves either work closely with them in Motorsport, and/or they get bought out wholesale to incorperate them into their financial sphere and access for the Tuning Company to complete shells and factory parts. Such is the case with one such company from Buchloe in Bavaria, Germany: Alpina Automobiles, or simply Alpina.
The creator of Alpina, Burkard Bovensiepen, first got involved with BMW in 1962, with building a custom Weber Dual-Carburetor for the new BMW 1500, which got worldwide automotive praise, including from BMW's sales manager Paul G. Hahnemann. In the mid-1960's, the tuning company began the racing team, partnering with BMW starting in 1968, which their work with carburetors and crankshafts for BMW engines, made those two things the main parts of their company logo!
In the 1980's, and the advent of the new Group A challenger from BMW with the new E30 M3, the team was called on to run both select rounds of the then-new World Touring Car Championship and the Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft for 1987.The drivers chosen were Germans Ellen Lohr and Burkar's son Andy Bovensiepen, with Frenchman Fabian Giroix and for the first round at Monza Belgian driver Eric van de Poele.
The first race for the WTCC in Monza ended in controversey however, ans the new E30 M3's were disqualified after the race for having roofs that were too thin and the hoods were a lighter Kevlar instead of a stock hood from the factory. With a lost wheel at the Nurburgring, their highest finish was 7th overall and 5Th at Brno in Division 2 for 1600-2500cc cars.
The DTM was more fruitful for the team, where Fabian won the round at Flugplatz Diepholz Air Base, with Andreas gaining 3 Top 10s and Ellen Lohr getting a Top 5 at Wunstorf from 17th on the grid, and a podium at the final round at the Salzburgring, being the fastest BMW behond the winner Armin Hahne in a Wolf Racing Ford Sierra. The team would continue 'till 1988, when the need to balance the car tuning business, need for newer models for development and a racing team on about 100 employees was too much. Only in 2009 did the team return with A BMW 6-Series based Alpina B9 GT3, where they even sold the cars to customers, as per GT3 regulations.
Photo Credit: @24HuresdeLoL/Gran Turismo 7
---ALL RIGHTS TO---
Alpina Burkard Bovensiepen GmbH & Co. KG
Bayerische Motoren Werke AG
Bilstein
Ronal Wheels
Castrol
Michelin
FIA
ADAC
Gran Turismo 7
