Team BMW Motorsport - 24h Nürburgring - Finish

Nürburging 24 Hour Race, 12th-13th June 2004

One-two win for Team BMW Motorsport at the Nürburgring.

Nürburg, 13th June 2004. The two BMW M3 GTRs sporting the numbers 42 and 43
were first and second to cross the start/finish line in the Nürburgring 24 Hour
Race. After a total of 143 laps, Dirk Müller (Burbach), Jörg Müller
(Hückelhoven) and Hans-Joachim Stuck (Ellmau), watched by BMW Group's head of
development Professor Burkhard Göschel, took victory in the 32nd edition of the
Eifel marathon. The drivers of the second BMW M3 GTR, bearing the number 43 -
Pedro Lamy (PRT), Duncan Huisman (NDL) and Boris Said (USA) - were the second
team to pass the chequered flag after 142 laps, clinching a double victory for
Team BMW Motorsport.

"I was sweating it out too all the way from Montreal, and was kept permanently
posted on the latest situation by GPS and data transmission," said BMW
Motorsport Director Mario Theissen at the Formula One Grand Prix in Canada.
"This is a fantastic result. A huge compliment to the team and the drivers, who
always managed to keep a cool head and made the right decisions in spite of the
most challenging conditions. BMW Motorsport has added another memorable one-two
victory to its numerous touring car successes at the Nordschleife. The two BMW
M3 GTRs ran like clockwork. After their commanding successes in the ALMS, they
have now corroborated their qualities in Europe as well. We are well equipped
to take on the next 24-hour race at Spa."

With this, its seventh one-two win, BMW continues its story of success in the
Nürburgring 24 Hour Races. The company with the white-blue emblem has claimed
overall victory for the 17th time. The last occasion that a BMW made it to the
top of the podium was in 1998, in a success which made racing history: the BMW
320d became the first diesel-powered model to win a 24-hour event.

Team Manager Charly Lamm noted with tears in his eyes, "Of course we were
bearing the burden of what happened in 2003. You come here and you give your
all, but a 24-hour race isn't over until 24 hours have elapsed. There's always
room for some drama just before the end, as we witnessed among other
participants here. What can I say? It was a dream and it has come true.
Everything worked out perfectly for us."

One of this year's drivers had been in the winning team of 1998: Hans-Joachim
Stuck. For the 53-year-old, it is the third overall win of his career. Stuck's
victories at the Nordschleife have always doubled as premieres: in 1970 he won
the first 24 Hour Race on the Nürburgring, 28 years later came victory in the
BMW 320d, and now the first triumph in a GT model. That takes the tally of this
seasoned driver to three wins each in the Le Mans 24 Hours and in the Eifel
classic.

"Psychologically it was the most strenuous race I have ever entered," said
Stuck after the BMW M3 GTR had crossed the finishing line. "The difficult
weather conditions meant you were constantly riding along a razor's edge. But
despite that it was tremendous fun. I have to express my special praise for the
engineers. They handed us a perfectly functioning BMW M3 GTR."

Stuck's team-mates Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller, by contrast, celebrated their
first overall victory in a 24-hour race. "I'm just over the moon," said Dirk
Müller. "In the last laps I was concentrating on avoiding mistakes at all
costs. When I crossed the finishing line, I went totally goose-pimply all over."

Jörg Müller could hardly believe how hitch-free the 24-hour classic turned out:
"It was almost too perfect. We never touched another car once and we had the
right tyres on almost throughout. It was the greatest race I have ever had.
It's a dream."

The complete BMW press kit on the Nürburgring 24 Hour Race is downloadable at
www.press.bmw.com.