BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team Mid-Ohio Qualifying

The two BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3 GTs will start tomorrow’s American Le Mans Series Mid-Ohio Sports Car challenge from the fifth and seventh spots on the GT grid.

Joey Hand drove the No. 90 M3 GT to the fifth starting position on his third lap of the 20-minute session. His 1:20.267 minute lap around the 2.258-mile circuit was only .585 seconds behind the class polesitter.

In his second qualifying session of the season, Tommy Milner drove the No. 92 M3 GT to a 1:20.548 minute lap. His second lap was his quickest of the session.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge begins a grueling month of American Le Mans Series competition for the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team. Facing Mid-Ohio, Road America, and Mosport International Raceway, the next four weeks may well determine who wins the ALMS GT championship.

Following BMW’s second double-podium finish of the season at Lime Rock Park on July 24 (reaching seven podium finishes for the season) BMW is only one point shy of the Manufacturer Points lead. Co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner (No. 92) are second in Driver Points, while Joey Hand and Dirk Müller (No. 90) are in a four-way tie for third.

The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is scheduled to start at 3:00 p.m. Saturday. The race will be broadcast live on the Internet and then one week later on CBS television, at 12:30 p.m. Eastern Time on Sunday, August 15th.

 

About BMW Rahal Letterman Racing:

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975.  Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003.  The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. 

BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes.  The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 336 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 99 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers.  BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for more than a decade compiling 20 victories, 30 poles and one series championship (Bobby Rahal in 1992 in CART) and an Indianapolis 500 championship (Buddy Rice in 2004). 

In 2008 Rahal Letterman Racing again won Rookie-of-the-Year honors at the Indianapolis 500 and partnered with Andersen Racing to run two entries in the Indy Pro Series. In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series.

 
- Wade Russell-