The popular E46 generation of BMWs has been out of production for nearly 20 years, but some of the most memorable BMW M3 race cars from the heart of that era have found new homes, and a renewed fan base, in HSR competition. One of them even came close to pulling off a podium upset earlier this month in the HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour presented by Mission Foods. The popular 2001 No. 90 BMW M3 – better known as “Pinky” – was driven by current owner and veteran HSR competitor Dick York and his co-driver David Russell, the M3’s original owner who campaigned the bright Bimmer in Grand-Am Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport (GS) in the 2000s.
“It was a near perfect weekend,” Russell said. “Dick had a personal best in the car, and he continued to progress, progress and progress throughout the race. Morning, afternoon, or night, it really didn’t matter, which was super rewarding for me to see him reach that type of accomplishment. A lot of good drivers drove this car, and in the 2008 GS race on Rolex 24 weekend I am pretty sure Jeff Segal qualified on the outside front row. It still drives just like it did in the day, and it’s really a proper production historic car in its truest form. We owned it on my team Automatic Racing from 2005, and Dick purchased it from Automatic about four years ago.”
Running in Classic 24 Group B, Pinky never ran lower than sixth in the 16-car field the entire race. York and Russell hit the top five after Round 3 and went into Sunday morning’s final segment on the same lap as the fourth-place Heritage Racing 1974 No. 82 Porsche 911 IROC of Damon DeSantis and David Hinton. The duo was just a lap behind a stout top three that included HSR Classic race winners Todd Treffert, Alain Rüede and Kevin Wheeler, all driving much faster GT cars comparable in period to the DeSantis car.
With Russell at the wheel for the finish, Pinky and the IROC No. 82 advanced to P4 and P3, respectively, when Rüede opted out of the final, which was run in cold and damp conditions. From there, a BMW vs. Porsche fight was on to the finish, with Pinky coming up just over 20 seconds shy of a trip to victory lane.
“We were pushing there at the end in the wet, and the car is quite good in those conditions,” Russell said. “It is very straightforward to drive in the wet, so it probably had a nice little advantage there over the other guys. I thoroughly enjoyed battling against Damon and David. It’s always a good rivalry, and it’s a good friendship, so that makes it even more fun. Pinky has always been a big fan favorite. It’s fun driving a piece of history, particularly at a great event like the HSR Classic Daytona 24 Hour, which is my all-time favorite vintage historic race to do.”
Next up on the HSR schedule is the season-ending HSR Sebring Pistons and Props, presented by the Alan Jay Automotive Network, December 4 – 7.
