BMW TEAM PTG M3s FOUR-STRONG AT GRAND PRIX OF MIAMI
Two F1 Air-sponsored M3s to Debut
Woodcliff Lake, NJ - February 28, 2005... Round two of the 2005 Rolex Sports
Car Series season will see the defending GT champion's debut two new BMW M3s.
Drivers RJ Valentine and Kelly Collins will share the No. 17 F1 Air M3, and
Justin Marks and Tom Milner will co-drive the No. 16 F1 Air M3.
"By doubling our efforts this season, BMW Team PTG is more than doubling our
chances for year-end success," said Tom Milner, BMW Team PTG owner.
"Manufacturer points are only awarded to the highest-finishing car. Last
season, after poor Daytona finishes, six wins were needed to take the class
lead. BMW does not have the sheer number of cars that Porsche has, for example,
but, four M3s finishing in the top-five can more than make up for that."
In 2004, BMW Team PTG began a seven-race winning streak at the Grand Prix of
Miami with a 1-2 BMW M3 finish. Crossing the finish line side-by-side, the No.
21 M3 of Bill Auberlen and Boris Said won the race from the pole. Joey Hand and
Justin Marks finished second in the No. 22 M3.
After co-driving the No. 21 M3 at Daytona together, defending GT Driver
Champion Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand will share the No. 21 M3 and Chris Gleason
and Ian James will now co-drive the No. 22 M3.
In February's Rolex 24 at Daytona, right rear wheel stud failures forced the
withdrawal of both M3s in the eighth hour. The cars were back at PTG's
Winchester, Virginia shop almost before the race's end the next day and work
was started to identify and repair the problem.
Milner continues, "We had run a five-lug wheel fixing on our 2003 Speed World
Challenge M3s and never experienced a problem. We did not think this season's
rule change requiring the move from centerlock wheels would cause an issue.
Unfortunately, there was no way to identify the wheel studs as a problem until
they failed. It has been a very busy three weeks since Daytona. The start of a
BMW Team PTG M3 is a BMW-supplied bare chassis and roll-cage, not a large check
for a turn-key racing car. Of course, that gives us great control of the
finished product, but the hours required to finish the new M3s plus repairing
and readying the No. 21 and 22 cars required a 110% effort from every member of
our staff. We began the run for the championship last season at Miami and we
will have to do the same thing this year."
Practice for the Grand Prix of Miami begins on Thursday, March 3 and continues
on Friday with qualifying scheduled for 4:15 p.m. The 250-mile race is
scheduled to begin at 3:00 PM EST on Saturday and will televised live on Speed
Channel.
Background:
2005 marks the tenth season of competition for BMW M3s of BMW Team PTG and 30th
anniversary of BMW of North America's motorsport programs. In nine seasons of
competition, BMW Team PTG has won a total of 46 races in both sprint and
endurance racing series and 14 sports car racing championships. In 2004, BMW
Team PTG swept the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class Manufacturer, Driver and
Team Points championships, winning 10 of 12 races.