Buy a Spa-Winning 1981 BMW 530i Competition Saloon
Images: Bonhams
This 1981 BMW 530i Competition Saloon has a class win in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps under its belt, kicked off a seventeen-year partnership between Bastos and BMW, and is heading to auction at Bonhams’ Spa Classic sale.
Back in 1977, Juma won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with a purpose-built BMW 530i driven by Eddy Joosen and Jean-Claude Andruet. They would try again in ’78, ’79 and ’80, building new cars each year, until a final attempt in 1981 before Group A regulations came in.
This car, JUMA 1025, was the car they built for that 1981 race. They were backed by Bastos, with Eddy Joosen back in the drivers seat, joined again by Jean-Claude Andruet and Dirk Vermeersch taking the third shift.
The team settled in as favourites for the race thanks to Juma’s racing development skills and the 530i’s impressive handling and braking. And they set out to match that pace, leading the night shift comfortably.
Early in the morning Dirk Vermeersche missed the ‘Bus Stop’ and chose not to follow a marshal’s instructions as he took the escape road, leading to his exclusion for the rest of the race. Joosen and Andruet were left to finish the race by themselves, but continued on unabated, maintaining the lead until a broken rocker arm in the closing stages of the race sent them for a long pitstop.
They would ultimately bring the car home in second overall, claiming a win in the over 2500cc Class.
Following the 1981 season the car was sold to a privateer who raced it until 1987, when it was put into storage. And that’s where it stayed for two decades!
In 2010 it was treated to an exhaustive restoration completed by LM-Engineering. During the restoration great care was taken to keep it to specification and preserve its period Juma technology.
Under the hood is a 3.5-litre BMW M30 engine that puts out some 295 horsepower with triple Weber carbies. The roll cage and fuel cell have been replaced to meet FIA regulations, while everything else is ship shape and ready to race.
The car looks stunning finished in its period Bastos livery.
Ready to race, with an excellent period history, this machine will be welcome at historic events around the world and looks like a lot of fun! It will go up for sale at Bonhams’ upcoming Spa Classic sale on the 24th of May, 2015. Head to the official Bonhams website here for more information.
Images via Bonhams
