eam BMW Motorsport experienced a turbulent return to the Le Mans 24 Hours. Lady luck did not necessarily smile on the two BMW M3 GT2s. Car number 78, with Jörg Müller (DE), Augusto Farfus (BR) and Uwe Alzen (DE) alternating at the wheel, completed 320 laps to finish sixth in the LM GT2 class in front of 240,000 spectators.
The BMW M3 GT2 Art Car, designed by American artist Jeff Koons, turned out to be a true fan favourite over the course of the Le Mans week. Dirk Müller (DE) made a good start in car number 79 and was in a promising sixth when he had an accident following a puncture and lost a lot of time in the pits. Andy Priaulx (GB) then also struggled with technical problems. He eventually had to retire at the entrance to the Indianapolis curve shortly after 20:00hrs on Saturday. As a result, Dirk Werner (DE) is still yet to make his racing debut at the “Circuit de la Sarthe”. Victory in the LM GT2 class went to Marc Lieb (DE), Richard Lietz (AT) and Wolf Henzler (DE) in their Porsche 997 GT3 RSR.
While BMW triumphed with the open-top BMW V12 LMR prototype at its last outing in Le Mans in 1999, Team Manager Charly Lamm's team lined up in the GT2 category for the first time at this year's race. The opposition, which included Porsche, Ferrari and Chevrolet, arrived at the 78th running of the event with the advantage of a wealth of experience. In contrast, Team BMW Motorsport had to work hard on the two BMW M3 GT2s in ACO specification, to make progress during the short preparation time.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen said: “The 17th BMW Art Car caused a real stir among fans and media. Everyone in the team enjoyed working with Jeff Koons and it was fascinating to see how his work of art was received in Le Mans. It goes without saying, we hoped this car would see the chequered flag. We were well aware this weekend would represent a major challenge, due to the short preparation period. The BMW M3 GT2 seen in action here differs in many areas from the car that won at the Nürburgring. During qualifying we were still busy working on the car's basic set-up. In addition, it is very difficult to get involved in the fight for the top positions in the strong GT2 category when you then have to cope with incidents in the race, which result in unscheduled pit stops. Despite this, car number 78 had the podium in its sights until four hours from the end of the race. The return of BMW to Le Mans, eleven years after our 1999 overall victory, attracted massive attention.”
The 17th BMW Art Car was one of the highlights of this year's sports car classic. Jeff Koons had travelled to Le Mans with his family to follow the first start by a BMW Art Car at the “Circuit de la Sarthe” since 1979. “This race has been a very invigorating experience for me,” he said. “It’s amazing to see the commitment of all the people involved. This has me really going, as I understand it is something truly special for all the people to be here. It’s unfortunate the BMW M3 GT2 Art Car had to retire early, but it’s part of racing.”
The BMW M3 GT2 is the fifth BMW Art Car to line up at the Le Mans 24 Hours. Works of art created by American artists Alexander Calder, Frank Stella, Roy Lichtenstein and Andy Warhol had already cast their spell on fans in Le Mans in the 1970s. The BMW M1 designed by Warhol finished sixth overall in 1979.
Reactions.
Jörg Müller (Car Number 78):“Le Mans is and always will be a unique event. As a motorsport fan, it is worth coming here for the drivers’ parade alone. I don't think I have ever signed as many autographs as I did on Friday. In the short time available to us with our car in this specification, we were not able to prepare perfectly for the peculiarities of this circuit. On top of that, we were unlucky during the race. Despite that, our team deserves great praise. Everyone continued to work consistently and refused to let the setbacks get them down.”
Augusto Farfus (Car Number 78):“Our car is still very new in this specification. That is why we struggled with numerous teething problems over the course of this demanding race. However, the team never got down and always kept fighting. We were even within reach of a podium finish until the problems with the drive shaft delivered another blow. Despite our difficulties, I really enjoyed my debut in Le Mans. I now have some idea about just how big this event really is.”
Uwe Alzen (Car Number 78):“I am disappointed we were not rewarded for our hard work. We had the podium in our sights towards the end of the race, but then we suffered a setback with a technical problem. But that’s racing. Just like our victory at the Nürburgring, it was great fun working with this team. The atmosphere is superb. I think the spectators witnessed another amazing race here in Le Mans.”
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DRIVER QUOTES:
DAVID BRABHAM"Obviously everyone is disappointed in the end result but we can't put our heads down too much because this is the first time the team has been to Le Mans. "It is a very tough event but the team showed how serious Highcroft Racing is. We ran in the top two throughout the entire race and it was a very good effort overall."Unfortunately, we had a problem towards the end but the team has learned a hell of a lot."The positive aspect from everything is the team will look at the overall experience - preparing for the race, getting here and what happened during the race. The good thing about Highcroft Racing is they are not frightened to look at how they can improve."You can't gain experience at Le Mans without coming here, so I think the team will learn a lot from this week."The entire team and my teammates did an exceptional job. Marino and Marco were outstanding through the night and we were getting set to really start putting the pressure on before the problem struck."
MARINO FRANCHITTI"It has been a fantastic experience for the entire Highcroft crew. We've learned a huge amount as a group and there is a lot of pride in the way the team performed."The team were outside of their comfort zone for their first attempt at Le Mans - I think the guys did an outstanding job."Everything that we could control as a team we did well. Everything that Le Mans could throw at us, it did. In a way, that is good for the future because we can come back better prepared."I really don't think there is anything the team could have done differently, I think the team has performed fantastically."My Le Mans prototype debut was an amazing thrill. Before it went bad this morning we were really flying. The car was right in the zone and everything felt fantastic."I was having a huge amount of fun. It has been a great experience and I have certainly learned a lot and got to the level I want in the prototypes."I'm just disappointed, now I have to wait 12 months to come back and do it again."
MARINO FRANCHITTI"This is not the type of finish we were really looking for. We expected to finish on the podium and challenge for the win."Everything was going well and we were still in second place despite the problems that we had."The additional stops with the punctures put us behind the Strakka car a bit. Our pace at times was very good and we were still in a position to hopefully challenge for victory towards the end."I really enjoyed the car a lot this weekend. In my first stint I was a lot closer to the pace required and it was really nice to enjoy the car."I've had a great time with Highcroft Racing this weekend. It has been a nice week and considering this is a team very new to Le Mans, they did an amazing job."It is a bit of a shame about the finish but I am really proud to be a part of this team."
DUNCAN DAYTON"As we said all along, and it wasn't just a cliche, this race was going to be a huge learning experience for us and we take away hundreds of individual lessons as to how to, and how not to do, Le Mans."From that standpoint it is a very big success. We achieved one of our objectives which was to learn about this race, but didn't make a few of the others which included a class win and a top ten finish.We had a bit of bad luck, but we can't blame it on that. The Strakka guys have executed flawlessly and to a man on the Highcroft team we tip our hats to them."They have done an excellent job and have thoroughly deserved the victory"It can be a cruel sport sometimes. We'll learn our lessons, do our homework and come back and do a better job next time.""The guys at Highcroft really did an amazing job - I am very proud of them and would certainly go into battle with them any day. They faced a huge task in getting everything ready to run this aero package and do this style of pit stop for the first time."They are all extremely dedicated and I am eternally grateful for their efforts and very proud to come to Le Mans with them to fly the Highcroft flag."The drivers also did an incredible performance. The car wasn't easy to drive early in the race but all three guys did a brilliant job and our pace this morning was exceptionally strong and I was looking forward to how the battle could have panned out."
