LIFE ON THE EDGE – E92 BMW M3 (Part 1)

I was fortunate enough last week to get the call from Amy Bell, Brendon Greaves partner, to come up to Barbagallo Raceway in Perth, to be a part of a test session on their new LS-powered E92 BMW M3 Drift car.

The machine has been under a comprehensive build by Brendon and a team of loyal mates at his home workshop over the last year, and this would be only the fourth time the car has seen a racing surface.

Checkout this cool time lapse video of the build

The tuning session last week was to get the car sorted a little more before Brendon and Amy pack the car up and head over the WTAC in Sydney next month for a massive debut.

Brendon was only allocated one hour of practice and shared the track with 3 other drivers, so he had to make the most of his time.

Chay and Jackie from Stance Royalty met me up there to do some film work whilst I concentrated on the stills and talking shit.

I didn’t plan on capturing much up there as we have a ‘proper’ shoot planned for the car next week before it heads off. Fingers crossed we get some special stuff then.

Even though it was a short session, Brendon and the team still treat the day like it is a proper event and the guys are utmost professionals and certainly know what they are doing. I did my best to stay out of the way as Brendon went through his laptop checking the tune and the other blokes got the car ‘track ready’.

I will go into much more detail about the car (with some extensive photos of the engine bay and all the good stuff) in Part 2, but so you know a little bit about the car now, it is powered by a Penrite-lubricated, 7.0-litre LS motor with an RHS block and a GTX45 turbo adding the boost.

Mounted behind that is an Albins ST6 6-speed sequential box with an Extreme twin plate clutch, which sends the power rearwards towards the Winters quick change. Shannon Summers from Tune Corp has played an integral role in the development of the engine package and will  be involved all season.

Under the car is a complete suspension set up by Feal Suspension with a set of  custom coil overs taking pride of place.

With the car about to hit the track, Amy threw me a helmet and told me I was getting in! I wasn’t planning on going for a ride but when the offer was there, it would be rude to say no right?

Well, I was expecting Brendon to go easy, seeing as it is a new car – I was wrong. He belted the poor thing, even tearing the bumper off on our second lap! The car killed the tyres with ease.

The power delivery was incredible, when Brendon mashed the pedal, the car reacted instantly with a heap of lowdown, linear power. It was awesome. The speed and the feel of the car on the track was so, so, very impressive. I couldn’t help but have a good time! Never once feeling unsafe or in danger.  I knew that Brendon is a pro and he was in total control.

The car handles so well, it is stable and strong and went everywhere Brendon pointed it. The boys have done an awesome job with the construction of the vehicle. You just know it is top notch from the top to the bottom.

I can’t wait to see what he is like once he has had some more time with the car and is 100% comfortable with the package. Now that will be something else!

Thanks to Brendon and Amy for letting me and the Stance Royalty boys be a part of their automotive experience!

Make sure you keep and eye out for Part 2 of the article where I will have a heap of images and details on the build.

In the meantime, go and jump on the team’s Facebook page to keep up to date with what they are doing.

https://www.facebook.com/Brendongreavesdrift/

Here are some horrible iPhone videos I took of my experience. The one thing I do, is soak up the drive. I am pointing the camera away from me and not looking at the screen. I live in the moment when I am inside a car and I respect the driver and feel privileged to be on board with the them so I wouldn’t dare stare at the scene unfolding before me through a screen!

*CLICK HD ON THE VIDEOS GUYS*