BMW M3 PRODRIVE ex Tour De Corse
HTP

£POA

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Our BMW M3 Rallye Prodrive chassis P88-015, went to BMW France for François CHATRIOT and Michel PERRIN for the 1988 season. Their first outing was in the French Championship on the Behra Alpine Rally, where they finished second. They then competed in the Tour de Corse, where they finished 4th overall... The pair went on to take 1st place twice in the 1988 Rallye des Garrigues - Languedoc-Roussillon and the 1988 Rallye Alsace-Vosges. Then it was Marc DUEZ and Pierre THIMONIER who took the start of the 1988 Ypres 24 Hours Rally where they finished on the 3rd step of the podium... CHATRIOT / PERRIN were again at the start of the 1988 Critérium des Cévennes which resulted in a retirement due to a transmission problem and a second place on the 1988 Rallye du Var. François CHATRIOT finished 4th overall in the French championship that season, the winners being Didier AURIOL in a Ford and Bernard BEGUIN in an M3... It should be noted that Francois CHATRIOT and Michel PERRIN were French champions in 1989 and 1990 at the wheel of another Group A M3... which just shows how well-born the car was. In 1989, the car changed its livery to "FINA" and took part in the Tour de Corse with the Marc Duez & Alain Lopes, who finished 6th overall. In 1991 P88-015 was bought by Sabir GANY from La Reunion, after a few rallies on the island, he decided to take the step to the French mainland, having enlisted the services of "CARLOS" (famous BMW specialist). Sabir and CARLOS arrived in the Nord Pas de Calais region in 1992/1993, and quickly became the stars of the Nordic public... After an accident in 1994, everything possible was done to bring the car back to French rallying. Sabir and Carlos, with the help of Eric Douart, then a local BMW dealer, did everything they could to restore the car to its former glory. A new body from MATTER (official supplier of BMW body for Prodrive at the time) was fitted to the car's revised mechanicals, and a complete overhaul was carried out. The body was prepared and painted in the Nord (Ets Espace Grand Nord, Eric Douart's Subaru dealership), then brought to a workshop: START (a structure preparing competition vehicles, owned by 3 men, Sabir GANY, CARLOS and Jean-Michel. ...), and it was with a new deco that it started on the special stages of the Béthune rally in 1994. Sabir regularly took the car out on regional, national and international rallies until 1995. He then sold the car to Paul Molon, who sold it to Stephane Pallissier at the end of 1998. Both drivers continued to take the car out on regional and national rallies on a regular basis. It was almost 20 years ago that the current owner bought the car, and in turn entered it mainly in rallies in the North of France. Stored and restored to its 1988 configuration, the car was sporadically used in the Tour de Corse, in 2012 as the forerunner with François CHATRIOT again at the wheel during the Las Vegas Hoppeland national rally, or as a demonstration car during the 2016 Eifel rally.With more than 100 rally starts since 1988, including the famous French Championship and the Tour de Corse, and driven at times by some of the biggest names in the sport, this is a unique opportunity to acquire a piece of rallying history, ready to drive with its valid, up-to-date HTP, and produced in only 11 examples.