BMW Team PTG fields four M3s
15 July 1999
SONOMA, Calif. / PORTLAND, Ore. (July 15, 1999) -- BMW
Team PTG will field four BMW M3s in the Grand Prix of Sonoma
(Calif.) at Sears Point Raceway on June 25 and the Rose City
Grand Prix at Portland (Ore.) International Raceway on Aug. 1.
The races are fourth and fifth of eight in the 1999 American Le
Mans Series sanctioned by Professional Sports Car Racing.
The team is hoping for strong finishes in both races to boost
manufacturer, driver and team points. BMW is second in GT
manufacturer ranks, the team is second in team standings and
drivers Brian Cunningham of Danville, Ky., and Johannes van
Overbeek of Danville, Calif., are second in driver points.
Cunningham will be paired with German Christian Menzel,
who first raced with the team last month, in the No. 7
Yokohama/Flextronics/Level One BMW M3. Van Overbeek will
drive the No. 10 M3 with Darren Law of Phoenix. Law drove for
BMW Team PTG in the 1998 Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta.
At Sears Point, a track he knows well, van Overbeek says
pride is on the line. "It's my home track. Points aside, Darren and
I have to win this race."
They'll face tough competition from their team-mates, two-
time Le Mans winner Hans Stuck of Austria and Boris Said of
Carlsbad, Calif., in the team's new No. 9 BMW M3 coupe, and
from 1998 Sports Car GT3 champion Mark Simo of Carlsbad and
Peter Cunningham of West Bend, Wis., in the No. 6 coupe.
Said won the GT3 (now GT) class in the last sports-car race
at Sears Point Raceway, in 1997. He says the team will need
different strategies for the two races.
"At Sears Point, it takes staying on the road, and that's going
to be really tough in traffic with the faster [prototype] cars. You're
so busy, it's hard to get out of the way. There's so much elevation
and so much turning, you're hardly ever going straight. The trick
will be who can get through traffic and let the fast cars by without
losing too much time and without getting knocked off the road," he
explained. "Portland is completely flat. It's a pretty forgiving track,
a much easier race track. Portland's exciting because it has long
straightaways and it's easy to pass there."
Peter Cunningham has tasted victory at both tracks, but
hasn't topped the podium yet this season. He says his goal is to
win both races. "The competition is really tough with the other
cars out there as well as our own team, but we're ready.
"Sears Point is a very technically challenging track with
elevation changes and some real neat corners. Portland is mostly
flat and not that difficult, but as simple as the track is, you still
have to be on top of things to get that last little bit of time," he
said.
The two-hour 45-minute Sears Point race is scheduled to
start at noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on Sunday, July 25. It will be
telecast live on NBC from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. EDT. The two-hour 45-
minute Portland race is scheduled for noon PDT (3 p.m. EDT) on
Sunday, Aug. 1. It will be telecast live on NBC from 4 p.m. to 6
p.m. EDT.
The Tire Rack BMW CCA Club Racing Series is halfway through
the 1999 season of 25 races in the United States and eastern
Canada. In its sixth season, the program is open to all BMWs and
qualified BMW CCA members. Races are run under vintage
13/13 rules, limiting contact and maximizing fun.
The next race is scheduled for July 21 at Putnam Park Road
Course, in conjunction with the BMW CCA Annual Oktoberfest
Convention in Indianapolis. A field of nearly 60 BMWs of all
vintages will contest the multiple-race format. From 2002s to
vintage CSLs, M Coupes and M3s, the competition will be the
highlight of the Oktoberfest driving events.
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