We would have loved to see this race in its entirety but of course why would the weather cooperate? The 92 ///M3 of Milner and Mueller X 2 (no relation) took second place at the rain shortened race. Dirk ended up setting the GT2 class ‘ fastest lap once the tires got up to temperature and the race line dried a bit.

Both cars were sporting some new livery- replacing the “Efficient Dynamics ” graphics on the doors for a more in your face “NEED FOR SPEED- SHIFT “, to ring in the debut of that new video game. What these cars really need are some more of those ///M stripes; maybe from the bottom right then across the hood to the roof with some german bier brand on board! The Flying Lizards Porsches have some great livery, the Corvettes and the Jaguar that will begin competing in the next race will as well, the ///M3 is just looking a little bland by those comparisons but it is performance which matters and the ///Ms have been moving forward!

As an aside- those headlights may be LEDs….

Official Release:
At the mid-point of a very wet Petit Le Mans, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team ‘s No. 92 M3, driven by Tommy Milner, Dirk Mueller, and Joerg Mueller stood 2nd in the GT2 class. Under worsening conditions, the action-packed race was red-flagged after 4 hours, 49 minutes. The running order was frozen and eventually made final, securing the team’s seventh podium of the 2009 season.Dirk Müller set the fastest GT2 lap of the race, with a 1:21.366 minute lap of the Road Atlanta circuit.

Earlier in the race, before a punctured radiator slowed its progress, the No. 90 BMW M3 of Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, and Andy Priaulx was among the fastest GT2 cars. When the red flag fell, the trio was deliberately clawing back toward contention, but was forced to settle for twelfth-place.

Martin Birkmann, BMW of North America Motorsport Manager:

“I’d like to dedicate this podium to the crowd of BMW Car Club members and true race fans that spent their Saturday with us in the pouring rain. This was the first race we’ve started under wet conditions, so we took a very conservative approach. We managed to close the gap to the leaders with good pit calls and fast pit stops. Unfortunately, a mechanical problem dropped the No. 90 M3 out of contention or I think we would have had both M3s on the podium.”

Bobby Rahal, Principal, Rahal Letterman Racing:

“It’s disappointing that the race didn’t go the distance as I think we had the pace to win. At least we were able to end up on the podium again with the No. 92 M3, but it is a shame that Bill, Joey and Andy could not join them. This was a very tough race and I am pleased that both M3s are rolling onto the trailer.”