page_title: JPS Team BMW
section_title: 1987
hierarchical_section_title: JPS Team BMW / Group A / 1987
caption_attribution_description: BMW E30 M3 Richards &amp; Longhurst
context_page_description: JPS Team BMW is a former Australian motor racing team that ran from 1981–1987. The team's main focus was touring car racing but also ran in sports sedans and GT cars as well. The team, under the management of former British Touring Car Champion and Formula One racer Frank Gardner, was based in Sydney and completed almost all of their testing at the old Amaroo Park circuit with Gardner himself doing most of the test miles in the various BMW's the team raced.
context_section_description: 1987 saw the old 635 CSi finally retired as BMW's flagship touring car racer. It was replaced by the BMW M3, which unlike the 635 CSi was much more of a purpose built race car, powered by a high-revving 2.3 litre, 4cyl Formula 2 engine. The team built a total of 6 M3's for a full assault on the 1987 Australian Touring Car Championship for Richards and Longhurst, with Richards marking the M3's world debut by putting the little car on pole for the opening round of the ATCC at Calder Park. The 2.3L M3 was in theory only a middle class car that was built for the longer races of the World and European touring car championships, however due to the combination of the M3's high revving engine (which produced approximately 300 bhp (224 kW; 304 PS)), light weight (940 kg (2,070 lb)), large brakes and superb handling saw it easily match and often beat the outright class cars in 1987.
  Early on, despite pole for Richards at Calder, and a surprising second at Symmons Plains, a track known as a power circuit thanks to its long, curving back straight, the new M3's hampered by having to use the less sophisticated 325i suspension due to the unavailability of parts from Europe where the car had been in high demand. This changed for Round 6 at Surfers when Richards had a brand new 1987 spec M3. One the one Australian circuit in the series that most resembled the fast, flowing circuits of Europe for which the car was originally built, Richards drove away for an easy win. Although he failed to finish the next race at Sandown due to a rare engine failure after he had damaged the sump in a first lap incident while avoiding an out of control car, this brought him within reach of the Nissan Skyline of young charger Glenn Seton. The ATCC went down to the last race at Oran Park where after a slow Start, Richards moved through the field and after a battle with Seton, emerged victorious and won his second ATCC.
  The team then competed in Australia's end of season endurance events as well as the Australian and New Zealand rounds of the 1987 World Touring Car Championship season. Richards and Longhurst combined to win the Pepsi 250 at Oran Park while repeating their 1985 result by finishing 4th at Bathurst. The team's second M3 was driven by 1986 ATCC winner Robbie Francevic from New Zealand and the team's engine builder who had also driven in the last two rounds of the ATCC, Ludwig Finauer. Francevic & Finauer finished in 5th place at the Sandown 500 and 6th at Bathurst.
  The win in the Pepsi 250 would prove to be the final ever race win for JPS Team BMW. Its first win came when Allan Grice won the opening race of the 1981 AMSCAR series.
  Following the 1987 season team boss Frank Gardner decided to retire from motor racing at the age of 57, although he would make a comeback of sorts in 1988 when he became Team Manager/consultant for Longhurst's newly formed team Tony Longhurst Racing running a Ford Sierra RS500. When Gardner retired he effectively shut down operations of JPS Team BMW. The team assets, including the M3's were then sold to Mobil 1 Racing. Peter Brock's team also took over as the factory supported BMW team in Australia while Jim Richards joined the Mobil 1 team for 1988. By this time however, the M3 was no longer competitive in the shorter sprint races of the ATCC against the high powered Ford Sierra RS500, though consistency and high attrition from the highly strung turbo Fords saw Richards finish fourth in the championship.
  JPS Team BMW is the only team ever to win the Australian Touring Car Championship, the Australian Manufacturers' Championship and Australian Endurance Championship for BMW.
caption: JPS Team BMW M3 of Jim Richards and Tony Longhurst which finished 4th outright and first in class at the 1987 James Hardie 1000. Pictured in 2012
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