In both 1979 and 1980, a ProCar race was held in Europe as part of the Formula 1 supporting program.
A maximum of 19 touring car drivers battled against the five fastest drivers in F1 training, and they were given identical BMW M1 cars. Even in Monaco, the fast mid-engined coupés were used.
A lucrative treat for F1 drivers
With the exception of the Renault, Ferrari and Michelin drivers, all F1 drivers were still "allowed" to sit in the M1 at that time, and most of them were not forced to do so, as participation was lucrative and a sporting pleasure. The races were held on Saturday afternoons and the winner received 20 points and 5000 dollars in prize money. The series was won by Niki Lauda in 1979 and Nelson Piquet in 1980. Both received a road-going M1 for their efforts.
Second revival
The second revival of the ProCar series after Hockenheim 2008 was organized for this year's F1 Grand Prix in Austria.
Memories of that time were quickly reawakened, with one driver actually apologizing to Markus Hotz for his actions 36 years after a ProCar incident.
Rainy, postponed, shortened
A total of 14 cars lined up at the start. Unfortunately, the 40-minute practice session on Saturday evening was cut short by a heavy downpour after just 20 minutes.
As a result of various accidents in F1 qualifying and later in GP2, the schedule got a little out of hand and so ProCar practice was delayed right into the thunderstorm that was already visibly brewing. All the drivers looked up and hoped that the heavy, black clouds would not clear until after practice.
Only Sepp Manhalter was hoping for rain, as he had already achieved his best results in these difficult conditions.
A highlight of the GP weekend
As is well known, the number of spectators at the old Österreich-Ring decreases dramatically every year. Whereas three years ago, at the first GP since 1987, additional grandstands were erected, this year three permanent grandstands had to be covered with advertising hoardings.
Nevertheless, the fans in attendance really warmed up when the 14 M1 cars took off with a heavy roar. Although the 470 hp GT racers were only on the racetracks for two years, they have achieved cult status among fans.
All but two of the drivers in the cars provided by their owners (Gerhard Berger and Jos Verstappen, Max's father) were already driving these cars back then. Even the first ProCar champion Niki Lauda did not miss the opportunity and climbed into the BMW as a Mercedes man in Alfa Romeo overalls.
Over far too quickly
After the unfortunately very short historic drive in the M1, the old stars were in agreement and Gerhard Berger summed it up: "The smell and then the sound - you won't be able to get that sound out of your ears for the rest of your life and when you take your foot off the accelerator, really heavy flames shoot out of the exhaust."
Bruno Giacomelli's car, in which Gerhard Berger took part, is now his property. Together with Dieter Quester, Berger practiced on the Ring days before the event. This would probably not have been necessary for the short race of just two laps.
But the training paid off in the duel with Marc Surer. The latter was unable to keep his Pooh-M1 on the track in a duel with Gerhard Berger and ended his race in the gravel.
A good idea
The idea for the ProCar event came from Gerhard Berger and was implemented and executed by the Red Bull Team and BMW Tradition. Unfortunately, the F1 organization only made an extremely narrow time window available, which of course could never do justice to the gigantic effort involved.
It's a shame that F1 doesn't celebrate its own history and at least keep the fans with an interest in tradition on board.
























































































































































































































































































































































