At the American Le Mans Series season finale in Road Atlanta (US), the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team scored enough points to secure the titles in the GT Manufacturer and Team classifications. Dirk Werner (DE), Bill Auberlen (US) and Tommy Milner (US) completed a total of 354 laps at the 13th annual “Petit Le Mans” in the no. 92 BMW M3 GT2, finishing fourth in the GT category. Their team-mates, Andy Priaulx (GB), Dirk Müller (DE) and Joey Hand (US), came 13th following technical problems in the early stage of the race.
In a dramatic final phase, Corvette’s Jan Magnussen (DK), Olivier Gavin (GB) and Emmanuel Collard (FR) took over the lead and kept it, after the leading Ferrari retired with just a few corners to go. The race was ultimately decided on fuel efficiency, and the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team was awarded the Michelin GreenX Challenge GT race win for the best combination of performance and efficiency as a result.
The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team boasts an impressive tally in the 2010 season, celebrating one victory in Road America (US) and finishing on the podium with at least one car after eight of nine ALMS races. Crucial for the successful outcome of the team’s second season was the close partnership with Dunlop, allowing the engineers to optimise the way the car and tyres worked together so the full potential of the overall package could be maximised.
“All it takes is one point,” quipped a happy Bobby Rahal, Team Principal, after the race. “If anyone doubted there isn’t drama in motor racing… just look at this GT2 class this season. I think we showed we belong in endurance racing. We're really excited now to come back next year, because the competition will be even better.”
Martin Birkmann, BMW NA Motorsport Manager, reflected, “Tonight I can say we’ve done almost everything we set out to do when we put the program together, and we dedicate this Manufacturer Championship to the memory of our dear friend, Jack Pitney.”
For BMW it’s the first taste of ALMS title glory since 2001. Then Jörg Müller (DE) won the GT drivers’ crown, while BMW also triumphed in the manufacturer and team standings. The “Petit Le Mans” not just concluded the 2010 ALMS season, but was also the second round of the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup. At the ILMC finale in Zhuhai (CN) on 7th November it will be BMW Team Schnitzer again that is in charge of the BMW M3 GT2 car.
