Before I go any further with this month's update, I really need to point something out. My BMW E36 328i is not, and never will be, a real race car. It lacks the proper welded-in safety cell, plumbed-in fire extinguishers and electrical cut outs of a competition car. There's a stereo, a full dashboard and four black leather door cards. Even the rear bench seat remains so that my dog can come to work with me.
It's not a racing car but it gets to play with them
But it's still a lot more performance-orientated than any road-going car needs to be. So while it does carry licence plates and insurance and gets used two to three times a week for commuting it could never be considered comfortable either.
It's a dichotmy that I try not get lost in. But also one that I enjoy, and that's why I took the aging 328i in to VLN practice last month. Officially the Nurburgring's endurance races are a one-day meeting with practice, qualifying and a four-hour race all packed into one busy Saturday.
But every Friday night before a race there's an expensive and short two-hour track day using the exact same pitlane and course layout. And Friday mornings are normally a similar trackday just on the GP course. This means that race teams can arrive Thursday night and serious racers can indulge in some 'practice' the day before.
After my 'third time lucky' VLN race last month I've been drafted into the team indefinitely. But the next race was a six-hour jobby, with four drivers per car. I couldn't rightly take valuable tracktime off other less-experienced team-mates, so I made a bold decision. I would entertain my sponsors and taxi lap guests in my own personal car. Instead of driving one or maybe two laps in practice, I actually completed seven!
Dale takes a wrong turn on the way to the office
While my road legal semi-slicks were definitely a step below the performance of the racing slicks around me, and my stock-engined 328i could never be described as fast, the reality was that the E36 did well. The freer-flowing M50 325i intake manifold is on (thanks Rich!) but I've not done the ECU upgrade yet. On track the improved power is a bit peaky and lacking mid-range, but we weren't the slowest thing out there, and we were even quick enough to plan those inevitable get-the-hell-outta-the-way moments relatively easily.
And my passengers loved it!
On one lap the guest actually dropped the windows, just to fill the car with the bellowing noise of a BMW Z4 GT3. When cars like that, the AMG SLS GT3 or Sabine's new Porsche come past, the hairs on your neck just stand on end. It's amazing and an honour to be sharing track space with the pros in their factory-supplied race cars.
I'm not sure they feel the same way about my silver and rust coloured 328i road-car, but at least I moved over quick enough.
Fact sheet
Car: 1997 BMW 328i SE
Run by: Dale Lomas
Bought: September 2012
Purchase price: £950
This month: Chased a Ferrari 430 race car around the VLN course.
Vid here, complete with NSFW discussion of said Ferrari...
Action photos by Jochen of www.frozenspeed.com