BMW Team RLL Qualifies 2nd and 5th at Laguna Seca

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – May 3, 2014 . . . BMW Team RLL’s two Z4 GTLM racing cars will start from the second and fifth positions in tomorrow’s two-hour Monterey Grand Prix, the fourth round of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

John Edwards and Andy Priaulx were two of the five drivers in today’s 15-minute qualifying session to break into the 1:22 minute bracket around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit.

John Edwards placed the No. 56 Z4 on the outside of the GTLM class front row – only .205 seconds from the pole sitter – with a time of 1:22.578 minutes. Edwards and co-driver Dirk Müller currently stand fourth in driver points following their first podium finish of the year – second – at the Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach race on April 12^th.

Triple World Champion Andy Priaulx, in only his first day driving Laguna Seca, qualified the No. 55 Z4 fifth with a time of 1:22.810 minutes. Priaulx and co-driver Bill Auberlen currently lead GTLM driver points following podium finishes at the Rolex 24 at Daytona and the 12 Hours of Sebring. They finished sixth at Long Beach.

John Edwards, driver No. 56 Z4 GTLM – (2^nd) – “Today was really a good day at the office for me. I had a pole and win in GS and we were quickest in the number 56 in both the practices. I wanted another pole which would have put me in P1 in every session. With a front row start you can’t be too disappointed, but it really felt like a pole run. It wasn’t meant to be, but tomorrow is the one that counts. The race is a whole different animal and it is going to be a tough battle. Hopefully we can race it out among ourselves, unlike Long Beach where we had some Prototypes in the mix. It is only a two hour race. We saw Long Beach went green all the way, so every second is going to count tomorrow.”

Andy Priaulx, driver No. 55 Z4 GTLM – (5^th) – “I am happy with my performance considering it is my first time here. I would like to have been a bit higher up, but we didn’t have everything spot on. Also we got very little running today with all the traffic of four classes practicing together.  Qualifying is important, but we still have a two hour race ahead of us and I am happy we are in a strong position for that. As for the track itself, it is awesome and lives up to its reputation.”

The two-hour Monterey Grand Prix will take the green flag at 5:45 p.m. ET Sunday, May 4^th. The race will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 5:30 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend. More information on the program can be found at www.bmwusa.com and www.imsa.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 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 119 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 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 30 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.

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.