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ALMS: BMW M3s and V12 LMR Score Podium Finishes in Petit Le Mans

20 September 1999

          BRASELTON, Ga. (Sept. 20, 1999) -- BMW posted podium
finishes in both the GT and prototype classes in the 1000-mile
Petit Le Mans endurance race on the 2.56-mile Road Atlanta road
course on Sept. 18.  BMW Team PTG collected a hard-fought
two-three-four finish in the GT class and the BMW V12 LMR cars
finished second and third in the prototype class.  The race was
the sixth of eight American Le Mans Series races this season.

          The BMW Team PTG cars started fourth, fifth and sixth in GT
behind the Manthey Racing, RWS Motorsport and Alex Job
Porsches.  Boris Said of Carlsbad, Calif., driving with Hans Stuck
of Austria, qualified the No. 6 BMW M3 fourth in a time of one
minute 25.347 seconds at an average speed of 107.13 miles per
hour.  Peter Cunningham of West Bend, Wis., qualified the No. 7
M3 fifth in class and Darren Law of Phoenix was sixth-fastest in
the No. 10 M3.

          Two of the Porsches encountered mechanical difficulties
early in the race, leaving only the race-winning No. 23 Porsche
GT3R of Manthey Racing in contention.  Said drove the No. 10 M3
into second place just past the two-hour mark of the eight-hour
56-minute race.  Other than a pitstop to change drivers, Said and
Stuck held second place to the checkered flag.

          "The BMW M3 is still the ultimate driving machine.  We have
the Porsches on handling and braking, but at Road Atlanta you
have to get down the straightaway," Said noted.  "It's good to get
out of here with second place because the Porsches were so
much faster than us in practice and qualifying.  But we ran a great
race, we got all three cars to the finish line, the team did a great
job and we didn't make any mistakes."

          "I'm sorry I couldn't make my 'brother' a birthday present by
giving him a win, but second place is better than third," Stuck
said, referring to Said's 37th birthday on race day.  "We fought
very hard today and we took the maximum out of the car.  We
drove everything out of it."

          Peter Cunningham drove three stints in the No. 7 car to take
the final GT podium position.  His co-drivers Brian Cunningham of
Danville, Ky., and Brian Simo of Carlsbad held third place until
Brian Cunningham was forced to return to pit lane for two
unplanned pitstops for overheating and a broken hood latch after
seven hours.  Peter Cunningham took the final drive and edged
past the No. 10 BMW M3 with an hour to go in the race.

          He explained that the team managed a strong podium finish
despite several glitches.  "We didn't have much left of a front
splitter, the power steering was going on and off and then our
radio wasn't working.  Other than that, we were just flying," he
said.  "It's only third place, but it's been a tough year and it was a
fun third place, so we'll take it."

          The No.10 M3, with Law, Mark Simo of Carlsbad and
Johannes van Overbeek of Danville, Calif., finished fourth, despite
losing the car's anti-lock brakes early in the race.

          "It's too bad P.D. [Peter Cunningham] snuck by us at the
end, but there's not much you can do without being able to push it
in the corners.  But it's a good result.  We finished.  A lot of people
didn't,"  van Overbeek said.

          BMW Team PTG owner Tom Milner agreed.  "I'm happy with
the result.  I think it shows the team can do the job.  It's a
monumental task to take three cars and make them equally fast
and bring them all to the end.  Second place sometimes can be a
win, too."    
                          
          The next race for the BMW Team PTG cars, with
sponsorship from Yokohama, Level One and Flextronics, will be
the VISA Sports Car Championships at Laguna Seca Raceway in
Monterey, Calif. on Oct. 10.