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ALMS: BMW M3 Viva Las Vegas

6 November 1999

BMW Team PTG notes:  provisional qualifying, Nov. 5, 1999
Grand Prix of Las Vegas, Las Vegas Motor Speedway
race eight of eight, American Le Mans Series

BMW M3s are fourth, seventh and eighth on the provisional GT starting
grid for Sunday's American Le Mans Series finale.  Hans Stuck qualified
the #6 BMW M3 quickest of the team cars with a lap time of one
minute 20.164 seconds at 101.04 miles per hour.  Peter Cunningham
qualified the #7 M3 seventh in class (1:21.036, 99.955 mph), with Mark
Simo and the #10 M3 close behind in eighth (1:21.289, 99.644 mph).

Hans Stuck, driver, #6 BMW M3

"I'm 90 per cent happy with the car, still more fine-tuning with the
chassis but the rest is okay.  This is not a track worth the final race in
the American Le Mans Series.  This pit exit can be race-deciding.  If you
hit it in a bad way, you might lose a lap easily.  They could easily
change it and let us go on the banking."

Peter Cunningham, driver, #7 BMW M3

"We need to take advantage of our strong points with the [BMW M3]
handling and let the PTG crew have perfect pitstops.  Our boys are
some of the quickest out there already, but they're not taking that as
good enough.  They spent all day Wednesday working on pitstops and
they shaved some more time off, so they're psyched and ready.  That's
going to be a huge advantage for us on Sunday."

Mark Simo, driver, #10 BMW M3

"There isn't much to say right now.  We gained some speed in
qualifying over this morning's practice, but we still have a long way to
go.  The car was loose and we need to find a way to tighten it up.  I just
drove it like a practice session."

Viva Las Vegas!

Congratulations to BMW Team PTG crew member Tom Fiddler and
Barbara Michaud, who were married at Graceland Wedding Chapel in
Las Vegas Thursday evening.  "Elvis" serenaded the couple with Love
me Tender and Viva Las Vegas.

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