Hello once again, and welcome back to:

]Tone's Rush to Forza3: Nurburgring Extravaganza 500!!

]Episode 10: A Day with the BMW M3 GTR




Laps 91-110

So up to this point I have been driving a different car for each lap. But today I felt like something a bit different. I wanted to take a single car and just drive. So I picked one of my all time favorite cars: The 2002 BMW M3 GTR.

The BMW M3's roots begin in 1986 with the first model of the BMW M3 series. Previously there was the BMW M1. However, the M1 was mired with a myriad of problems from production to performance.

BMW redeemed themselves with the M3 series. But The M3 has never been as "bad ass" as the 2002 M3 GTR. Truly a car that performs head and shoulders above the rest.


Specs:

Chassis
Brakes F/R: ABS, vented disc/vented disc
Tires F-R: 225/40 R19 - 255/35 R19
Driveline: Rear Wheel Drive
Engine
Type: V8
Displacement cu in (cc): 244 (3997)
Power bhp (kW) at RPM: 350(258) / 7250
Torque lb-ft (Nm) at RPM: 270(365) / 5000
Redline at RPM: n.a.
Exterior
Length × Width × Height in: 181 × 70 × 53
Weight lb (kg): 2976 (1350)
Performance
Acceleration 0-62 mph s: n.a.
Top Speed mph (km/h): 155 (250)
Fuel Economy EPA city/highway mpg (l/100 km): n.a.


The BMW M3 has had a storied racing career as well with then following under its belt:

* World Touring Car Championship; 1 title (1987)
* European Touring Car Championship; 2 titles (1987 and 1988)
* British Touring Car Championship; 2 titles (1988 and 1991)
* Italia Superturismo Championship; 4 titles (1987, 1989, 1990 and 1991)
* Deutsche Tourenwagen Meisterschaft; 2 titles (1987 and 1989)
* Australian Touring Car Championship; 1 title (1987)

Races

* Guia Race; 5 wins (1987, 1988, 1991, 1992 and 1993)
* 24 Hours Nürburgring; 4 wins (1989 – 1992)
* Spa 24 Hours; 4 wins (1987, 1988, 1990 and 1992)



So I set out on what would surely be a long day around the ring. After all I was setting out on a momentous task. 20 laps around the ring in one day! The day was young, however, as I was up before the sun. So at 4:20 in the morning I fired up my Forza2 and sat down to what was going to be over 275 miles of driving.

As I began, I fired up some Bob Marley on the PC for some driving music. I simply cannot drive without some good tunes to mix with the sounds of my engine and brakes and tires. With the music now pouring out of my speakers; I was now able to sit back and start cruising. The first lap went of without to much trouble as I began to warm up. Taking the corners with a decent pace, but not blistering, I Felt the car and I were instantly bonded. I could feel the grip on the road and easily made short work of my first two laps.

Lap three, however was another story. As I was heading down the first set of S-curves I went in a bit too hot and lost control. fortunately, I didn't hit any walls. I merely spun around a couple times. After almost releasing my bladder, I gathered my wits and put the car back, rightly, on the track. The rest of the lap went on without incident.

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Laps 4-8(94-98) went pretty smooth. This was mainly due to the fact that I was now driving with a bit more trepidation; thanks to the spill on lap three.

Lap 9 (99) I decided at this point that I was going to try to pick up the pace again. So I began to increase my pace just a bit. Fortunately, I was spared another crash. and I also increased my lap time from the lower mid 8:30 minute mark to to an 8:17.



Laps 10-13(100-103). As my Bob Marley CD wound down and my Frank Zappa kicked in; I began what I can only describe as sort of a "trip" I completely zoned out. I can only vaguely remember even going around the track during this time as my mind was lost in a myriad of sound that came from "Frank Zappa's Night at the Roxbury" I found myself comparing the complexity of Frank's music to the complexity of this amazing M3. Sure none of the comparisons I was making in my mind would make much of any sense to anyone here... but I thought them just the same. If you ever drive this car around the Ring while listening to "Penguin in bondage" you'll know what I mean.

Laps 14-15.(104-105)
After lap 13 I pulled over for a few minutes to take a stretch. After all I had just driven 179 miles already. I had, after all, been driving for almost 2 hours straight. So I stretched the legs and had a little 420 to get my mind back into gear. For those of you that don't know what 420 is... well, you'll just have to figure that one out on your own. Then I proceeded to slowly cruise my way around these two laps.


Laps 16-19(106-109)
With a good buzz now going I thought I was flying. The key word here being thought. because after looking at my lap time for the 16th I realized that I was going a lot slower than I had thought. My lap time had dropped to a 8:45! What the hell was I doing? I wsa almost a half minute off my pace! So I set myself into concentration mode again and pushed the car as I had in the previous laps. This went pretty well as I had an 8:20 on lap 18. But then disaster struck! Coming in to the first carousel I turned in just a touch too late and the car jumped out of the bowl and flew straight into the barrier. I was ok but the car had to be taken into the pits.

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After what seemed like an eternity, the car was fixed and running enough for me yo finish my laps for the day. After all, I only had one lap to go. Unfortunately, the car had had its best laps already come to pass. I got around in a decent time 8:23, but was far from my best time of the day.


So there I was finished a twenty lap stint with the 2002 BMW M3 GTR and I must say that this car is a real one of a kind sports coupe. It performs much better than even the number indicated. If you ever wanted a car that can stand with the best; this is that car.

Thanks for stopping by this week, We hope you have enjoyed today's episode and we hope that you'll check back next week.

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