“On December 1st, 1985, BMW made their return, albeit an unsuccessful one, to IMSA GTP racing. For the final race of the season, the Eastern 3 Hours of Daytona, BMW entered the March 85G BMW. 11 85Gs were built in total: 8 destined for the GTP series, and 3 built for Nissan’s participation in Group C racing for the World Endurance Championship. Of the 8 that were built for GTP racing, just one went to BMW, and was prepped in a different fashion to its Chevrolet, Porsche, and Buick-powered counterparts. Side-mounted radiators left gaping holes in the sides of the car, and made for alternate aerodynamic characteristics over the others. It was a sight to behold, earning the name of “Donald Duck” due to its unsightly appearance.

The 85G landed itself in the second-place position on the grid with a 1:39.721; however, a failed gearbox would keep driver David Hobbs from finishing the race. It was an ominous hint at the future that lay ahead of the BMW GTP team.

It was clear with the single race from the 85G that the March Chassis and M12 engine combination was a recipe for potential. The 2nd place qualifying lap meant that the car had what it took to win, and as such, BMW went with March once again for the chassis choice. Unsurprisingly, the chassis developed for the 1986 season was justly titled the 86G – a namesake that couldn’t possibly be made more clear. The 86G was born – an 800+ horsepower, carbon fiber honeycomb monocoque chassis, 220+mph demon with an attitude to match.” Borrowed from stanceworks.com.

This pit cart was used by McLaren North America for the 1985-1986 racing season. It was decorated to look like the BMW GTP with the BMW Roundels, Motorsport stripes, M Cart graphics, BBS, and Goodyear stickers. After the race team ended, this cart along with many spare parts and tools ended up at a farm in Upstate New York. In 2024, we were contacted by Christopher Smith who inherited this from his Dad, H. William Smith, who worked for McLaren Engine in the US. Christopher donated this M Cart to our Museum.

After we picked it up from NY, we delivered it to Thunder Bunny Racing. They replaced the six batteries, wiring, and ignition. Four new tires were also installed. Now the Museum will be able to use this M Cart to tow non running cars in and out of the building as well as move supplies outside when we have large events. In addition to this M Cart, we have several BMW GTP bodywork pieces from one of the cars that had been damaged during testing and was too far gone to repair.