BMW Team PTG 1-2-3 at Lime Rock Practice
28 May 1999
BMW Team PTG notes: practice, May 28
Lime Rock Park, 1999 Dodge Dealers Grand Prix race two,
United States Road Racing Championship
BMW Team PTG M3s topped the GT3 class during both Friday practice sessions.
The #7 BMW M3, co-driven by Brian Cunningham and Johannes van Overbeek, was
fastest in class in 57.504 seconds (95.784 mph). The #10 M3, with Hans Stuck
and Boris Said, was second (57.585 seconds, 95.649 mph) and the #6, driven by
Peter Cunningham and Mark Simo, was third (57.720 seconds, 95.426 mph).
The entire team was thrilled with the results:
Scott Doniger, motorsport manager, BMW North America, Inc.
"BMW's really happy to be back at Lime Rock. We love the track, we love Memorial
Day weekend up here. We're happy to be racing wherever there's good racing, and
in this case it's with the USRRC. It doesn't matter to BMW -- we're an
equal-opportunity competitor!
Lime Rock is also a great opportunity for us to showcase in front of our employees
because our home office is just 100 miles away. The race actually takes on more
importance than some other ones because we know that the eyes of the company are
watching because they are so close by. But we have confidence going in. The cars
in the first day of practice were rock-solid, so we're just working on the set-up."
Hans Stuck, driver, #10 BMW M3
"Coming back to Lime Rock means a lot to me. I like the track because it's
one of the last tracks really a driver can fight. It's very difficult with the
concrete patches. You have to stay always on the spot where you have good grip,
sometimes online and sometimes offline. It's very difficult braking points; like
going into the chicane, if you hit those curbs, you'll be history. You have to
drive very precise, and that's what I like."
Peter Cunningham, driver, #6 BMW M3
"We're dealing mainly with a slippery race track right now. Turns one, two
and three are pretty slippery where they've got cement patches and there's not
enough rubber laid down. A fresh set of Yokohama tires did a lot for the car.
On new tires, the balance was right there, so we'll work on a little more [Saturday]
and we'll be ready for the race."
Brian Cunningham, driver, #7 BMW M3
"It would have been nice to have a few cleaner laps to really figure what the
car was like. On the upside, I think we have a good car. In two laps with fresh
rubber this morning, we were faster than all these cars with fresh rubber and more
time to work on their cars. We're two new guys who haven't really been on this track
a long time, so to come out with the fastest car of the day of these cars, I think
it's pretty good."
FORE!
#10 BMW M3 drivers Boris Said and Hans Stuck stopped by the local golf course after
Thursday's Lime Rock Park media day. Said scored an 80 to beat Stuck by 22 strokes.
Stuck attributed his unusually poor showing to sore muscles resulting from his first
Tae Bo class earlier this week.