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ALMS: BMW prototypes qualify fourth and sixth

2 September 2000

Munich/Fort Worth. BMW works drivers JJ Lehto (FIN) and Jorg
Muller (D) qualified fourth on the provisional grid for Saturday's
American Le Mans Series Grand Prix of Texas.  Lehto qualified the
No. 42 BMW V12 LMR on the 2.324-mile Texas Motor Speedway
road course in one minute, 14.586 seconds.  Teammates Bill
Auberlen (USA) and Jean-Marc Gounon (F) are sixth on the
provisional grid in the No. 43 BMW after Gounon qualified in
1:15.741.  BMW Team PTG driver Hans-J. Stuck (D) qualified fifth in
the GT class in 1:26.104.


BMW Motorsport team manager Charly Lamm: "The positive thing
is that we seem to be closer to the fastest times in qualifying, so
that's a better start than we had in the last races at Mosport and
Sears Point.  In that respect, it was a good day.  But obviously, we
would like to reduce the gap to the front.  We have to make sure we
can keep the momentum up, and that is what we will do tonight to
prepare for tomorrow's qualifying."

JJ Lehto #42: "We're on the second row, we beat one of the Panoz
and we're not so far away from the other Panoz.  We were so much
further away from them in the last race.  We've been working hard,
but we're still lacking grip and we can't find a good balance.  We
really need to try something wild!  The track was very different in the
afternoon than it was this morning.  There was so much more dirt on
the track, and it's a different ball game.  It makes the track a second
slower."

Jean-Marc Gounon #43: "I think I started too early in the session. 
On the first laps there was no grip and I destroyed my tires.  After, it
was too late to improve my time and the engine was running very
high in temperature and I couldn't improve.  I'm disappointed, but
tomorrow is the race, so we'll see."

Hans-J. Stuck, #7, GT class:  "We're closer to the Porsche than we
thought, so all the changes we made were good.  I think the race-
deciding story will happen an hour from the end of the race, not in
qualifying.  We have to be pretty smart on everything on the car to be
able to finish the race, and then we'll see where we are."


Jorg Muller #42 is sporting pink hair this weekend.  He competed in
a 28-km bicycle race in Zurich last weekend to raise funds for
disabled children, and finished third.  The hair color was part of the
charity promotion.