ALMS: BMW Motorsport second double in one week
Round 6, American Le Mans Series, Lexington, Ohio (USA)
BMW Motorsport moved to the lead in manufacturer and driver standings after its
second-consecutive one-two finish in the American Le Mans Series GT class on
Saturday. JJ Lehto (FIN)/Jörg Müller (D) secured the victory for the new BMW M3
GTR. Fredrik Ekblom (S)/Dirk Müller (D) came second with the sister car. It was
BMW Motorsport's fourth victory of the season, including wins at Jarama, Spain,
Sears Point Raceway, California (USA) and Mosport, Ontario (CDN).
JJ Lehto (FIN) started second in class in the BMW M3 GTR, took the lead on the
first lap and opened up more than a 12-second lead. He pitted halfway through
the two-hour 45-minute race and handed off to Jörg Müller (D), who held first
place to the checkered flag.
Fredrik Ekblom (S) started fourth in class and moved to second after 40
minutes. Dirk Müller (D) took over at the midpoint of the race and maintained
the position to the finish.
BMW Team PTG drivers Peter Cunningham (USA) and Niclas Jönsson (S) finished
fourth in their BMW M3 GTR and their teammates Hans-Joachim Stuck (D) and Boris
Said (USA) were seventh.
BMW Motorsport team manager Charly Lamm: "This has been a dream week for us,
with back-to-back one-two victories for BMW Motorsport, at Mosport last week
and Mid-Ohio today. It was a fantastic effort from our four drivers, thanks to
the team for preparing such reliable cars and the lightning-fast pit stops and
thanks to Michelin for very consistent tires. We are extremely happy."
JJ Lehto: "It was the first time we've been able to get the car better
throughout the last few races, and it's become more familiar. I had a very
good start, outbraked the Porsche and took the lead. Then I just kept it
consistent and strong and opened up the gap. It was a very trouble-free first
stint, just a perfect run for this day."
Jörg Müller: "I really enjoyed the track. Last year we had a lot of ovals
which don't really suit our car. I'm glad we have good circuits again and this
is one of them. JJ did just a fantastic stint and we were a little bit lucky
with the pace car, but today we had the better car. I wasn't cruising, we were
doing competitive times."
Fredrik Ekblom: "I had a good stint, started fourth and left it to Dirk in
second place. He did his usual very good job and brought the car home. Again,
a great day for BMW and the very efficient team. Thank you to the team -
they're fantastic."
Dirk Müller: "I'm very happy with first and second in the race, second time in
a row. We had a really great car, our crew was perfect, our pitstop was
brilliant and we had the car to win today. Fredrik did a hell of a job."
Leading GT results:
1. JJ Lehto (FIN), Jörg Müller (D), BMW M3 GTR, 107 laps
2. Fredrik Ekblom (S), Dirk Müller (D), BMW M3 GTR, - 3.26 seconds
3. Randy Pobst (USA), Christian Menzel (D), Porsche GT3 RS, - 1 lap
4. Peter Cunningham (USA), Niclas Jönsson (S), BMW M3 GTR, - 1 lap
5. Johnny Mowlen (GB), Mike Fitzgerald (USA), Porsche GT3 RS, - 3 laps
6. Lucas Luhr (D), Sascha Massen (D), Porsche GT3 RS, - 5 laps
Taking deletable results into account the rankings in the GT class are as
follows, with two races to go:
1. Jörg Müller, BMW, 140 points
2. JJ Lehto, BMW, 139
3. Sascha Maassen, Porsche, 133
4. Lucas Luhr, Porsche, 132
5. Boris Said, BMW, 122
6. Hans-Joachim Stuck, BMW, 119
7. Dirk Müller, BMW, 116
8. Fredrik Ekblom, BMW, 115
9. Randy Pobst, Porsche, 114
Christian Menzel, Porsche, 114