BMW RACE DRIVER SERIES: PREVIEW

Close racing, passion, camaraderie, and adrenaline, this is what makes the BMW Race Driver Series so successful

Started in 2006 by a group of enthusiastic members of the BMW Car Club of NZ, the idea was to organise and promote a series that was relatively low in cost and would result in fast, action-packed door-to-door racing.

Fast forward to their 13th season and the BMW Race Driver Series is the largest single-make series in New Zealand, with over 100 members and averaging over 70 cars per round. From road legal E30s to full-blown track dedicated open class machines, the series caters for multiple classes of BMW race cars.

Nikolas Gladiadis has raced in the series since the 2007-08 season and has been involved with the series committee for the last few years.

“The big selling point of our series is you can come to learn how to race cars and gain some experience,” says Nik. “It’s a series that you can do on a shoestring if you wish, and still have a lot of fun. If you’ve got the desire, then you can go racing with us and you’ll be around a good bunch of people who enjoy finding ways to go quicker.”

“Our E30 series is controlled racing aimed at driver development and driver skill. For those that wish to go faster still, we have our 2-litre open class and our full open class is for those that want to push the limits to the max.”

“We’ve managed to retain a car club culture where we value friendship over winning. For the majority of the drivers, the competition comes second to the social aspect and the joy of seeing everybody improve and go quicker. Often your nearest competitor is the first person who will help you out if you’ve got a problem. We want our members to pull their car off the trailer, go racing and put it back on the trailer at the end of the day with only some wear and tear to their tyres and brakes. This is where I come to have fun, to continue to learn and to enjoy my motorsport.”

There will be a combined grid for the onehour race at the Hampton Downs 500.

“We’ve been to other big events,” says Nik. “We’ve supported the Toyota Racing Series before, but this will be the biggest event we’ve raced at.”

The big selling point of our series is you can come to learn how to race cars and gain some experience