BMW has written another chapter in motorsport history in the USA at the finale of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the 1000-mile Petit Le Mans, at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia. BMW Team RLL won a second consecutive manufacturers’ championship in the GT class to complete a 2011 hat-trick of titles. The drivers’ and team championships had already been secured two weeks ago with one race still to go. The last time BMW achieved this feat was in 2001 with the BMW M3 GTR. BMW only returned to the ALMS with the BMW M3 GT in 2009.
After a thrilling race, Dirk Werner (DE), Bill Auberlen (US) and Augusto Farfus (BR) ultimately achieved a third place finish, completing 367 laps around the 2.54-mile circuit. After an incident with a slower car in the closing stages of the race caused two pit stops to repair the damage, their teammates Dirk Müller (DE), Joey Hand (US) and Andy Priaulx (GB) finished the race in ninth place. At least one BMW M3 GT finished on the podium in every single race this season. Dirk Müller and Joey Hand secured first place in the drivers’ championship, ahead of Oliver Gavin and Jan Magnussen (Corvette). Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen (US) finished third overall. BMW Team RLL clinched victory in the team competition, ahead of Corvette Racing. In the Manufacturers’ Championship, BMW finished ahead of Porsche.
With this strong result, the BMW drivers scored valuable points for two championships. The 1000 mile race at the roller coaster Road Atlanta circuit not only counts towards the American Le Mans Series, but also the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.
“The entire team deserves a huge compliment. Everyone involved on both sides of the Atlantic have been justly rewarded for their tireless efforts”, said BMW Motorsport Director Jens Marquardt. “To celebrate this kind of success in one of the toughest racing series in the GT class is a fantastic result. Throughout the season, the key to this success was excellent drivers, a very low error rate, a team working in almost perfect harmony, our strong tire partner Dunlop – and the BMW M3 GT, of course. Our engineers really raised the bar in GT racing with this car this year.”
Ludwig Willisch, President of BMW of North America, added: “Congratulations to everyone at BMW Team RLL. To achieve an excellent result like this with the BMW M3 GT in one of the most prestigious GT racing series in North America is simply fantastic. We can all be proud of this achievement. More BMW M cars are sold in the USA than anywhere else in the world, underlining the importance of this success.”
Source : BMW Motorsport