BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM M3s WILL START ST. PETE RACE FROM THIRD AND FOURTH ON GT2 GRID

St. Petersburg, Fla. – April 3, 2009… After setting the fastest GT2 class time in the one-hour practice session immediately before qualifying, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3s qualified in the third and fourth GT2 class starting positions for tomorrow’s Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg.

Joey Hand, co-driving the No. 90 M3 with Bill Auberlen, will start third after recording a 1:13.262 minute lap on his fourth circuit around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course. Dirk Müller’s third lap of the 20-minute session, 1:13.458 minutes, will put him next to Hand, fourth in the GT2 field. Müller will co-drive with Tommy Milner.

Earlier today, the 11-car GT2 field was greeted with a torrential downpour half way through the morning’s one-hour practice session. Both cars took to the track, but the chance to collect data during the team’s first laps at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit was limited.

The one-hour and-fifty-five minute Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:20 p.m. tomorrow.

Joey Hand, driver No. 90 BMW M3 (third):

“The BMW M3 loves this circuit. The car is so agile that I can stick it between these walls and leave only millimeters to the mirrors. The M3 always brakes and corners really well. It drives like a go kart. My favorite part of the circuit is the Turn 11 and 12 sequence. You are totally hooked up in fourth gear, turn in fast, off the throttle, over a little curb, in the grass, fly in left, settle and back on it. I am psyched we are on the second row because it is so difficult to pass on a street course. It’s really important to start close to the front.”

Dirk Mueller, driver No. 92 BMW M3 (fourth):
“I was aiming for my fast lap on lap four, but I’m not entirely happy because I caught traffic. My laps could have been better, but for the team I am delighted. Capturing P3 and P4 is great! From my background racing Touring cars in Europe, street circuits are home to me and I really love racing on them. This track demands a high level of concentration so it is really exciting.”

Bobby Rahal, team principal
“I am pleased we are beginning to show progress. Any new effort takes time, but perhaps we are changing the rate of our learning curve. I believe the team’s knowledge about St. Pete from previous Indy Car and ALMS experience played a large factor today and will certainly help us tomorrow. It is important to start at the front of the field and we look forward to tomorrow’s race.

About Rahal Letterman Racing:
Rahal Letterman Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for more than a decade compiling 20 victories, 30 poles and one series championship (Bobby Rahal in 1992 in CART) and an Indianapolis 500 championship (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2008 Rahal Letterman Racing again won Rookie-of-the-Year honors at the Indianapolis 500 and partnered with Andersen Racing to run two entries in the Indy Pro Series. In 2009 the team has joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series and will serve as the organizers of the Formula BMW Americas championship.

BMW Group In America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 83 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Information about BMW Group products is available to consumers via the Internet at:

www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusa.com
www.bmwmotorcycles.com
www.miniusa.com
www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

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