BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM QUALIFIES P4 AND P6 FOR UTAH GRAND PRIX

Tooele, Utah - May 16, 2009... Dirk Müller, driving the No. 92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3 qualified fourth in the 10-car GT2 class for Sunday's American Le Mans Series Utah Grand Prix. Müller set his fastest time of 1:48.314 minutes around the 3.048-mile circuit on his third lap of the 20-minute qualifying session. Müller and co-driver Tommy Milner will attempt to reach the duo's third consecutive podium in Sunday's race.

Müller said, “P4 was what I was expecting. Of course, you always hope to do better, but I believe we have a good car for the race. We are more focused on the race. That’s the key point. We have finished second from P4 before so we are ready.”

Joey Hand, who will co-drive the No. 90 M3 with Bill Auberlen, will line up directly behind their teammates after qualifying sixth. His lap of 1:48.628 minutes came on his sixth lap of the qualifying session.

Hand said, “At the end of practice we were making big changes and doing one-lap runs. On our qualifying simulation [during practice] with new tires, the M3 was quite good and we knew we were in the ballpark. Sixth is decent in this field of cars. At the end of qualifying the M3 was the best it has been all week.”

Sunday's two-hour-and-forty minute race is scheduled to start at 2:15 p.m. and will be televised on SPEED television beginning at 10:00 p.m. ET.

About the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team:

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.

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 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 also serve as the organizers of the Formula BMW Americas championship.

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

www.bmwgroupna.com
www.bmwusanews.com
www.press.bmw-motorsport.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.bmwgroup.com and select “USA” from the list of National PressClubs. Broadcast quality video footage is available via The NewsMarket at www.thenewsmarket.com.

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