BMW has announced that the legendary M1 Procar series will return for a one-time curtain call in support of the upcoming German Grand Prix at Hockenheim on July 19-20. The series originally ran in fields of 20 in support of the 1979 and 1980 European Grands Prix. Fifteen young aspiring drivers would face off against the five fastest F1 drivers from that Friday's practice session in homologated M1s. The only mid-engined BMW sportscar was originally unveiled thirty years ago and retains a cult status among enthusiasts, to which BMW recently paid tribute to with the M1 Homage.
According to BMW Motorsport director Mario Theissen – also head of the BMW Sauber F1 team – "Just a mention of the M1 Procar series today still triggers an enthusiastic reaction. This revival serves as a thank you to the fans." This year's revival will feature many of the original drivers who campaigned the M1s in the original Procar series, including Jacques Laffite, Christian Danner, Marc Surer, Dieter Quester, Harald Grohs, Prince Leopold of Bavaria, Jochen Neerpasch, and Frank Stella. Follow the jump for the full press release, and check out the images in the galleries below for a trip down memory pit-lane.
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. A BMW dealer near my home town has got one, in white but unfortunately it's not the procar version but the standard one. I hope a video will be made of that race, so whoever will attend the german GP, hint, hint 
) car!
