BMW Team RLL Looks to Repeat Past Success at Road America with Z4 GTE; Auberlen to Mark 500th Professional Start, Edwards in for Hand
August 5, 2013BMW Team RLL Finishes 7th and 8th at Road America
August 11, 2013Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Aug. 10, 2013 . . . BMW Team RLL will start Sunday’s American Le Mans Series Orion Energy Systems 245 from the seventh and ninth positions in the GT class.
Bill Auberlen qualified the No. 55 BMW Z4 GTE seventh with a 2:04.609 minute lap around the 4.448-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit. He will co-drive with Maxime Martin in tomorrow’s 2.45-hour contest. John Edwards qualified the No. 56 BMW Z4 GTE ninth with a 2:04.630 minute lap. He will co-drive with Dirk Müller, the GT class point leader.
Bill Auberlen, driver No. 55 Z4 GTE – (7th) – “Our team has overachieved in the short races this season, but as evidenced in Mosport and now Road America we just don’t have the top speed to compete on the long straights. You can see the competition come from 30 car lengths back and just roll on by.”
John Edwards, driver No. 56 Z4 GTE – (9th) – “We went a bit quicker than yesterday’s practice session, but we did not have another 1.2 seconds it would have taken to compete for the pole with the Viper. The championship battle is still with Corvette so that will still be our focus tomorrow.”
Qualifying and live streaming of the race can be found on ESPN3.com. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend. The Orion Energy Systems 245 is scheduled to be broadcast on ABC television at 3 p.m. ET on Sunday, Aug. 11th. ALMS.com will stream in-car footage throughout the race and the full live feed for international views. More information on the program can be found at www.bmwusa.com and www.alms.com.
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 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 119 MINI passenger car dealers, and 34 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.
Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at: www.bmwgroupna.com
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for over two decades, compiling 28 victories, 42 poles and three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) as well as claiming an Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le Mans Series. In 2010 the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category. In 2011 the team swept all three GT titles – Manufacturer, Team and Driver.
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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.
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