1979 BMW 323i at Riverside (May 1989)

Between turns 5 and 6A

Riverside International Raceway (RIR) opened in 1957 and became famous, both for its speed and driving challenges and for its appearance in many movies due to its proximity to Hollywood. Riverside's last race was held in 1988 but it remained open for car-club events until early July 1989.

I was fortunate enough to drive Riverside at a BMW ACA track weekend just two months before it closed. I lived in Los Alamos, New Mexico at the time and made the 928-mile pilgrimage the day before, in 12 hours flat.

Although Riverside was only 2.62 miles long it started with a series of fast, gentle turns, and had a long, straight, downhill run along the back side, which made for a very fast track. Although regarded as dangerous it was perfect for a BMW that was built for the autobahn and was happier at high speeds than on twisty mountain roads.

1979 BMW 323i (E21)
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