An interesting take on comparing the street version of the ///M3 to the race version at Lime Rock Park. Lots of marketing and sales pitch but none the less it is an interesting watch and a big hat tip to Fast Lane Daily for delving into one of our favorite cars on the road and the track! I personally loved how Leo ripped into the amateur drivers, I couldn’t agree more and that is part of the reason I see DTM making a real push in the US in 2013!
During the ALMS off season there have been a significant number of changes to the Manufacturer’s Championship winning BMW M3s. The changes began when it was announced that Tommy Milner was being replaced by up and coming German driving star Dirk Werner. Joey Hand, Bill Auberlin and Dirk Müller will remain.
During the same time Rahal Letterman Racing, was joined by former Indy Car owner Mike Lanigan. As Lanigan is now a co-owner the team is known as Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing (RLL). Changes have not just been made to personnel and naming, there have been changes made to the cars as well.
The most notable changes to the former 90 and 92 cars are the addition of BMW ///Motorsport stripes and now being numbered 55 and 56. We have been quite outspoken on the lack of stripes on the cars since their inaugural season and are very pleased to see them return along with BMW’s winning ways.
As is typical with a BMW Life Cycle Impulse or “refresh” the changes are more than skin deep.
And BimmerFile will be there. We’re going to be covering the event first hand as the team takes to the legendary 4 mile track deep in the heart of Wisconsin. Look for video and photos throughout the weekend.
Official Release: When the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team transporters leave their Hilliard Ohio headquarters on August 18th, it will be for two races on back-to-back weekends at two of the longest and fastest road courses in North America. First is Road America on August 20 -22. The 4.0-mile, 14-turn circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was the site of the team’s first 2009 victory. Only three days later, testing begins for the August 27 – 29 Grand Prix of Mosport in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The Mosport round is the only ALMS race north of the border this season.
Each classic circuit represents the essence of sports car racing in North America and their respective configurations remain largely unchanged since the first green flags flew in the late 1950s and early 1960s.
We’re back after our summer break with news on the upcoming 1M and…
A dissection 5 Series steering performance
Thoughts on BMW NA sales (yes we talk about the 6 series)
The Rahal Letterman M3 GT2 performance
MINI (and BMW Motorsport) in the WRC
Why feel is so important and Nurburgring times aren’t.
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Official Release: The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team scored the team’s eighth podium in the sixth round of the American Le Mans Series at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course today. Co-drivers Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner raced the No.92 M3 GT race car to third, while teammates Joey Hand and Dirk Muller (No. 90) placed sixth.
The start of the race saw Hand, from fifth, and Milner, from seventh, mired in the middle of the ultra-competitive GT field. Milner was unable to advance as he waited patiently for tire pressures to accumulate. Hand quickly moved to fourth, but his progress leveled off.
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.
What a story this ALMS race weekend was for BMWNA Motorsport and Rahal Letterman Racing. It was a tale of never tossing in the towel, getting up when you have been knocked down and going for it all.
Many fans thought that the torrential rains that came in with a vengeance on Friday had washed away the ///M3s chance for reaching the podium. The rain had turned the famed tarmac of Lime Rock into an amusement park flume ride and slowed the aerodynamically refreshed E92s to a crawl. Qualifying 9th and 13th usually does not leave much in the way of hope for a podium but the team never felt that way; they were upbeat and knew they had a long way to the front but nothing was impossible.
Lime Rock, situated in the beautiful Connecticut foothills, is one of our favorite tracks in the Northeast and plays the roll as home track to BMW NA. BMW is a proud sponsor and has an extensive history of podiums at the track. Bill Auberlen has one of the longest list of podiums amassed at LR and is always striving to add one more victory.
As we had announced previously, BMW Rahal Letterman Racing will be introducing some changes to the cars in terms of aerodynamics at the LR race. A new aero kit will be raced for the first time in the US since the ///M3 GTs launch in 2009. The new kit reduces weight and allows for more tuning of the down force; which will increase the engineers flexibility in setup.
If all goes according to plan we will be attending the race and covering it as only we can. If you have any questions for the team please let us know in the comments section or through the contact form and we will try our best to get you questions answered.
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We believe in the old school BMW ownership experience. We believe in garage nights with a six pack and some friends. We believe in 2002s, in E30 M3s and E34 540s with the 6 speed. We believe in progress in both design and engineering but we haven't lost sight of what made the brand and its products great all those years ago. And yes, we believe in the manual transmission.
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Sections: //M3\\, ALMS, Motorsport, Video Jul 15th, 2011 1 Comment 
