BMW 2002 FR

Nov 03, 2020

During a rally in the South-West of France, we fell under the spell of a BMW 323i Alpina. This one belonged to Matthieu Cormier, pilot and BMW dealer in La Rochelle. Our love for old BMWs led us to get back in touch, under the initiative of Victor Sellier (in charge of the marketing of the dealership). When he mentioned the BMW Classic label, recently acquired by BMW H.Cormier, and in particular a BMW 2002 Turbo, we couldn’t resist to find out more. Honestly, the color is properly matched with the Halloween period, isn’t?

INTERVIEW – BILLY mechanic and former drift driver, owner of Motorsport Héritage

Deus Ex Machina: Tell us more about this orange 2002 BMW.

I found it in a garden while passing by. It was taking root. Here, I’m going to make a 2002, first because there was no one, all the guys started on the basis of E30 and more recent ones. There were a few nice 2002s, but not that many, often originals and not customized with a street look like this one. So I went to see the owner, he ended up selling it to me. I had my wife with me and she said: “Wait a minute, I buy it and it’s mine”.

Didn’t you tell her that you wanted to put on a turbo ?

No, at first I just wanted to restore it and put nice little rims on it.

What was the model?

It was a normal 2002 with a carburetor, a 2.0L, but the body was rotten like manure. I remembered that a buddy had kept a 2002 body for at least 20 years. He bought it when he was a minor and took it apart. It was his first car and he never put it back together. The car was in a barn for years. I bought it from him once 15 years ago, I put a 3.0L M3 engine in it and I never finished it. Then, I needed the engine to make a track car, so I took it out and he decided to take the body back. But, he didn’t touch it. When I finally bought the orange 2002, I bought him the 2002 body a second time to put the parts from the orange one on it. Total restoration, naked car body, we took care of it.

The case was clean, but the elements weren’t very beautiful; for example for the doors, I couldn’t find any. It is a little old man, Albert, who shaped the steel sheets by hand. He bought some sheets and made the doors, with: a petanque ball, a hammer, a tube and a cutting torch. Same for the hood and the trunk. Finally, the epoxy paint was redone.

Do you have pictures of the restoration?

To stay in the spirit of the 2002, we decided to put a 318iS four-cylinder, affordable and with a good power-to-price ratio. Then I put the E30’s rear-end and a big front-wheel axle unit and then, it was seriously beyond the fenders.

At what point did it flip over?

It flipped over with the rims, actually. I kept it for 10 years in my garage and one day I was at a friend’s house, there were these rims stacked in a corner and I said to him :

“They’re nice, are they for sale?”

– Yes, here, 200 bucks and you take them away” my friend answered me.

So, I bought them and I put them on an E30 but it doesn’t match very well, it was horrible! Then, I put them on a 2002 body that had the front and rear axle and I thought “Wow!”. I started the restoration. We had to seek parts all over the world (some elements are coming from Germany, China, Peru or the United States), the buddies and at the car dealership.

I decided to make an upgraded 2002. As the wheels exceed the fenders, we switched to a Turbo kit, I thought “I might as well give it the full Turbo look, with the stickers”, then I thought “It’s stupid to have a Turbo and not have a turbo”. So, we went on:

– a custom manifold (that we made)

– a turbo a “little bit” oversized

– programmable engine management (JACOB Sport set it on the bench)

– a six-speed gearbox

– a large flywheel

– reinforced clutch

– large dive axles

– self-locking differential

– big brakes, Ferrari brake callipers (from a 355)

I dug into everything that was cool in the garage. I wanted to keep the spirit of the Turbo with a Phase 1 rear end with round lights and a Phase 2 front end. The rear hood is also normally shorter. It has a lot of little details that, on the Turbo, are different when you know it. So it’s not a real Turbo, it’s a “fake one” but we’ll say it’s a “super Turbo”. there’s not a single cylinder block that’s not new.

What kind of shock absorbers did you put on?

They are threaded handsets: at the rear, it’s custom made, I did like the M3 group A and at the front, it’s E46 handsets.

You do everything, what did you study?

I studied mechanics but nothing to do with that. It’s mostly on the job that I learned. First swap and then it got out of control, I was 17 years old. I didn’t have a driver’s license yet and I had already swapped a Golf 1 GTI.

And a big thanks to:

Billy Motorsport Héritage garage BMW H.CORMIER

Deus photos : Alexandre Taube @taubalex Circuit Photo credits

ENGLISH TEXT BELOW

Sabtu pagi, 17 Juni 2023, menjadi hari yang ditunggu-tunggu oleh 250 peserta reli sepeda motor dan 80 kontestan flat track race di Bali. Itu merupakan acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure keempat yang diselenggarakan oleh komunitas pecinta motor trail vintage yang lebih dari sekadar menggemari motor dual purpose era 80-90-an. Dikenal sebagai Trail Asik Adventurer, AKA… Tasik Adventure yang telah menunggu setahun untuk merencanakan dan mengerjakan nya demi tidak mengecewakan siapapun yang ikut berpartisipasi.

Coba kamu bayangkan , ada dua sisi koin berbeda pada event kali ini. Yang pertama adalah Reli. Mereka memberi nama Challenge "Tantangan", menjadikan setiap peserta sebagai "Penantang" Challenger. Jadi, di tempat parkir Sangeh Monkey Forest, sambil menikmati keteduhan pohon jati raksasa yang awet muda, 250 Penantang parkir untuk menerima kode QR untuk etape pertama rute reli. Seluruh perjalanan adalah 3 etape dengan 3 titik pemberhentian. 4 jika Anda menghitung tujuan.

Ada beberapa motor keren di sana, Honda XR, Yamaha DT, Suzuki TS, Suzuki DR, dan beberapa custom modern, motocross dan scrambler. Sekitar sepuluh atau lebih, mereka berbaris di titik start dan memulai rally dari sana. Misi setiap orang adalah menyelesaikan setiap tahap dan berhenti di 3 titik pemberhentian untuk mendapatkan kode QR untuk bagian berikutnya. Keindahan Bali selalu menjadi pendamping, saat kami terbang di sepanjang kombinasi jalan aspal, jalan pedesaan, dan jalan tanah di daerah Tabanan. Kami perlahan-lahan terbang tinggi dan semakin tinggi ke perbukitan dan pemandangan sawah dan hutan akhirnya habis, sebenarnya lebih seperti perlahan menjadi satu ketika kami sampai di tujuan. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF) yang juga menjadi tempat berkemah semalam. Jika Anda mengumpulkan semua kode QR Anda, Anda mendapat medali Rally sebagai bentuk penghargaan.

Sisi lain dari koin yang disebutkan sebelumnya, atau event kedua, adalah balap jalur datar (flat track). Atau dalam hal ini jalur dengan landasan yang tidak rata karena tempat mereka membangun jalur itu berada di atas tempat yang dulunya terdapat dua sawah terasering. Jadi titik start finish lebih tinggi dari jalur lurus pertama dengan penurunan pada tikungan pertama dan sedikit menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Saat kami masuk ke BOF, kami sudah bisa mendengar suara motor flat track dan sorakan penonton yang berkumpul. Kami parkir dan membuat jalur jalur seperti lebah.

Keseruan seutuhnya pada acara, disaat tingkat kesulitan tambahan dimasukkan ke dalam jadwal sore hari menarik perhatian yang sangat luar biasa. Mereka berhasil menarik sekitar delapan puluh peserta, terbagi dalam 4 kelas: Kelas Mesin Horizontal, Kelas FFA 4T Max 250cc, Kelas FFA 2T Max 250cc Flat Track, dan Kelas FFA Big Bore.

Antusiasme untuk balapan flat track sangat terasa. Kegembiraan tumbuh saat kami melewati babak penyisihan dan membangun sesuatu yang luar biasa untuk final setiap kelas. Tidak ada kata menahan, mereka hadir untuk memenangkannya. Pembalap dari setiap komunitas bersaing sengit di setiap kelas. Nama-nama seperti Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, dan lain-lain tak main-main, sebagian besar dari memamerkan skill mereka tanpa mengesampingkan sportifitas dan keselamatan.

Trek dengan permukaan tanah liat merah keras yang kering memberikan tantangan. Di awal, para pembalap disuguhkan dengan bagian menurun pada tikungan pertama, setelah itu mereka memeras gas di bagian trek lurus sebelum berputar ke kiri lagi tapi kali ini menjadi bagian menanjak pada tikungan kedua. Itu memaksa mereka untuk menggabungkan keterampilan balap trek datar mereka dengan banyak teknik motocross. Pada akhirnya, semua pembalap bersenang-senang dengan debu tanah liat merah yang menutupi segalanya dan semua orang.

Saat matahari terbenam ke arah cakrawala, saudara dan sahabat motoran kami meraih pecahan cahaya terakhir untuk mendirikan tenda mereka dan dalam persiapan untuk berkemah malam. Matahari menghilang di balik Gunung Batukaru memberi semua orang pemandangan yang menakjubkan, tetapi segera menyelimuti kami dengan udara yang jauh lebih sejuk dari dataran tinggi di Baturiti Tabanan ini.

Percakapan tentang rute reli dan balapan flat track mengalir dari pintu tenda semua orang yang berkemah, yang lain membaringkan tubuh mereka yang lelah untuk mengantisipasi perjalanan keesokan harinya, perjalanan yang relatif santai ke Pantai Pasut.

Dengan begitu, acara Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 pun berakhir. Sampai bertemu lagi tahun depan, salam untuk semua penantang, pengalaman yang luar biasa.

Berikut daftar pemenang Kelas Flat Track:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana

Saturday morning, June 17, 2023, was a highly anticipated day for 250 motorcycle rally participants and 80 flat track race contestants in Bali. It was the Fourth Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure event organized by a community of vintage trail motorcycle enthusiasts who love more than fanging about on their dual-purpose motorcycles from the 80s and 90s. Known as the Trail Asik Adventure Community, AKA… Tasik Adventure people had waited a year for the follow up and none were disappointed.

Just so you can get it straight in your head, there’s two very different sides to this coin. The first one was the Rally. They hung it under the banner of “Challenge”, making each partaker a “Challenger”. So, in the carpark of Sangeh Monkey Forest, which enjoys the shade of giant ageless teak trees, 250 Challengers parked up to receive the QR code for the first leg of the rally route. The entire ride was 3 stages with 3 stop points. 4 if you count the destination.

There were some amazing bikes there, Honda XR’s, Yamaha DT’s, Suzuki TS’s, Suzuki DR’s, and some custom modern motocross and scrambler bikes. In lots of ten or so, they lined up at the starting point then let them out for the event. Everyone’s mission was to complete each stage and stop at the 3 stop points to get the QR code for the next bit. Bali’s beauty was the constant companion, as we flew along a combination of asphalt roads, rural roads and dirt tracks in the Tabanan area. We slowly winded up high and higher into the hills and the views of rice fields and forests finally ran out, actually, it was more like blurred into one when we reached our destination. Bali Outbound Farmstay (BOF), which was also to be the overnight camping spot. If you collected all your QR codes you got a Rally medal as a form of appreciation.

The other side of the aforementioned coin, or second event, was the flat track. Or in this case staggered track because where they had built the track it was over a spot that had once held two rice terraces. So the Start finish straight sat higher than the return straight with a drop on the first turn and an uphill bit on the second. As we were pulling into BOF we could already hear the flat track bikes and the assembled crowd cheering. We parked up and made a bee line track side.

What an absolute corker of an event, the added degree of difficulty jammed into the afternoons schedule made for the most marvelous distraction. They’d managed to attract around eighty participants, split over 4 classes: Horizontal Engine Class, FFA 4T Max 250cc Class, Flat Track FFA 2T Max 250cc Class, and FFA Big Bore Class.

The enthusiasm for the flat track races was palpable. The excitement growing as we whittled down through the heats and building to something of a crescendo for the finals of each class. There was no holding back, they were in it to win it. Racers from each community fiercely competed in each class. Names like Maulana Sandi, Dewa Dimas, Harris Manasi Ride, Nova Rider Sing Mebekel, Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel, Bontok Giga MX, and others were letting nothing slip, flaunting their skills without compromising sportsmanship and safety. Mostly.

The track, with its dry hard red clay surface, presented challenges. Off the start, the racers were presented with a downhill section on the first turn, they hit the gas on the bottom straight before spinning left again but this time into an uphill section on the second turn. It forced them to combine their flat track racing skills with a slew of motocross techniques. In the end, all the racers had fun with the red clay dust lay across everything and everyone.

As the sun dipped towards the horizon, our compadres and accomplices grabbed the last shards of light to set up their tents in readiness for a night of camping. The sun disappeared behind Mount Batukaru affording everyone a magnificent view, but immediately enveloping us in the much cooler air of these high grounds here in Baturiti Tabanan.

Conversations about the rally route and the flat track race flowed out of the tent flaps of all those who camped others bedded their weary bodies down in anticipation for the next day's ride, a comparatively leisurely meander down to Pasut Beach.

With that, the Rally & Camp Tasik Adventure 2023 event came to an end. Until we meet again next year, greetings to all challengers, what an amazing time.

Here is the list of the days winners:

Flat Rack Horizontal Engine Class Winners:
1. Chiko GTT Bali
2. Panduk Pisaga Delodan
3. Andika Monkey Brothers

Flat Rack FFA 4T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Nova Rider Sing Mebekel
2. Ferry Rider Sing Mebekel
3. Bontok Giga MX

Flat Rack FFA 2T Max 250cc Class Winners:
1. Sandi Maulana
2. Dewa Dita
3. Eponk Road Country

Flat Rack FFA Big Bore Class Winners:
1. Dewa Dimas
2. Haris Manasi Ride
3. Sandi Maulana