BMW Team RLL – Mid-Ohio ALMS Preview

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 1 2012… The August 4th Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is next on the 2012 American Le Mans Series calendar for BMW Team RLL. Now standing second in the GT Class Manufacturer point standings, Mid-Ohio marks the beginning of the second half of the ALMS season for the 2010 and 2011 class champions as well as special homecoming for team principal Bobby Rahal who attended the very first sports car race at the circuit in 1962.

Following a streak of three consecutive podium finishes in the first three races of the season, including a win at the 12 Hours of Sebring, BMW Team RLL had two difficult races at Lime Rock Park and Mosport. Only fifth and sixth place finishes were netted at Lime Rock Park and the post race disqualification of the winner gave the team a third and seventh place finish at Mosport. Trailing Chevrolet by 13 points in Manufacturer standings and 18 points behind in the Team standings, BMW Team RLL is looking for a strong result at Mid-Ohio to move closer to the top. Joey Hand and Dirk Müller stand third in driver points. Teammates Bill Auberlen and Jörg Müller stand sixth.

“We had a very productive test at Mid-Ohio about a month ago”, said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “I’m hopeful that will give us the insight that we need to win. It’s a good track for the BMW M3 GT. We’ve shown in past years that we can manage the pace - just not for enough time. Hopefully Dunlop and our team can produce a good handling car that will figure strongly in the race. Mid-Ohio is a handling course not a horsepower track like Mosport. I feel confident that from a handling perspective we’re better than anyone out there.”

Commenting on the team he continued, “This is a mature team. We’ve been racing a long time. We’ve seen it all. Some days you get a little good luck and some days you get a little bad luck, but you hate to rely on that. Frankly we got lucky in Mosport when the winner did not pass tech. All of our guys have been around and yes we have had some really tough races but I don’t see any hand wringing. We can win this championship. It’s still wide open. We closed in on the Corvette a little bit at Mosport. We’ll just keep our heads down and focus on what we can do to make our car better every lap.”

Bill Auberlen, driver No. 55 M3 GT – “Mid Ohio here we come. At Canadian Tire Motorsport Park we had a fast car, but we had a bit of drama. Now we're all about fighting back. We tested at Mid-Ohio earlier this year and feel like we have a pretty good car, but the competition will continue to be extremely tough.”

J ö rg M ü ller, driver No. 55 M3 GT –“After the bad result at Mosport I'm really looking forward to the race in Mid-Ohio. Not only is it BMW Team RLL's home track, but our test went very well. Mid Ohio is a very nice circuit and it definitely has a lot more possibilities to overtake than Mosport.”

Joey Hand, driver No. 56 M3 GT – “I like to drive Mid Ohio. Of all the tracks in the US this one gives an advantage if you have the knowledge of the circuit and some tricks learned from experience. I lived in Ohio so in some ways it is my home track. We had a good test there a month ago and that’s always a good thing.”

Dirk M ü ller, driver No. 56 M3 GT – “Mid-Ohio is like Lime Rock because there are always a lot of fans, friends and family around. Our Dunlops always work well there and I am looking forward to put even more pressure on our competition and regain the lead in the championship.”

The 2.45-hour Mid-Ohio Sports Car Challenge is the sixth round of the 2012 ALMS championship. The race will take the green flag at 1:05 p.m. ET on Saturday, August 4th. ABC television will air the race same-day beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Live streaming coverage is available starting at 12:45 p.m. ET on ESPN3.com.

The Series’ website offers additional content such as live in-car cameras, and timing and scoring for all users around the world. Viewers outside the U.S. can watch all ALMS races live on ALMS.com.