Thursday 30th January 2014

BMW 328i (E36) PH Fleet

A final fling for Dale's 3 Series in Belgium prior to going 'off plates' for a while

---

This winter I was determined to do something new, something I couldn't do here at the 'ring and something that didn't cost too much. Luckily for me I've been working with a European track day organiser called Skylimit Events. And the boss Andy Jaenen invited me to his home track of Zolder for the last track day of 2013.

Zolder lives up to its reputation...

Zolder is an old F1 circuit that's only a couple of hours north of the 'ring. So onto the company trailer goes the 328i, and we hit the autobahn. With my buddy Thorsten driving, I've got my head buried in my phone. Videos of racing the circuit, one after the other. Zolder's got a bit of a reputation as an old-school circuit - a take-no-prisoners track with unforgiving barriers and relatively high speeds. I can see why.

As we arrive there's already a silver, 4-door BMW 328i parked in the paddock. With its roof caved in and a wheel missing. Holy crap.

Because you pay by the hour and the circuit is stadium lit, my emphasis is on doing a couple of afternoon sessions and the final hour under darkness. The weather, thankfully enough for my perverse tastes, is a constant barrage of rain interspersed only by the occasional drizzle.

Now the 328i feels fast!

The night before I'd swapped the radiator, as the old one had split the very moment I decided to do a final fluid and spanner check. So I took to the track for my first laps and the last 20 minutes of the lunchtime stint, just to check everything is OK.

Well, my old BMW is still fine. And when the chequered flag comes out, I make the briefest of pit-stops while the session changes, just to check tyres, wheels and fluids. The next hour is a learning exercise. Missed apexes, unknown lines and random braking markers abound.

After a whole year of driving the slow car that's fast in the corners, I find that in the mostly 2.0-litre Belgian track day crowd my 328i is actually quite fast. But I suck.

Next stint, I'm not driving. I'm in pitlane chatting with Andy, hanging on his every word as he talks me around a fast lap. He's won enough races here over the decades, that I know I really need to listen. Braking markers, turning in points, they're all going in. Next, I sit in the car and try to visualise how a good lap looks in my head.

See the links for full day and night laps

The first corner is tricky, as it looks fast and wide, and it kind of is. Right until the end where the radius decreases. But a late turn-in yields a quicker exit. Then you're running on the flat out towards the canal, via a massive 180-degree right-hander that just gets faster and faster. Another fast right, not quite flat out and you're heading away from the canal and the flatness, towards a hilly wooded section. I won't go into too much detail when you can just watch the video, but I love it.

And then the sun goes down. My last session is under stadium lighting between 5 and 6. It's so vivid. The yellow sodium lights through the forest, and the white halogens of the start-finish straight. Even with around two hours of track time under my belt, I still manage my fastest lap of the day in the dark. And, to quote that annoying TV advert, it feels epic.

328i will be off the road for the foreseeable

What feels less epic right now are the financial pressures of my family and our Christmas holidays. Despite my racing career here at the 'Ring actually starting to produce some silverware, I'm actually only just hanging on to my BMW 328i. By the very tips of my fingers. It's a luxury that I can't really afford or justify. A car just for going around race tracks.
"Didn't you race for that team VLN last season? Do you need your own old BMW for that?"
"Errrm, no..."
"Don't you work for a track car rental company? Can't you drive their cars?"
"Errrm, yes..."

So the 328i has come off plates for now. That means I don't have to pay road tax or insurance, but I can't drive it on the roads or public sessions on the 'Ring. That saves me a whopping 200 euros a month here in Germany and I don't have the money yet for the 1,500 euro Nurburgring year card anyway. Maybe with the money I'm saving, I could start to look at the creeping rust and upgrade the radiator. Oh, right, I'm saving it for family stuff. Must remember that. Damn.

---

Fact sheet
Car: 1997 BMW 328i SE
Run by: Dale Lomas
Bought: September 2012
Purchase price: £950
Last month at a glance: Did a single track day, then took it off plates.

---

Previous reports:
Dale's RX-8 dies, BMW bought in replacement
What doesn't kill a car makes it stronger ... hopefully
Dale splashes out on suspension...
...and then gets some track tyres too!
E36 takes on E30 (and a deer)
Two old Beemers battle it out on the Nordschleife
328i mixes it with the big boys at VLN practice
One year on Dale's Beemer has come on a long way
Talking turbos as BMW boredom sets in

 

 

[Fishy Dave]

I love Zolder too (except for the noise meter), it reminds me of Oulton a bit, only bigger. Hotel de Pits is a nice place to stay with good food and a view over the track. An interesting concept about paying for trackday time by the hour, how much did it cost?
It would be a shame to see you sell the BMW.

My video is here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AApZzsyaRmc, I was running too much rake and ride height at the time (part of a driving holiday, two up) giving some odd oversteer at times.

[_Neal_]

Nice videos! I see what you mean Dave - bits of the Ring + supersized Oulton.

[hondansx]

Zolder deserves a bit of promotion; it's a fantastic place.

I went for the first time last year on a track day event. Proper Euro rules - I was driving a 997T and cars ranged from diesel Golfs to a Z4 GT3 car. The noise the Z4 made as it tore past me around the back of the circuit will with me for a long time!

I just loved the whole atmosphere, with it's old school feel (down to the very old Coca Cola sponsorhip boards) and pitlane cafe which does a great steak, it is like a little condensed Nurburgring experience. Considering it is close to Spa, for me it's almost unforgivable to not visit both tracks on the same outing.

I went back about a month after that experience and won a race there. The track is challenging enough, but i was dragging a rear air-jack along with me that made braking interesting!

Here's a bit of footage from me fluffing the start before recovering!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-jMP0suP4I

[loudlashadjuster]

Dale, the sad grille on your 328 makes me sad too

[British Beef]

I can certainly associate. I have been planning to go racing since I got my race licence 2 years ago. A racing car & race attendance is expensive both money and time - very hard to justify with a young family!!

200 euros a month saving..... how much does road tax and insurance cost in Germany?

Sounds far more expensive than the UK!

[dinkel]

Love the old war horses.

[dinkel]

Zolder is indeed a great place to be and race:

2010 24 hrs of Zolder . . . only 10 cars finished:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z7KFtPhxHds

Great clip which shows the track and the event.

[CO2000]

hondansx said:

Zolder deserves a bit of promotion; it's a fantastic place.

I went for the first time last year on a track day event. Proper Euro rules - I was driving a 997T and cars ranged from diesel Golfs to a Z4 GT3 car. The noise the Z4 made as it tore past me around the back of the circuit will with me for a long time!

I just loved the whole atmosphere, with it's old school feel (down to the very old Coca Cola sponsorhip boards) and pitlane cafe which does a great steak, it is like a little condensed Nurburgring experience. Considering it is close to Spa, for me it's almost unforgivable to not visit both tracks on the same outing.

I went back about a month after that experience and won a race there. The track is challenging enough, but i was dragging a rear air-jack along with me that made braking interesting!

Here's a bit of footage from me fluffing the start before recovering!
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W-jMP0suP4I

I really enjoyed watching that nice flowing track.

[AstroMonkey]

I've just realised the Kidney grilles look sad..

[RoverP6B]

Dale, how about starting a crowdfunding initiative to restore the E36 and get it back on track (and public roads)? If every PHer with a spare quid or two chipped in a bit...

[Bibbs]

Glad to hear you are still going Dale.

I still talk about you giving me the run around Nur in a stripped out Yaris in 2004 :-

http://i53.photobucket.com/albums/g54/Bibbs_1977/N...