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.
With the press introduction of the M3 GTS the fine folks at M have released a series of clips demonstrating the car’s abilities, a few sound bites from the GTS project manager and a look back at the last 25 years of the M3. However instead of making you wade through them all we’ve edited each together to create something of a cohesive video. Enjoy.
As we hinted at last month here at BF the US will see its first non-hybrid model with Auto/Stop Start with September production. We had heard several models would see this fuel saving feature this fall but official documents have revealed that the ///M3 will be the introductory model of this new to the US Efficient Dynamics technology.
Auto/Stop start is a feature that can be turned on or off by the driver, the system basically turns the engine off when the car is at a stop idling (while in Neutral) and restarts when the clutch or accelerator is depressed. It has not been taken into account by the EPA for official MPG figures but is said to improve economy in the real world as is evidenced by EU methods.
The BMW Rahal Letterman M3s had a solid day at Miller Park finishing 2nd and 4th in class. But the bigger news is that the team is now at the top of the GT Manufacturer point standings after four rounds of the 2010 American Le Mans Series.
Official Release: Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner, co-driving the No. 92 M3 GT, finished 14 seconds behind the winner in the two-hour-and-forty-five-minute contest, continuing this season’s BMW-RLR podium streak. Joey Hand and Dirk Müller finished fourth in the No. 90 M3 GT, losing a third-place finish in the closing minutes of the race as a damaged exhaust reduced the BMW’s power.
According to some official documents intercepted by our friends at Bimmerfest, BMWNA’s lawyers are requiring owners of the 30 special edition Frozen Grey M3 to sign a paint agreement. Another by-product of the litigious US culture or is it really necessary to treat the matte paint with special care? Here’s the list of suggestions from BMW NA to avoid damaging the matte finish:
Never polish or wax the frozen gray paint as it could lead to a glossy surface.
If washing your frozen gray M3 in a automatic car wash choose a car wash that does not apply vehicle wax. Rinse the M3 with high pressure water to remove dirt before sending it through the automatic car wash to avoid scratches from sand, dust and other micro-particles.
Remove bugs, bird poo, tree sap, tar, fuel spills or oil immediately using a soft sponge.
Avoid strong rubbing while cleaning the frozen paint. BMW sells suitable products for maintaining the frozen paint at your local dealer.
Repairs to the paint (scratches, dents, etching) must be completed by a BMW trained body shop. Most auto body shop will not be capable of repairing the frozen gray paint.
Tommy Milner takes you for a lap in the M3 GT at Miller Motorsports Park. Tooele, Utah, July 10, 2010. The M3s will be starting 5th and 6th for tomorrow’s race. You can follow the action live throughout the weekend on Speed TV or at the following sites:
BimmerFile is dedicated to bringing you the most interesting news, links and reviews related to the BMW brand and it's vehicles.
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.
We long for the days of the wave and for the days of roll-up windows. Yet we love the gadgets on the inside and the xenons on the outside.
In short, we can't get enough of BMWs. This is BimmerFile.
Sections: //M3\\, BF Feature, Motorsport Jul 25th, 2010 2 Comments 
