In only the team ‘s second season of competition, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team has won the American Le Mans Series GT Manufacturer and Team Championships on the last lap of Petit Le Mans. The video above captures those incredible first few seconds that the team learned they had won both the ALMS Team & Manufacturer titles.

Ironically the fourth place finish by the No. 92 M3 of Bill Auberlen, Tommy Milner and Dirk Werner was the only race in 2010 that RLR didn ‘t finish with at least one car on the podium.The race was ultimately decided on fuel efficiency, and as a bonus the team was awarded the Michelin GreenX Challenge race win for the best combination of performance and efficiency as a result.

BMW NA Motorsport Manager Martin Birkmann

The result was enough to score the needed points beat Ferrari and Porsche in the GT Manufacturer’s Championship by a single point. “All it takes is one point,” quipped a happy Bobby Rahal, Team Principal, at the post-race press conference.

Martin Birkmann, BMW NA Motorsport Manager, reflected, “Tonight I can say we’ve done almost everything we set out to do when we put the program together, and we dedicate this Manufacturer’s Championship to the memory of our dear friend, Jack Pitney.”

(photos and more video including the last lap after the break)

Bobby Rahal

However lost in the win was the #90 car. It had both a great start was spoiled by a controversial steward’s call for alleged contact only an hour into the race. The resulting stop-and-go penalty cost Müller one lap, but then extensive repairs to a failed starter motor following the car’s first scheduled pitstop effectively eliminated the No. 90 from contention. Müller, Hand, and Priaulx continued to circulate, ultimately finishing 13th in the GT class.

It was an incredible finish and being embedded in the pits we had a unique opportunity to witness it all. We ‘ll have more on the race, the win and of course the celebration soon.

Last Lap Recap as Seen on Speedtv

Note the pretty poor coverage by GT2 on Speed. They never even found the BMW as it was passing the Ferrari to win both Championships let alone had a camera in the pits to capture the spontaneous celebrations.

Full Gallery