An E30 M3’s Road To Vintage Victory At One Lap Of America

Oct 14, 2023

A home-built S54-swapped 1988 E30 M3 took top honors in the Vintage Class of the 2022 Tire Rack One Lap of America. This particular first-generation M3, equipped with a third-generation M3 drivetrain, was piloted by its creator, Mike D’Abreu, and One Lap veteran and co-driver Neil Simon. In addition to finishing first in the Vintage Class, this team, named "Old & Slo" (because that's what's on the car's vanity plate), finished eighteenth overall in a field of over 80 entrants—some with factory backing and sponsorship. Pretty cool, right?!

The license plate says OLD&SLO. It is old, but certainly not slow. [Mike Bevels]

How did this particular E30 M3 come to achieve such greatness?

Mike D’Abreu also owns a Euro-spec AVUS Blue E36 M3. [Mike Bevels]

Before we learn how Mike D’Abreu gave it a new lease on life, it's story time again. The E30 M3 wasn't D’Abreu's first BMW, or even his first M3; those titles were taken by a 1993 AVUS Blue Euro-spec E36 M3 powered with a S50B30 engine—the one Jason Camisa said not to buy in favor of the less expensive U.S.-based S52—which Mike still owns today. He says, "I treated it like a Cars & Coffee car, washed it every weekend, and didn't want to get any dirt on it." That held true until D’Abreu signed up for his first autocross. He recalls, "That's when I met Joey Gill—now one of my good friends—who convinced me to go to my first track event. Like most people that age, I already thought I was a good driver; I thought the track was too dangerous, and I loved my car too much for something to happen to it."

The Euro-spec S50B30 engine is racier than the U.S. version. [Mike Bevels]

D’Abreu jumped into that new world with both feet, attending as many track events as he could—and quickly becoming an instructor, which helped with his development and provided free track time. From not wanting to get his E36 M3 dirty to not washing it at all, the track bug had bitten him hard.

The AVUS Blue E36 is for cruising. [Mike Bevels]

These skills certainly came in handy later.

D’Abreu had transitioned from autocross to track, student to instructor, and his next transition was into racing. But he wasn't going to race his Euro E36 M3—"You shouldn't track a car that you’re not willing to walk away from," he says. "Looking ahead, I saw that the Spec E36 class was coming up and wanted to race in it, so, I bought a 220,000-mile E36 325i. I stripped it out, prepped it for the track, and went up and down the East Coast driving on different tracks, which really accelerated my learning curve."

Once D’Abreu was running the same lap times as top Spec E36 drivers, he entered competition school the following season, set up his car for NASA Spec 3 regulations, and entered the NASA Spec 3 class, where he competed successfully for a number of years.

Mike D’Abreu takes to the track in Nashville. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

The One Lap winner poses for one last photo shoot before the decals come off. [Mike Bevels]

For those not familiar with M GmbH's ultimate naturally aspirated six, the S54 is the 3.2-liter inline six that was factory-delivered in the E46 M3, the final run of the Z3 M coupe and roadster, and the Z4 M roadster. In stock form it produced 333 horsepower, and it sings a wicked song. As you can imagine, it turns a lightweight E30 M3 chassis into a rocket ship.

D’Abreu on track in his Spec 3 E36 (front). [Photo courtesy of Mike D’Abreu.]

The S54 fits like a glove—a tight glove. [Mike Bevels]

During a break, a number of people, including Simon, gathered around D’Abreu's E30 M3 creation in the paddock. Simon said, "You need to do One Lap in this car next year."

Neil Simon (left) and Mike D’Abreu stand next to their 2022 One Lap of America E30 M3. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

The M3 cools off on the wet skid pad at Tire Rack's facility. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

Neil Simon and Woody Hair pose with Simon's Z3 M coupe. [Neil Simon]

The M3 takes a turn at Barber Motorsports Park. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

The M3 displays its tire-shredding abilities on the dry skidpad. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

The poised chassis handles an autocross session during One Lap of America. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

He adds, "That's part of the One Lap experience: All of the competitors do whatever it takes to keep everyone going and on the road. So we soldiered on—the car was fantastic, and Mike and I had a wonderful time together." Both D’Abreu and Simon agree that this camaraderie exemplifies the spirit of One Lap.

The M3 undergoes a subframe repair by Scott Donaghue of Late Entry Motorsports in Kansas City, Kansas. [Neil Simon]

"Mike was a little out of control with Buc-ee's," Simon laughs.

"Buc-ee's is like a Wawa or Sheetz on steroids," explains D’Abreu. "It's really good food, really good snacks, really good bathrooms, and a huge gas station. It's absurd! Some people are really obsessed with it, and apparently I became one of those people."

Mike D’Abreu finds his happy place. [Neil Simon]

Reflecting on their E30 M3 chariot for the week, he adds, "It's a wonderful car—an E30 M3 with an S54 is just a beast on track. The purists may not like it, but it's just a sweet setup. Mike had the suspension really dialed in with some high-end Ohlins, and it sure worked well. It was a wonderful One Lap car—just comfortable enough for the transits with a lovely interior, which Mike had redone in new leather. But, wow, it's quick on track!"

The M3 blasts down the straight in Nashville. [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

Mike D’Abreu (left) and Neil Simon accept their Vintage Class trophy from Brock Yates, Jr. (center). [Photograph by Driftpoint Media]

But that's where the similarities end.

D’Abreu's E30 M3 is raw, sharp, loud, grippy, and above all else, it's fast—scary fast. And it's solid. It had to be, to survive a week of driving 4,100 miles across the U.S. and successfully competing at ten timed driving events interspersed throughout.

After driving D’Abreu's E30 M3, I remember getting back into my own E30 to drive home and thinking, "Did something break? The gas pedal doesn't seem to be doing anything! Is the engine even on?!"

Mike D’Abreu's M3 has nearly three times the power of my 318iS. [Mike Bevels]

Why a wagon? Well, why not? D’Abreu says, "I love wagons in general, but I really love the E61. I think building something unique like an E61 that could be fast—I’m not sure if it will be—would be really cool. It's the perfect One Lap car with tons of space, so you can buy as much Buc-ee's as you want, take tons of spares, and it's comfortable. My M2 CS weighed 3,650 pounds with me in it. I think I can get this wagon lighter than that, with more power for One Lap."

Congratulations on a successful One Lap! [Mike Bevels]

Oh, and for those interested in competing in One Lap of America, Simon left me with some advice. "One Lap is on lots of people's bucket lists," he says. "There's never going to be a good time to do it, so just sign up!"—Mike Bevels