BMW (factory) will be pulling out of North American Road Racing for one year to develop/release the new M3 based on the E90 chasiis in 2007 (projected). In the meantime, privateer teams with E46 M3s will continue the charge in Grand Am and ALMS.
Source: http://www.speedtv.com/articles/auto/autoindustry/30990/
So, how does that = no more M?
i thought Skunk told u something he didnt tell me…that sux for that one year
I don’t think it will “suck”, PGT has a lot of experience with these cars, so they should be fine. I don’t know how much factory input was in play though, and I’m not sure what kind of support the other teams with M3s were getting.
It’s not a matter if the factory team interacts with the independant teams. It’s the fact that the factory is actually interested in racing and it makes into the bottom line of their cars.
Chevy is the winningest brand in NASCAR, and that shit sure as hell doesn’t make it to the production line.
As far as BMW not producing the ///M for a year, it’s all part of the ebb and tide. No big deal considering the new 335 is making more power* (and is faster in some respects) than the previous ///M and overall the dynamics of the chasis and suspension will remain, for the most part, the same within the E90 platform.
Eh, they arent competitive since they stopped cheating anyway.
hahaha here we go! 
uh oh…let’s hear it LOL
Well, they never homogated the M3 GTR anyway, so ALMS told them to piss off due to pressure from Porsche. Which to be honest, makes perfect sense. The GT3 RSR/Cups were being detuned by ALMS by 1000rpm and had to lose 5 gallons of fuel, and were being dominated by a car that was never homologated and only had 7 road going versions built (which even those were a joke and nothing like the M3 GTR). So in essence, BMW was cheating. They cannot be competitive with the current S54B34 in the current e46 chassis.
I suspect we will see a factory team back in the form of the Z4 Coupe Racer or the new M3 (if it has a V8).
Wow they had 7 road versions? I didn’t know that. I thought they kept promising to homogate and just “never got around to it” 
. That V8 was something else though.
The Z4 Coupe Racer does look promising, from what I have seen. I’m not sure the factory will race it though. I think they will try to market teh Z4 Racer to privateer groups, and still run the regular M3 (whatever it will be) for ALMS, LeMans, FIA, etc. etc. When I watched the BMW special on Speed, Thiesen kept harping about the Z4’s comparative low cost for race teams which leads me to believe that the factory won’t go with the Z4 as their race car of choice.
7 Road versions, and hey, they are all in Dubai IIRC.
I wish I was a Sheik sometimes.