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➲ Reghard Roets gives his E36 BMW 3-series some series ‘wellie’, while his team mate Steve Wyndham waits to see what happens next!
That was then, this is now…how the lap times of the BMW 3-series has changed
1993 (325iS Evo2)
2008 (E90 330i)
2013 (F30 335i)
Killarney
1:27.338
1:20.420
1:17.008
Kyalami
2:00:98
1:55.719
1:48.124
Aldo Scribante
1:14.12
1:07.530
1:05.855
East London
1:36.75
1:29.943
n/a
Zwartkops
n/a
1:08.172
1:05.692
The rules are the
rules
Within the rules, there is provision to
make cars which would not otherwise be
competitive, ‘raceable’.
Cars campaigned in Bridgestone
Production Cars start life as seriesproduction roads cars, and the reality
is that various areas of their design and
engineering may limit their viability as a
racing car - this is ever more apparent in
modern designs.
So, in order to ensure their participation and
give them the ability to succeed, certain
fundamental changes are entertained.
This takes the form of the series’ SVO, or
Special Vehicle Option, and represents
a permanent deviation from the vehicle’s
original specification. These are considered
in the interest of long-term reliability
and race-worthiness once it has been
ascertained by the controllers that the
vehicle would not be competitive in its
original form.
This is usually based on race and qualifying
results, and extensive and detailed
analysis of performance at various circuits,
including ‘split’ times from corner to corner,
maximum speed achieved, and so on.
A request for an SVO has to be motivated,
justified and approved, and applies to all
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| Wheels in Action
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2014/06/30 10:53 AM
august 2014
cars of that make and model - it isn’t to
favour a specific competitor. The rules
also specify a limited number of SVOs per
season, and importantly, an SVO can be
withdrawn.
For example, both the Ford Focus ST
and the MINI Cooper S had piston and
connecting rod issues and now run nonstandard components. VW had a gearbox
issue, and some years back there was a
concern about the oil pumps on BMW.
The need for an SVO in all these cases
doesn’t imply any kind of inferiority – it
simply means that the racing environment
takes certain components in certain cars
beyond the design parameters.