BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team Laguna Seca Qualifying Report

Monterey , Calif. – May 21, 2010…  The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team BMW M3 GT Coupes will start from the third row of the highly competitive GT class in tomorrow’s six-hour American Le Mans Series race at Mazda Laguna Seca. Qualifying drivers Bill Auberlen and Dirk Müller posted fifth and sixth place starting positions in today’ 20-minute session.

Clearly on differing strategies, Dirk Müller in the No. 90 M3 GT left the pits at the green flag that started the 20-minute session. His third lap was his fastest with a time of 1:23.379 at the 2.2-mile circuit. Müller will co-drive with Joey Hand, and the duo currently stands third in GT driver points.

Auberlen joined the session in the No. 92 M3 GT after waiting for some five minutes and quickly moved up the time sheet. His fifth lap time of 1:23.350 was fast enough to secure the fifth starting spot. Auberlen and co-driver Tommy Milner stand second in GT driver points and are looking for their third consecutive podium finish in tomorrow’s race.

Following a 20-minute warm-up session at 10:15 a.m., the six-hour race will start at 2:30 p.m. Saturday.  The full race will be streamed live online at americanlemans.com starting at 5:30 p.m. ET in partnership with TodoCast.tv. CBS Sports will broadcast the event from 1:30 to 3 p.m. ET on Saturday, May 29.

YouTube: Bill Auberlen, Driver, No. 92 M3 GTdescribes his qualifying attempt at ALMS Laguna Seca 2010.

YouTube: Dirk Müller, Driver, No. 90 M3 GTdescribes the competitive level of ALMS GT and his feelings about today’s qualifying result at Laguna Seca.

About BMW Rahal Letterman Racing:

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, 336 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 93 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 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.

BMW’s partner, 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 joined BMW of North America to campaign the BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series.

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

www.bmwgroupna.com

www.press.bmw-motorsport.com

Information about Rahal Letterman Racing is available via the Internet at:

www.rahal.com

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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at the BMW Group PressClub at the following address: www.press.bmwna.com.  Additional information, images and video may be found at www.bmwusanews.com.  Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

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