Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 8, 2017… For a third consecutive race weekend BMW Team RLL qualified both BMW M6 GTLM racing cars in the first two rows of the uber-competitive IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM class. Bill Auberlen, qualified the No. 25 M6 outside of the front row for tomorrow’s Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. His 1:14.103 minute lap was only .018 seconds behind the pole winning No. 911 Porsche. Auberlen and co-driver Alexander Sims will be racing for a second consecutive victory tomorrow. Martin Tomczyk qualified the No. 24 M6 in the fourth spot with a 1:14.294 minute lap. He will co-drive with John Edwards tomorrow as the duo looks to improve on a season’s-best third place finish. The entire GTLM field was separated by only .819 seconds.
“We expected to be in contention here,” said Neil Fife, BMW Team RLL Race Engineer. “The M6 is quick, well-balanced and solid over a long run. Of course we’d like to be on pole, but we are happy with P2 and P4 – only missing P1 and P3 by the blink of an eye.
Bill Auberlen, driver No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM (P2): “The team has made the M6 better and better. This session was the best so far. I am pleased with the tire selection and the set-up. We won from P2 at Watkins Glen so we just have to do it again.”
Martin Tomczyk, driver No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM (P4): “I am quite happy because I struggled a bit yesterday with my first laps at Mosport. We made the decision that I would run this morning’s practice and qualifying to get more time and I am quite pleased by my recovery and the development we’ve made with the car.”
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix starts at 12:10 p.m. ET Sunday, July 9 with live coverage on FOX Sports 1 beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.
BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 and X3 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 341 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 152 BMW motorcycle retailers, 127 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
The BMW Group
With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 31 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.
In 2016, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.367 million cars and 145,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax was approximately € 9.67 billion on revenues amounting to € 94.16 billion. As of 31 December 2016, the BMW Group had a workforce of 124,729 employees.
The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.