Updated with press release:
Quote:
Joy is the Champion. ALMS Manufacturer's and Team Championships to the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team.
* 03.10.2010
* Press Release
Woodcliff Lake , N.J. – Oct. 2, 2010… In only its second season of competition, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team won the American Le Mans Series GT Manufacturer and Team Championships in the closing moments of the 13th annual Petit Le Mans, after a season of hard-fought competition.
The fourth place finish by the embattled No. 92 M3 GT of Bill Auberlen, Tommy Milner and Dirk Werner was the only race in 2010 that the Team did not finish with at least one M3 GT on the podium. The No. 92 M3 GT completed 354 laps in a race that lasted just over 9 hours, 12 minutes. The race was ultimately decided on fuel efficiency, and BMW-RLR was awarded the Michelin GreenX Challenge race win for the best combination of performance and efficiency as a result.
The finish was enough to score the badly needed points to stay ahead of fierce competitors Ferrari and Porsche in the GT Manufacturer’s Championship by a single point. “All it takes is one point,” quipped a happy Bobby Rahal, Team Principal, at the post-race press conference. Rahal Letterman Racing handily secured the GT Team Championship with the result. Martin Birkmann, BMW NA Motorsport Manager, reflected, “Tonight I can say we’ve done almost everything we set out to do when we put the program together, and we dedicate this Manufacturer’s Championship to the memory of our dear friend, Jack Pitney.”
The great start by the No. 90 M3 GT was spoiled by a controversial steward’s call for alleged contact only an hour into the race. The resulting stop-and-go penalty cost Müller one lap, but then extensive repairs to a failed starter motor following the car’s first scheduled pitstop effectively eliminated the No. 90 from contention. Müller, Hand, and Priaulx continued to circulate, ultimately finishing 13th in the GT class.
VIDEOS:
BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team celebrates! Petit Le Mans. Oct. 2, 2010.
Bobby Rahal on the team's GT Manufacturer and Team victories at Petit Le Mans. Oct. 2, 2010.
YouTube: Martin Birkmann reflects on the accomplishments of the 2010 ALMS season.
|
The BMW Rahal Letterman team has just secured the 2010 ALMS Championship in the GT class at Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta Georgia! The team entered the race trailing Porsche by just 1 single point for the GT Manufacturer's Championship, and managed to score enough points (with a 4th place finish by Auberlen/Milner) to win the manufacturer's championship after the Ferrari team miscalculated and saw its cars run out of gas after being in the lead.
Congrats to the entire BMW Rahal Letterman Racing team!
Official press release forthcoming from BMW, but here's a clip of the last lap
