Proving once again that the BMW M3 knows the way to victory lane at Road America, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team won the ultra-competitive American Le Mans Series GT class for the second consecutive year at the classic Road America circuit.
No. 90 BMW M3 GT drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Müller completed 66 laps of the 4.0-mile circuit in today’s two-hour-and-forty-five-minute American Le Mans Series race, winning by 2.6 seconds. The outstanding result gives BMW a six point lead in the all-important Manufacturer point standings. Hand and Müller move up to a tie for second in Driver points before the last two races of the season.
The day did not have such a good outcome for teammates Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner. Auberlen made a strong start in the No. 92 M3 GT, moving quickly up two positions from his P8 grid start. Unfortunately, on lap 8, only 20 minutes into the race, he became victim of a slowing prototype in the “Kink” and was hit hard from behind, just after shifting to sixth gear. The result was a high-energy crash at the fastest part of the track, which appears to have terminally damaged the No. 92 chassis but luckily, caused Auberlen no serious injuries. The car was retired from the race. Tommy Milner did not race and neither driver will score points. However, thanks to their consistent performance this season, he and Auberlen only drop to fourth in driver standings.
With testing scheduled to begin this coming Friday, August 27th for Round 8 at Mosport International Raceway, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, any celebrations will be short-lived. Before the checkered flag flew over the No. 90 machine, half of the team departed for home to start first thing Monday morning on the build of the new No. 92 chassis.
