In this edition of Krunching Gears—The Rally Podcast, we chat with Mats van den Brand, who specialises in building and preparing BMW M3 rally cars according to FIA historic rally specifications. 

Mats is based in the Netherlands, and both Mats and his beautifully prepared cars are becoming a regular feature of Irish rallying.  

The BMW M3 E30 is an iconic rally car developed by Prodrive. It first graced the stages in 1987 in the hands of Bernard Béguin. He went on to win the WRC round in Corsica that year. 

In Ireland, the M3 dominated the stages during the late 1980s and early 1990s. Its agility made it a perfect match for Ireland’s tight, twisty roads and was notably campaigned by Bertie Fisher, Austin McHale and Andrew Nesbitt.