BMW Motorsport celebrates one-two at ILMC finale in Zhuhai

BMW Motorsport ended the 2011 motorsport season in style with a one-two victory, and now heads into the winter in good spirits. Jörg Müller (DE) and Augusto Farfus (BR) won the GTE class at the final round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup in Zhuhai (CN). The pair in the number 55 BMW M3 GT had already secured pole position for the six-hour race. Their team-mates, Andy Priaulx (GB) and Uwe Alzen (DE), in car number 56 finished runners-up in the GTE class to complete the one-two for BMW Motorsport and BMW Team Schnitzer, who was responsible for running the two BMW M3 GT cars in Zhuhai.

In the GTE Manufacturers’ Championship, BMW ended the 2011 ILMC season in second place behind Ferrari (171 points) on 152 points. BMW Motorsport also finished runner-up in the team competition. The gap to the winning AF Corse team was just seven points (101:108). BMW claimed an impressive eight podium finishes at the seven races held in the 2011 ILMC season. These included a brace of one-twos for the Bavarian manufacturer – at the curtain-raiser in Sebring (US) and now at the finale in Zhuhai.

 Charly Lamm (Team Manager):“The one-two is a great way to end the season. After our win in 2010, we have once again proven that Zhuhai is a happy stomping ground for the BMW M3 GT. The entire weekend ran smoothly for us. The cars were prepared perfectly and the tyres worked well in the warm conditions. The four drivers also did an outstanding job all weekend. Everything fell into place. That is what allowed us to secure the one-two in style, even though the race was not entirely without its difficulties for us. It was another great success for BMW and the team.”

Augusto Farfus (Car number 55):“It is great to end the season on a high. It was nice that we could once again show what we are capable of. I have to thank my team mate Jörg who did a brilliant job all through the weekend, and also BMW. We could have achieved even more results like this during this season, but unfortunately sometimes the luck was not on our side. This weekend everything ran really smoothly and we were able to show the real performance of our M3. A big thank you for this also goes to BMW Team Schnitzer, who once again did a perfect job.”

Jörg Müller (Car number 55): “It was a great weekend – the trip to China was certainly worth the effort! Coming into the weekend we already knew that the circuit suits our M3 and that the tyres work very well here. The race was not entirely without its problems, and we did drop a place. However, we were able to fight our way back to the front and emerge victorious to round off a perfect weekend. To end the season with a win is all you can possibly wish for.”

Andy Priaulx (Car number 56):“I enjoyed that race and what a great way to finish the season. Congratulations to BMW and the team for a great one-two. As usual the car performed perfectly.”

Uwe Alzen (Car number 56):“It was a perfect weekend for BMW. First and second place – it doesn't get better than that. Obviously Andy and I would have liked to have won, and we actually led for a while. However, fortune was not on our side and we dropped back a place. We were able to hold on to second place, and it is always nice to stand on the podium.”


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