Bad Luck Rains on BMW Team PTG's Return to Daytona
Daytona Beach, Fla. (February 1, 2004) -- BMW Team PTG had a disappointing end to the
42nd Rolex 24 at Daytona after a very good start as both BMW M3s were retired from the
race before the halfway point.
The No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 raced in the top-three GT-class positions for most of the
race, but on lap 267 an overheating problem forced the car to the garage and, ultimately, to
retirement.
Nic Jonsson started the No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 and moved the car carefully up to fifth
in class before he turned the car over to Boris Said at the 1.25-hour mark. Just past the two-
hour mark the previously forecast rain moved over the Speedway and the No. 22 M3 pitted
for rain tires. Said stayed in and over the next two hours picked off car after car. When he
turned the car over to Joey Hand at the four-hour mark the No. 22 M3 was in second place
and 11th overall. The only problem was a broken windshield wiper that made it very difficult
for the Team PTG drivers to see as the rain intensified. Hand double-stinted his very first
endurance racing start and held the second position. He handed the car off to Justin Marks
at the 5.45 race mark and Marks double-stinted in his endurance race debut as well. He
handed the M3 to Said at the 7.15 mark. Said pitted for new rain tires and fuel 45 minutes
later and stayed in the car until Bill Auberlen entered the No. 22 M3 for the first time in the
race at the 9.40 mark. Auberlen's return was short-lived as he lost a number of laps while the
wiper drive was repaired in the garage. He re-joined the race in fourth position, but at the
10.40 mark the No. 22 M3 was forced to the pits with overheating problems.
The first two-and-one-half hours of the race was as much a test for the No. 21 BMW Team
PTG M3 mechanics as it was for the drivers. After jumping into the GT class lead right after
the green flag waved Bill Auberlen was forced to the pits with an engine misfire on lap four.
After a number of pit stops an electrical problem was fixed and he re-joined the race with full
power, but some 11 laps in arrears. Only ten laps later the left front suspension had a failure
that required a long stay in the garage to repair. Auberlen handed the car off to Nic Jonsson
at the 3.25 mark, but Jonsson was back in the pits to repair the right front suspension just a
few laps later after a competitor hit him. Jonsson lost a number of laps, but continued.
As the race entered its second quarter, rain continued to fall on the Daytona International
Speedway and bad luck continued to rain on the No. 21 BMW Team PTG M3. After fighting
through a number of electrical and mechanical problems in the first six hours of the race the
car picked up a terminal vibration and was retired at the 7.30-race mark after completing 162
laps.
"Knowing how hard it was to win this race as BMW Team PTG did in 1997 and 1998 does
not make it any easier to lose here," said BMW Team PTG owner Tom Milner. "We ran hard
and had the No. 22 M3 almost always in the top-three until we could not continue. While Bill,
Boris and Nic have proven themselves capable many times over it was a pleasure to see
Joey and Justin stepping up in very difficult racing conditions to prove themselves as BMW
drivers."
The next race of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series is on February 26-28 at
Homestead-Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla.
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, the MINI brand, and the ROLLS-ROYCE brand of Motor Cars;
DesignworksUSA, an industrial design firm in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley
and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Corp. in South
Carolina is part of BMW Group's global manufacturing network and is the exclusive
manufacturing plant for all Z4 roadster and X5 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group
sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 340 BMW passenger car
centers, 327 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 73 MINI
passenger car dealers, and 25 ROLLS-ROYCE Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding
Corp., the BMW Group's sales headquarters for North, Central and South America, is located
in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
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