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      05-15-2011, 09:20 PM   #22
m6pwr
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Drives: '14 335i M sport
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Don't know what French race this was. I don't think it is on the FIA GT3 calendar nor is this Alpina team listed, but no matter. The first FIA GT3 race of the 2011 season took place recently in Portugal and the Z4 GT3 teams (there are two, Schubert and a new for 2011 Dutch team) cleaned up, sweeping the podium, finishing 1,2,3.

You can follow the series on the official website - http://gt3europe.com/index.php. The Sunday races are run in two one hour heats. The Z4s won the first heat. You can watch the video of the race (#1) on the web site. I'm not positive but I think under the rules the winning cars are handicapped for the next race by being placed at the back of the grid, so the Z4s didn't do as well in the second heat. The Z4s race against some pretty heavy duty machinery - - V8s, V10s, and V12s - - but they are all "equalized" (primarily thru intake restrictor plates) to around 500 hp plus or minus. Don't how BMW got away with it but the GT3 Z4s are homologated with the V8 out of the e90 M3 - - essentially the same motor I believe as raced in the American Le Mans M3s, good for around 480 hp. It would be more meaningful, to me anyway, if they raced with the N54 motor as in the stock Z4 35i. After all, the GT3 Porsches run the six cylinder boxer with about 430 hp. I think BMW Motorsports could come up with a racing version of the N54 that could be competitive.
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