1969 BMW 2002
The story begins in the early 80’s, Andy shows his little brother what a four wheel drift feels like, on PCH with Mike in the back of his 2002tii, the start of our Journey?
Fast forward to 2018 at the Mitty, Mike is running his #38 Datsun Fairlady and he hands Andy a track pass. “You and Roxie are going for a ride”
We hop in my Porsche and go for a couple tour laps. Somehow our tour laps were at full throttle, after Road Atlanta the search for a BMW 2002 race car was inevitable.
Spring 2018 — Andy calls Mike, “I think I found a 2002…”
In the 90’s Jeff Francis and his father Ben bought a 2002 built for SCCA ITB racing.
An SCCA ITB car with “History” you say? No not a past Trans Am car, but…
over 80 races, 37 class wins & track records to this day at Thunderhill, Sears Point and Laguna Seca.
Multiple Championships in not only ITB but ITE as well.
- 2001 Double Championships — Double SCCA Championship for 2001 – Francis Racing’s 2001 season was one for the record books as Fresno-based driver Jeff Francis took hard-fought Championship’s in both “B” and “E” San Francisco Region Improved Touring classes.
- 2002 Season Summary — Winning the 2002 SCCA Improved Touring “B” Championship
- 2004 Season Summary — Francis takes his 4th San Francisco Region Improved Touring “B” Champi-onship, as he drove to 10 victories and set new track records at Infineon Raceway and Thunderhill Raceway….
- 2005 a year of ups and downs — While chalking up five impressive wins, Francis endured a number of unfortunate incidents that derailed his shot at a fifth SCCA championship…
- 2008 Last-to-First Win — May 2008—Another last-to-first win at Mazda Raceway and another track record.
- 2009 Infineon Raceway Win— Victory at Infineon Raceway after a Yearlong Layoff
In 2018, Jeff decided it was time to find his car a new home;
Actually it was “for sale for a few years, but not until 2018 did Jeff find the right buyer
Andy bought the car in May and by late 2018, the car returned to racing with VARA at Willow Springs…
Racing in BSL, the car has been to Cal Speedway, Portland, Sonoma, Laguna Seca and COTA amongst others…
The #07 has been very busy running with SVRA, CSRG and VARA.
In 2021, the car was converted to B Sedan, now with dual sidedrafts, and fresh bodywork.
This 2002 looks forward to continuing its history of racing at a track near you.