ALMS Petit Le Mans qualifying - BMW Motorsport

Qualifying Friday
Round 8, American Le Mans Series
5 October 2001, Braselton, Ga.

BMW Motorsport one-two in Petit Le Mans qualifying

Munich/Braselton.  BMW Motorsport will start first and second in the GT class 
for Saturday's Petit Le Mans, final race of the 2001 American Le Mans Series. 
 JJ Lehto (FIN) posted a record pole time of one minute 22.604 seconds on the 
2.54-mile Road Atlanta road course in the No. 42 BMW M3 GTR.  The pole 
position was especially rewarding to the crew, who rebuilt the car overnight, 
after it was hit by another car during Thursday night practice.  Lehto will 
co-drive with Fredrik Ekblom (S) and Karl Wendlinger (A).  Jörg Müller (D) 
and Dirk Müller (D) will start second after Dirk Müller qualified the No. 43 
GTR in 1:22.681.  Both cars finished on racing slicks after starting the 
qualifying session on rain tires.

BMW Team PTG drivers Hans-J. Stuck (D), Boris Said (USA) and Bill Auberlen 
(USA) will start third in the No. 6 BMW M3 GTR (1:23.617), and Niclas Jönsson 
(S), Brian Cunningham (USA) and David Murry (USA) will start fifth in the No. 
10 GTR (1:24.041).

BMW Motorsport team manager Charly Lamm:  "We have been first and second on 
the grid before, but this qualifying was special.  After yesterday's 
accident, the guys did a fantastic job to repair BMW 42.  They got it out 
just in time for the qualifying.  The wet conditions made it difficult to be 
aggressive, but that is what JJ was after he decided to change to slicks 
early.  Seeing him charging through turn 12 that way was very special.  
Dirk's second-place, just eight-hundredths behind JJ, makes the perfect 
qualifying result for BMW Motorsport." 
 
JJ Lehto #42:  "The upsetting things that happened last night really 
destroyed the car in a big way.  I thought the crew couldn't build it up 
again, but they said it would be okay in the morning.  They worked really 
hard and the car was ready just five minutes before the qualifying.  I went 
out for an installation lap and everything felt quite good, so I just went 
for it.  The weather was very difficult; it was raining in the beginning, 
then it started to dry out.  We had to make the decision to come in at the 
right time to get the slick tires and get them heated.  I only had one clear 
lap, so it was really difficult with traffic.  But in the end we're on pole 
and it's brilliant!"
 
Fredrik Ekblom #43:  "The team did an exceptional job, and likewise JJ.  He 
was the man today and the team was just awesome.  I think we have a good 
setup with the car and it looks really good.  I'm comfortable and I'm 
enjoying the weekend." 

Karl Wendlinger #42:  "JJ did a very good job because the car was ready just 
before qualifying, after the crash yesterday.  He kept his nerve and he was 
the fastest one when he needed to be the fastest one.  It was great!"

Jörg Müller #43:  "It's good for BMW Motorsport, one and two.  But to be 
true, that means nothing in the race.  It's important to not have any contact 
and keep the car on the road, that's the key thing in the race.  I'm very 
happy with the qualifying, especially with JJ and his guys.  They had a hard 
night and they really deserve to be on pole position."

Dirk Müller #43:  "Second is not first, but it's first and second for the 
team.  Congratulations to JJ and the crew!  I had really, really bad luck.  
Each lap I did, there was some traffic, but there was nothing to do.  You 
can't really wait because no one knew if it would start raining again, so we 
had to go for the opportunity.  The car was so brilliant I could have done 
the pole for sure."  


BMW Press:  Guido Stalmann, tel +49 (0) 89 382 23401,
fax +49 (0) 89 382 27563, e-mail: Guido.Stalmann@bmw.de

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Sylvia Proudfoot
spur07@cs.com
403 287 3945