Said Puts BMW Team PTG M3 on Pole for Grand Prix of Miami
If the following text-only file is not easily readable, particularly any tables of numbers, try enlarging this window since every line has a forced end and there is no word-wrap. Otherwise, this report will look and print better from the following PDF file: http://www.sportssystems.com/applib/PDFload.cfm?file=/email/filehost/AE201.pdf&id=BC201AE1ME519 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BMW Team PTG Notes and Quotes Grand Prix of Miami Homestead-Miami Speedway Qualifying Friday, February 27, 2004 Contact: Bill Cobb, cell - 215-431-7223 Said Puts BMW Team PTG M3 on GT Pole for Grand Prix of Miami BMW Team PTG was back in form today as Boris Said qualified the No. 21 BMW Team PTG M3 fastest in the GT field for Saturday's 250-mile Grand Prix of Miami with a time of 1:19.325 around the 2.3-mile road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The No. 21 M3 of Said and Bill Auberlen was the fastest in Thursday's practice session and was at the top of the 11-car GT class time charts in today's earlier practice sessions as well. Said captured the $1000 Axiom Grand Touring Challenge Pole Bonus and the first pole for BMW Team PTG in the Rolex Sports Car Series. Justin Marks qualified the No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 fourth with a lap of 1:19.753. He will drive the No. 22 car with former Formula Atlantic standout Joey Hand of Concord, Ohio. Zippo Live Timing and Scoring is available for all on-track activities on the official Grand American website, www.grandamerican.com. The 250-mile race is scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM EST on Saturday. BORIS SAID, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (first): "To come to Homestead and put the M3 on the pole after our disappointing performance at Daytona shows what BMW Team PTG is made of. No one could touch us today, but the competition is tough so we will have to keep up this pace." BILL AUBERLEN, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3: "The track is just like I remember. You have to find the balance between being quick out of the banking with getting the right amount of downforce and grip through the infield. In addition to that you have to manage the heat and the load on the tires. You have to make the tires live. We have a reasonable balance now and the M3 is very comfortable to drive. Now it is up to the crew to prepare the for the race and for Boris and me to get it on the podium." JUSTIN MARKS, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (fourth): "We have been fighting a few problems in practice that did not allow us to take complete advantage of new tires. Even though everything was not perfect we managed to be the fourth fastest. We have one more session tomorrow to see if we can make things a bit better. " JOEY HAND, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3: "Co-driving a racing car is definitely new to me. In an open-wheel car all of the weight is on your shoulders. Everything is your fault-period. I do like it that way so it is new to hand the car off or to have someone else qualify it. It is a new adventure and I love new adventures. Justin and I seem to run the same set-up and he is very quick so I am very comfortable driving with him. We are both looking forward to a good finish tomorrow." # # #