Steve Soper says what many people probably think: "If you're in Formula 1, you want to drive a Ferrari, if you're in touring car racing, your choice is BMW". And this is exactly what the movie "Adrenalin - The BMW Touring Car Story" is about, about BMW in touring car racing.
Tim and Nick Hahne, both related to the legendary touring car racer Hubert Hahne, who was the first to drive around the Nordschleife in less than 10 minutes in a touring car, have made a film that focuses on emotion, excitement, joy and the human factor. The cars, i.e. the BMW touring cars, actually played a supporting role in the film, but are always at the center of the picture.
Hans-Joachim Stuck sums it up: "That was just really cool motorsport"
Over several eras
"Adrenalin" begins sometime towards the end of the 1960s, when BMW began to shake up touring car racing with the BMW 1800.
From the sporty BMW 2002 to the brute coupé BMW 3.0 CSL, when lightweight construction and aerodynamic aids were used to successfully combat the Ford Capri. This is also the time when Jochen Neerpasch joins BMW and founds Motorspot GmbH.
The BMW M1, the plastic icon that pitted Formula 1 racing drivers against amateurs in the Procar series, grew out of this construct.
In the 1980s, the BMW 320 Group 5, an uncompromisingly designed racing car, followed in the footsteps of the 1970s BMW touring cars. And with the BMW Junior Team, another sensation was made.
The BMW 635 CSI is then followed by the most successful touring car of all time, the BMW M3. And with it into the modern era, which has produced the BMW 320 Group A, the M3 GTR and the M3 DTM, among others.
The 50 years of touring car racing are supplemented by an excursus on the BMW Art Cars. This chapter would have been worthy of a separate movie.
Emotions and adrenaline
The film is not just a series of race footage, but an intelligently constructed retrospective in which interviews with drivers such as Hubert Hahne, Dieter Quester, Hans-Joachim Stuck, Marc Surer, Roberto Ravaglia, Johnny Cecotto, Jockel Winkelhock, Steve Soper, Klaus Ludwig (!), Jörg Müller, Andy Priaulx, Alex Zanardi, Bruno Spengler, Marco Wittmann and Augusto Farfus alternate with historical race footage. Unfortunately, you learn very little about the technology, which deliberately takes a back seat to the people and emotions.
It doesn't stop at the races either, the insights into the fitness build-up of the racing drivers of the seventies are also interesting. Here too, Neerpasch broke new ground when he forced his team to go cross-country skiing over the winter and placed more emphasis on physical fitness. Racing was professionalized. This is also shown in the interviews with Jochen Neerpasch, Charly Lamm and Paul Rosche, who worked behind the scenes and explain how things were done back then.
Excitingly shot and edited
The viewer is never bored for a second. The film sequences are excitingly shot, the historical archive footage well selected and beautifully edited.
The soundscape also comes into its own and is not pushed into the background by the music, which is of course indispensable. You can hear it again - especially if you have modern sound reproduction technology with Dolby 5.1 - the characteristic intake noise of the BMW M3. The fact that the competition is shown, the Ford Capri and the Mercedes Benz 16-valves of the DTM, rounds off the movie even better.
Not just for BMW fans
If at the beginning of the film you are still a little afraid that "Adrenalin" will mainly cover the sporty modern era of BMW, you will be pleasantly surprised during the viewing. Tim and Nick Hahne as director and producer give a balanced account of the various eras and thus document the most successful years of touring car racing in Central Europe. And this makes the film a worthwhile pleasure not only for BMW fans, but for anyone interested in racing touring cars. And the Euro 23.90/25.90 are certainly well spent.
By the way, anyone who usually only watches the main movie on a DVD should make an exception here and at least watch the special "Bye Bye M3". There is no better way to show the appeal and fascination of touring car racing in the early nineties. And for those who also want to grin a little, we refer you to the "Mucki" feature with Strietzel Stuck and Dieter Quester ...
Information about the movie
- Title: Adrenalin - The BMW Touring Car Story
- Director: Tim Hahne
- Producer: Nick Hahne
- Camera: Julius Jacoby
- Length: 123 minute main movie + 30 minutes bonus material
- Formats: Blu-ray: Full HD 1080i, 50 Hz; DVD: PAL 16:9, region code 0 (all regions)
- Language: Original sound optionally with D/EN subtitles or with English subtitles
- Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1 and 2.0
- Prices: DVD EUR 23.90, Blu-ray EUR 25.90
- Buy/order online at RacingWebShop (as DVD or Blu-ray ) or on amazon.de
