Bruce Ponder overall win in Riverside, California 1974

Riverside California, 1973 Still with the broadspeed development frontspoiler

The BMW Broadspeed 3.0 CSL Prototype back at the freshly founded BMW Motorsport GmbH in Munich, presenting the future Iconic BMW Motorsport stripes livery!

The BMW Broadspeed 3.0 CSL Prototype back at the freshly founded BMW Motorsport GmbH in Munich, presenting the future Iconic BMW Motorsport stripes livery!

The BMW Broadspeed 3.0 CSL Prototype back at the freshly founded BMW Motorsport GmbH in Munich, presenting the future Iconic BMW Motorsport stripes livery!

 

 

 

Outside color:

• White
• Green

Identification: Racing numbers: 25, 59

2016 livery: it is beautifully preserved in its #59 Peter Gregg Motorsport livery.

Race:

1. April 16 1972, ETCC Salzburgring [Div.2+3]
   1. Team: Team Broadspeed
   2. Race number: 34
   3. Sponsor: Castrol
   4. Pilots: John Fitzpatrick
   5. Result: 3rd (1 lap behind the winner)
   6. Grid: 8th (1:27.000)
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s: handful of 2800CS
2. Aug 5 1973,SCCA Riverside Copa Turismo 1973
   1. Team: Vaser Polak
   2. Race number: 47
   3. Sponsor:
   4. Pilots: Bruce Ponder
   5. Result: 3rd
   6. Grid:
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s:
3. 1973, Willow Springs
   1. Team: Vaser Polak
   2. Race number:
   3. Sponsor:
   4. Pilots: Bruce Ponder
   5. Result: raced
   6. Grid:
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s:
4. 1974, SCCA Riverside [ASR]
   1. Team: Vaser Polak
   2. Race number: 57
   3. Sponsor:
   4. Pilots: Bruce Ponder
   5. Result: 1st
   6. Grid:
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s:
5. 1974, Willow Springs (United States)
   1. Team: Vaser Polak
   2. Race number:
   3. Sponsor:
   4. Pilots: Bruce Ponder
   5. Result: raced
   6. Grid:
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s:
6. 1976, Laguna Seca
   1. Team:
   2. Race number:
   3. Sponsor:
   4. Pilots: Howdy Holmes
   5. Result: raced
   6. Grid:
   7. Tires: Dunlop
   8. Other E9s:

Comments from John Castle in 2021:

For some time I thought I had tracked down one of the two “development” lightweight” CS cars sent to Ralf Broad in 1972 until I was told that both “development” cars were returned to Munich. More recent information from a friend of mine who has owned and raced several ex BMW Motorsport cars is that in fact there was only one car prepared by Broadspeed, VIN 2211343 and this was in early 1972 so that the picture in the advert of the car at the Paul Ricard circuit in 1971 is incorrect.

VIN 2211343 did race at the Salzburgring in 1972 (No 34) and it was then returned to Munich and with the development engine removed it was sold on and has been raced in various states of development, including as a Batmobile, as shown in the other pictures.

There in fact was only one true “development car” 2211343. In 1972 the franchise to import BMW cars was held by BMW Concessionaires (who sold sub-franchises to individual garages who had to agree to a minimal set of service tools, some staff training and buying all their spares through Concessionaires. John Markey was a director of Concessionaires and a very keen racing driver. At some time, in early 1972 (I guess), BMW concessionaires agreed to help BMW AG to get the E9 “lightweight” homologated. The FIA needed proof that BMW AG had produced 1000 “lightweight” Coupe Sport (CSL) and Concessionaires agreed to pre-order 500 CSLs to the City Pack specification (BMW AG also agreed to provide 500 extra 2002 which was in such high demand that Concessionaires had run out of cars to sell to the public. Markey, having placed the pre-order for 500 RHD CSLs realised that the sooner this news was made public to the motoring press the better the sales would be when the car was announced at the Olympia Motor Show in the autumn. So he reached an agreement with BMW AG that they would “loan/send” two lightweight cars to the UK. Markey sent one to Ralph Broad at Broadspeed to develop as an out an out racer, 2211343. BMW also agreed to provide this car with a Paul Roche racing engine developing 332HP and this was the car which raced once at the Saltzburg Ring. 2211347 was given a roll cage by Broadspeed and was road legal with an Alpina engine (I suspect this was B2S version producing a reliable 250 HP. This car was painted orange, with Group 2 arches and some Alpina suspension modifications and was lent to selected journalists to write reviews of the new CSL to be released in the Autumn 1972. It is 2211347 that stayed in storage in the UK until returned to Munich some years later. So the correct answer to the question about development cars is that there was one development car and one demonstrator. I have no evidence that Markey ever raced the orange demonstrator The development car of course led to the Bilstein variable rate suspension of the LHD CSLs and the deep front spoiler. I think BMW added the black fibreglass rear bumper.

It is now possibly being sold by who has been racing it in the Peter Auto Classic series. The other “lightweight” CS was 2211347 used by BMW Concessionaires, painted Orange, to promote the CSL before it was officially launched in the UK on the 10th October 1972. This is the orange car on the cover page of the article I describe below, still on its Austrian import registration plates. Not sure where it is now. By chance Motorsport Magazine did an article on Broadspeed modified cars in July 1972 in which they described in some detail VIN 2211343.  It is also covered in Jeremy Walton’s book “Unbeatable BMW” pages 227 -229.

Felipe Garcia's comments in 2020: In 1971 before BMW Motorsport was founded and the Ford Capris were dominating the race tracks around Europe, BMW decided to commission Ralph Broad from Broadspeed in England to develop one of the very first 3.0 CSL prototype for the Group 2 racing! The result was one of the first CSL racing prototype built! The car was developed and tested during winter of 1971 and raced with the British racing green Broadspeed livery at the Salzburg Ring in April of 1972 for the European Touring Car Championship. The well known race driver John Fitzpatrick finished the race in 3rd place being the fastest BMW and also the first 3.0 CSL ever crossing a race finish line, in a time when Alpina, Schnitzer and all the other private teams were still racing with cars based on the E9 2800CSs and 3.0 CSs As part of the development program after Salzburgring, Ralph Broad improved the CSL Prototype and tested it in different European race circuits, like Silverstone where even the F1 legend Niki Lauda and the famous ‘Unbeatable BMW’ author, Jeremy Walton, tryed the Broadspeed Prototype for a few laps. J.Walton mention in the test report he made for the Motor Sport Magazin in July 1972 and in several of his books, that Niki Lauda’s reaction after driving the Broadspeed Prototype was “its almost as good as my Formula 2 car!” During that time the BMW Motorsport GmbH in Munich was founded, headed by the former Ford motorsport division manager Jochen Neerpasch and the Broadspeed CSL prototype found its way back home to Munich and became a very important part of the development process of all future racing CSLs. The Broadspeed prototype was the first car with Iconic BMW Motorsport Stripes Livery, the same livery the works CSLs got a few months later. In 1973 the Broadspeed prototype was sold the to US based race team Vasek Polak in California. It was the first CSL in his team and was successfully raced by Bruce Ponder and Howdy Holms. At the beginning it was raced with the same specifications as it left the BMW Motorsport GmbH, but later got installed the period correct fresh homologated Batmobile aerodynamic spoiler kit. After spending more than 25 years in the USA, the Broadspeed Prototype found the way back to Europe in outstanding original condition and until today remains one of the most authentic CSLs in existence. You can still see the different layers of the paint on the car, the period correct stickers and the special development equipment.

2211343 is credited with having the only M38 engine – 2987 cc producing 333 hp with Kugelfisher mechanical fuel injection. It was removed when the car was sold.  

Owners:

1. -> 1997 ->: Vasek Polak
2. Production

Thank you / Credit / Reference:

John Castle

Arthur Porter

Felipe Garcia

https://www.racingsportscars.com/chassis/results/2211343.html

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