ALMS: BMW takes two podium positions at Portland
3 August 1999
BMW Team PTG M3s took two podium positions for the second-
consecutive American Le Mans Series race. Brian Cunningham
and Christian Menzel finished second in the GT class in the #7
BMW M3, followed closely by the #10 M3 driven by Johannes van
Overbeek and Darren Law. The #6 car, with Peter Cunningham
and Mark Simo, was in third place until the final laps of the race,
when it slowed with a broken differential, and finished sixth. The
#9 M3 of Hans Stuck and Boris Said retired after just eight laps
with a broken driveshaft.
Brian Cunningham, driver, #7 BMW M3
"The BMWs stayed together; the team put together a great car.
Yokohama, in a difficult situation, put a set of tires together that
really held up for us. Honestly, we finished first today because the
23 Porsche really wasn't in our class. It isn't built to our rules, so
we're the first-place car as far as we're concerned."
Darren Law, driver, #10 BMW M3
"We knew coming in here it would be tough against the Porsche.
This says a lot for the team two weeks in a row, two cars up on
the podium. It says a lot for the program I joined. I've driven for
the team three times and I've been on the podium every time! The
team had the cars prepped nicely and we're happy to be up here.
I look forward to Atlanta."
Johannes van Overbeek, driver, #10 BMW M3
"The Yokohama/Level One/Flextronics BMW was great! It was
definitely noticeable once the sun came out. It was a race you
couldn't slack off on, with a lot of traffic, a lot of debris on the track
and off-line was incredibly slick. I'd like to thank [team owner]
Tom Milner and [lead mechanic] Dave Gahagan and the guys for
doing a great job."
Peter Cunningham, driver, #6 BMW M3
"It was a real shame. We got our #6 BMW M3 working really well
and we were turning in very consistent times, faster even than our
team-mates. But with about a half-hour to go, there was a
differential problem that began to develop. We had to come to a
pretty slow halt at the end, which cost us third place."
Hans Stuck, driver, #9 BMW M3
"We had a driveshaft broken. We have to analyze why this
happened and look forward to the next race in Atlanta. It would
be nice to finish the race, but that's motorsports. Sometimes bad
luck, sometimes good luck. But our team spirit is perfect because
we finished second and third. Maybe we didn't win, but we had a
great team effort."
###
IMMEDIATE
Robert D. Mitchell
JVS Enterprises
BMW of North America, Inc.
Public Relations
201-307-3790
203-438-0501
fax 201-307-3607
fax 203-431-4139
BMW Interactive News Bureau
Sylvia Proudfoot
at www.bmwusa.com
403-287-3945
(click "Contact BMW," then
fax 403-287-2213
"Interactive News Bureau")
spurcom@compuserve.com
PTG website www.ptgracing.com
BMW V12 and M3 Earn Podium Finishes
PORTLAND, Ore. (Aug. 1, 1999) -- BMW Team PTG M3s finished
second and third in GT class in the Rose City Grand Prix
Portland at the 1.944-mile Portland International Raceway on
Sunday. The No. 42 BMW V12 LMR driven by JJ Lehto of Finland
and Steve Soper of Great Britain finished second in the prototype
class. The two-hour 45-minute race was the fifth of eight in the
American Le Mans Series, sanctioned by Professional Sports Car
Racing.
Christian Menzel of Germany qualified second in the GT class in
the No. 7 BMW M3, with a lap time of one minute 16.086 seconds
at an average speed of 91.980 miles per hour. He dropped to
third at the start of the race, but regained second place about 50
minutes into the race. Brian Cunningham of Danville, Ky., took the
wheel at the one-hour mark, led for about 30 minutes and finished
second behind the class polesitter Porsche 911 GT3.
"The team put together a great car. Yokohama, in a difficult
situation, put a set of tires together that really held up for us,"
Cunningham said. "Honestly, we finished first today because the
Porsche really wasn't in our class. It isn't built to our rules, so
we're the first-place car as far as we're concerned."
The Porsche 911 GT3 is built to Automobile Club de l'Ouest
specifications that govern the 24 Hours of Le Mans, rather than
the Professional Sports Car Racing rules with which the BMW M3s
comply.
Johannes van Overbeek of Danville, Calif., and Darren Law of
Phoenix started sixth in class and moved up to finish third in the
No. 10 Yokohama/Level One/Flextronics M3. It was the pair's
second-consecutive third-place finish.
"We knew coming in here it would be tough against the Porsche.
This says a lot for the team -- two weeks in a row, two cars up on
the podium," Law said. "The team had the cars prepped nicely
and we're happy to be up here. I look forward to Atlanta."
"It was a race you couldn't slack off on, with a lot of traffic, a lot
of
debris on the track and off-line was incredibly slick. It was
definitely noticeable once the sun came out," van Overbeek said.
"I'd like to thank [team owner] Tom Milner and [lead mechanic]
Dave Gahagan and the guys for doing a great job."
Law and van Overbeek benefited from their team-mates'
misfortune when the differential broke on the No. 6 car of Peter
Cunningham of West Bend, Wis., and Mark Simo of Carlsbad,
Calif. After starting ninth and running third, the pair finished sixth.
"It was a real shame. We got our number 6 BMW M3 working
really well and we were turning in very consistent times, faster
even than our team-mates," Cunningham said. "But with about a
half-hour to go, there was a differential problem that began to
develop. We had to come to a pretty slow halt at the end, which
cost us third place."
Austrian Hans Stuck and Boris Said of Carlsbad, who took the GT
victory at Sears Point Raceway last week, had a disappointing
weekend. Stuck qualified seventh in the No. 9 M3 and retired just
10 minutes into the race with a broken driveshaft.
"We have to analyze why this happened and look forward to the
next race in Atlanta," Stuck said. "It would be nice to finish the
race, but that's motorsports. Sometimes bad luck, sometimes
good luck. But our team spirit is perfect because we finished
second and third. Maybe we didn't win, but we had a great team
effort."
The team's next race will be at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Ga. on
Sept. 18.
BMW V12 finish
In addition to the No. 42 podium finish, the No. 43 BMW V12 of
American Bill Auberlen and German Joachim Winkelhock finished
fourth in the prototype class.
###
Race Sunday
Round 5, American Le Mans Series
1 August 1999, Portland International Raceway, Oregon (USA)
Second and fourth place for BMW V12 Le Mans Roadster in
America
Munich/Portland. JJ Lehto (FIN) and Steve Soper (GB) achieved
another podium finish with the BMW V12 LMR in the new
American sports car series in which the cars from the famous
24-hour race of Le Mans compete. Lehto/Soper came second in
the fifth round of the American Le Mans Series held in Portland.
Lehto took the flag after 2 hours and 45 minutes, having
completed 137 laps on the 3.128-kilometre Portland International
Raceway in Oregon, 29 seconds behind the winning Panoz of
David Brabham and Eric Bernard. The second open-top BMW
sports car, shared by Bill Auberlen (USA) and Joachim Winkelhock
(D), finished fourth.
Lehto and Auberlen were the start drivers. After 44 laps Lehto was
still in the lead and handed over to Soper, then retook the wheel in
first position after 93 laps. Auberlen refueled after 43 laps, being in
the lead at this time, and stayed in the car for a total of 97 laps
before Winkelhock took over for the rest of the race.
The updated 1998 BMW V12 Le Mans with Pedro Lamy (P) and
Thomas Bscher (D) at the wheel finished in a very good fifth.
Meanwhile, Hans-Joachim Stuck and his partner Boris Said (USA)
retired from the GT class after only eight laps due to a broken
driveshaft on their BMW M3 coupe (BMW Team PTG).
BMW Team Manager Charly Lamm: "We had a bit of bad luck with
the timing of both safety car phases and our pit stops. We did not
change tires early to maintain track position, but this did not pay
off with the second full course yellow. Panoz is always a tough
competitor and this time they were better in strategy and deserved
to win. After winning in Le Mans, Sebring and Sears Point, we are
may be a bit too much used to success: we should not forget
that a second and a fourth place are reasonable good results."
JJ Lehto #42: "The traffic was tremendous, in some laps I lost
more than five seconds because I just couldn't pass. But the car
and the tires worked very well, although the temperature on race
day was lower than expected."
Steve Soper #42: "I drove the middle stint and stayed on the tires
JJ had used already. My task was to maintain the leading gap we
had, which I unfortunately lost with the second yellows. We had,
however, a winning package but didn't make it this time."
Bill Auberlen #43: "The Michelin tires were fantastic, my fastest
laps came right at the end of my stint. I had a great car and I
needed it to move up from last position after I went off in the
chicane on the first lap."
Joachim Winkelhock #43: "I am happy with my performance. A
few laps before the end of the race I got hit by a Porsche but
fortunately was able to finish."