One to Buy: ex-Roberto Ravaglia / Schnitzer Motorsport 1990 BMW E30 M3 Gr.A
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Among the litany of machines that contested Group A Touring Car championships between the early 1980s and early 1990s, perhaps the most successful was BMW’s E30-based M3.
Despite having been created to race in the Division 2 category for cars with engines of less than 2.5-litres, the M3 frequently outpaced Ford’s turbocharged Division 1 Sierra Cosworth on account of its superior chassis dynamics, lighter weight and a driver roster that included some of the finest names in the business.
Following a successful debut season in 1987, BMW went on to scoop myriad international and domestic Touring Car titles during the next few years, several of which were scored in the prestigious Italian series which for 1990 was renamed the Campianato Italiano Superturismo.
That season, Roberto Ravaglia recorded seven wins from 20 outings driving a Schnitzer-prepared M3 Sport Evolution as he swept to BMW’s third Italian title in four years.
Currently on offer with Duncan Hamilton ROFGO is Roberto Ravaglia’s very machine from that 1990 campaign: chassis M3/1-154.
Thanks to a trio of wins at Monza, a brace at Imola and single victories at Varano and Misano, Ravaglia accrued 264 points during the 1990 season and secured the title in dominant fashion having scored 124 more than his Schnitzer team-mate and championship runner-up, Emanuele Pirro.
After its successful 1990 campaign (which also included an outing at the season-ending Macau Guia street race), chassis M3/1-154 was sold to Thierry Tassin who used it in the Belgian Procar series between 1991 and ‘92.
Today this significant piece of BMW Motorsport history is presented in superb condition fresh from a recent restoration by marque expert, Christian Löhr.
