4th race in the ALMS on 9 July at the Nürburgring

Home race for these spectacular sports cars - BMW leading in all disciplines

Munich. BMW sports cars are on a home visit - for its fourth round the American
Le Mans Series (ALMS) will be held in Germany on 9 July. This is a new venture
in the ALMS calendar and also means the rebirth of a tradition - 1000 kilometre
races at the Nürburgring.

BMW will be represented in the Eifel by two V12 LMR, which develop around 600
bhp, and its driver pairings, JJ Lehto (FIN)/Jörg Müller (D) and Bill Auberlen
(USA)/Jean-Marc Gounon (F). After two victories by Lehto/Müller in races two
and three in Charlotte (USA) and Silverstone (GB) Müller leads with 78 points,
followed by Lehto, who, as a result of having recorded fewer laps in the lead,
only has 76 points. The chasing pack is led by Panoz and Audi drivers, with
Auberlen (48 points) and Gounon (39 points), the other two BMW drivers in
places nine and eleven. BMW also leads the rankings for chassis and engine
manufacturers and in the team championship with 74 points in each, followed by
Audi on 63 points.

"This lead is the just reward for good drivers and a skilful team strategy",
says BMW Motorsport Director Gerhard Berger. However, he still gives the
opposition plenty of respect, "But Audi is now racing with its new car that won
the 24 hour Le Mans race 14 days ago - whilst we are still using the car that
won Le Mans twelve months ago." The record of the 99 BMW is impressive - two
BMW V12 LMR cars have started ten races and in every race there has been at
least one place on the podium, with a total of seven victories.

For the 2000 season, in which BMW did not defend its 1999 Le Mans victory as a
result of its commitment to Formula 1, the company has not developed a new
sports car. Dr. Mario Theissen, the BMW Motorsport Director responsible for
Engineering explains, "We are looking at improving the details and maintaining
the incredibly high level of reliability offered by the car."

Team Manager Charly Lamm goes on, "I am delighted that after almost two years
we are bringing the BMW V12 LMR to Germany for the first time. I do not see
ourselves as favourites. But firstly we have improved the handling of the car
during testing in Mugello and secondly the 1000 kilometre race means 220 laps,
2640 corners, certainly five refuelling stops and a race duration of nearly six
hours. If you want to win here you will have to do all that without making any
mistakes. That is a complex challenge, which is very difficult to plan."

All four drivers who will start the race in the BMW V12 LMR cars in the
Prototype Class of ALMS know the Nürburgring. But none of them has so many
memories as Hans-Joachim Stuck. Stuck (49), who is competing in the GT Class in
the BMW M3 with the Americans Boris Said and Johannes van Overbeek, and who
currently holds tenth place in the rankings, drove his first race on the Eifel
circuit in 1969 when, after 300 kilometres on the old North Loop, brought his
BMW 2002 home in third place.

The race will start on Sunday, 9 July at 12 noon.
Eurosport will report on the race from 7.30 pm to 8.35 pm.