More drivers join the growing ranks of BMW M3 historic rallying competitors

British rally drivers Rob Smith and Will Onions have joined the growing ranks of competitors opting for the BMW M3 as their weapon of choice for historic rallying.

Friends and rivals Smith and Onions are stepping up from Ford Escort Mk2s with a pair of M3s from the Dutch MATS BV organisation, which is renowned for building period Group A specification M3 rally cars and has now produced around 50 examples.

Smith and Onions have their focus on asphalt rallying, recognising that the M3 is best suited to sealed-surface events, and will tackle a range of major asphalt fixtures this year, starting with last weekend’s Manx Rally.

A big focus for later in the year is the Tour de Corse Historic in early October, an event they have both tackled before and now relish the chance to contest in the M3s.

The five-day rally takes in the notoriously twisty and challenging roads of the island of Corsica and the 2025 event is the 25th anniversary edition. The 380 places on the entry list were taken in just 18 minutes when entries opened recently.

With support from MATS, running an M3 is now a relatively straightforward operation, given that most consumables and spares are available ex-stock. MATS is now building new engines for the cars as well.

The growing popularity of the of the M3 across European asphalt historic rallying is clear. Last November, eight such cars competed on the Killarney Historic Rally in Ireland.

“The M3 is a proper Tarmac car and you can get all you need from MATS,” said Smith.

“It makes a difference when you are running a car like this, because he has most of the parts available in stock.”

The BMWs showed encouraging pace on the Manx Rally before being forced into retirement on the challenging Isle of Man event.

Smith quickly set representative times in the historic category on the opening two special stages of the rally, but a misfire set in on stage three and he retired the car rather than risk any engine damage after a suspected coil failure.

Onions, meanwhile, completed the first leg of the rally but was forced out early on the second leg with a gearbox issue. “There’s just a lot of learning to do,” said Onions.