Bill Auberlen - double podium

Bill Auberlen scored his second-consecutive American Le Mans Series GT
podium finish on July 24, taking his season total to six podiums. Auberlen,
of Redondo Beach, Calif., drove the No. 92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing BMW M3
with Tommy Milner of Leesburg, Va., in the two-hour 45-minute race at Lime
Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn.

 

Milner started ninth on the GT grid, then moved to second during his stint.
Auberlen drove the last hour of the race, returning to the track third in
class. He regained one position to finish second. The result matched the
pair's finish at Miller Motorsport Park in Tooele, Utah, on July 11.

 

"We have a new body, a new aerodynamic package BMW came out with in the
constant effort to develop and make the cars faster. They're putting all the
resources in to make the car better. Now we're leading the manufacturer's
championship and the team championship. The only thing we're missing is the
driver championship," Auberlen noted.

 

"At Utah, we got the car better, better, better. We fought for a
well-earned, awesome second place. At Lime Rock, we were in trouble when it
rained [during practice and qualifying sessions], but as soon as it dried
out, we were P1 and P2 in the race-day morning warmup. But we had very
little experience knowing how the new body would work in the long run.

 

"The first stint showed us how good the tire was going to be, despite the
temperatures. I got in and it was one of the hottest days we've ever run,
with huge humidity. Our pitstop was flawless and that made the difference.
You have to thank Dunlop for doing such a great job with the tires and the
crew for rebodying this car with all the new bodywork and giving us such a
competitive race car. Paul Booth and PerformanceDrink also deserve credit on
a super-hot day for keeping me alive in that cockpit."

 

Auberlen's next race will be at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course in Lexington,
Ohio, on Aug. 7. He knows the goal:

 

"We've been all over the victory podium, but we need to put it in first.
We're second in the points, but this championship won't be handed to us. We
need to take it. And we're going to go after it."

 

Bill Auberlen has driven BMW cars in more races than any other driver in the
world. He has won six professional auto-racing championships, four with BMW
power. He has competed in 422 professional races to date, 265 in BMWs. His
results include 79 race victories, 158 podium finishes, 55 pole positions,
72 fastest race laps and 104 records. 

 

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Sylvia Proudfoot

sylvia@spurcom.ca

403 287 3945