BMW TEAM PTG M3s SCORE NINTH ROLEX SERIES GT WIN AT BARBER
Auberlen and Marks Lead Fifth 1-2 M3 Finish Of Season
Birmingham, Al - October 11, 2004... Under constantly changing weather
conditions, BMW Team PTG scored its ninth Rolex Sports Car Series GT class
victory and fifth 1-2 BMW M3 finish of the season in the Porsche 250 at Barber
Motorsports Park today.
Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks, driving the No. 21 BMW Team PTG M3, completed
87 laps in the 250-mile race around the 2.38-mile Barber Motorsports Park
circuit, finishing one lap ahead of the No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 of Boris Said
and Joey Hand.
The win moves BMW to a 13-point lead over Porsche in the Manufacturer Points
and clinches the Team Points title for the No. 21 M3. Said and Hand's second
consecutive runner-up finish moves the No. 22 M3 to second place in the Team
Points standings.
BMW Team PTG drivers have secured the top-three positions in the Driver Points
with Auberlen continuing to lead by four points over Said. Marks' win moves him
to third. Hand stands in sixth place.
The win was Auberlen's eighth of the season and second consecutive victory
since setting a record six wins in a row in Rounds 2 through 7. Marks has now
tallied four wins, all co-driving with Auberlen.
Said and Hand's second-place finish was their third podium finish of the
season. The duo shared a win in Round 8. Said shared four wins with Auberlen in
Rounds 2 through 5.
Tom Milner and Kelly Collins drove a third M3 and finished eighth, completing
83 laps. The duo started fourth and lost a number of laps early in the race
after unscheduled pit stops for tire changes.
Auberlen started the No. 21 M3 from its eighth pole of the season and took
command of the race from the first lap. Because of the threatening rain Team
PTG elected to start the No. 21 M3 on dry tires and both the No. 22 and No. 16
M3s on rain tires. The dry tire choice proved to be the correct one as the
heavy rain held off and the No. 21 M3 was able to stay on track as both of the
other M3s had to pit, and re-pit, for dry tires. It was on one of those stops
that a wheel gun jammed on the left rear wheel nut of the No. 22 M3 resulting
in a damaged airline and a stop-and-go penalty. The penalty cost Said and Hand
one lap, but they were still able to hold onto a second place finish. The
results were not as good for the No. 16 M3 as early race pitstops for tires
cost Milner and Collins two laps. Hard driving in very slippery conditions by
18-year old Milner in the closing stages of the race was not enough to improve
on an eighth-place class finish.
The final round of the Rolex Sport Car Series will be held at California
Speedway in Fontana, Calif. on October 29-31. The race will be televised live
on Speed Channel on Oct. 31 at 4:00 p.m. ET.
BILL AUBERLEN, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (first):
"Today it was a real dog-fight. We went from first under the green to last
under the yellow and back to first under green again. Luckily, this weather
played to one of our strengths. Justin is one of the few drivers I know who
likes changing conditions. He told me that if it rained off and on he would
outrun everyone. He delivered and I can breathe a little easier about the
championship. "
JUSTIN MARKS, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (first):
"The No. 21 M3 was perfectly set-up for anything that the track or the rain
could send our way. The effort the team made to get us out front and keep us
there was fantastic."
BORIS SAID, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (second):
"We started on rain tires and I thought that it was the right choice. We lost a
lot of track position as it stayed dry and had to pit for slicks. We were able
to get it all back, but the penalty ultimately cost us one lap."
JOEY HAND, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (second):
"I was not going to take any chances in these conditions, especially after we
lost a lap due to the stop-and-go penalty and I began to develop a brake
problem. I knew that I was safely ahead of the third place car so I ran to
preserve our 1-2 M3 finish."
TOM MILNER, OWNER, BMW TEAM PTG:
"This probably was not one of our best races from the standpoint of strategy.
We were very unsure of when and how much it would rain so we started the No. 21
M3 on dry tires and the No. 22 and 16 M3s on rain tires. We made a number of
tire changes on the No. 16 M3, but just not at the optimum time and lost laps.
We got the No. 22 M3 back on the right tires at the right time, but the penalty
cost us a lap. It was not pretty, but we raced the conditions and took another
1-2 M3 finish."
HERNANDO CARVAJAL, MOTORSPORT MANAGER, BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC:
"Another great day for BMW Team PTG. They gambled with the tires as the weather
could have gone either way. The win went to the No. 21 M3, but the No. 22 M3
was never far behind. Rain or no rain everyone did everything possible to
ensure a ninth victory."
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