BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM SCORES SECOND PODIUM AT LONG BEACH

Long Beach, Calif. - April 18, 2009... With a third-place GT2 class finish by the
No. 92 M3 of Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller in the Tequila Patron American Le
Mans Series at Long Beach the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team reached the ALMS
podium for the second consecutive race. The duo completed 70 laps around the
1.968-mile temporary street circuit in the one-hour-and-forty-minute contest.

Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand scored their first points of the season, finishing
eighth in the No. 90 M3 after losing four laps following a collision with a
lapped competitor just past the one-hour mark.

Today's finish moves BMW to fourth in GT2 Manufacturer points. Milner and
Müller now stand fifth in GT2 Driver points.

The race began under a bright Southern California sun with a track temperature
of 100.4 F, as Tommy Milner started the No. 92 M3 from third and Bill Auberlen
behind the wheel of the No. 90 M3 in fourth.

At the 30-minute mark with 21 laps completed, Milner held onto the third
position in a great battle with the fourth- and fifth-place competitor's only
seconds behind. Auberlen had fallen back to sixth, eight seconds behind his
teammate.

Fifteen minutes later the GT2 leader fell out with a broken suspension and
everyone moved up one position, Milner now 23 seconds from the new leader.
Milner lost the second spot on lap 38 as the battle for the podium got even
hotter.
With one hour gone, Auberlen pitted having completed 40 laps. Hand joined the
race with a full tank of fuel and new Dunlop tires on the No. 90 M3. Milner
pitted five laps later, handing the No. 92 M3 over to Dirk Müller in good shape.

With all the GT2 class pit stops complete and some 30 minutes left in the race,
the two M3s were back in qualifying order with the No. 92 in third and the No.
90 in fourth.

On lap 52, bad luck struck the No. 90 M3 when Hand and a lapped competitor made
contact. Damage to the front splitter and fender forced him to the pits. With
only around 20 minutes remaining, Hand returned his bruised and bandaged M3 to
the race in tenth place. He passed one competitor and achieved another spot
through attrition. With five minutes left the only yellow flag of the race flew
and the race ended the field behind the safety car.

On May 15 - 17 the American Le Mans Series travels to Miller Motorsports Park,
in Tooele, Utah, for the Larry H. Miller Dealerships Utah Grand Prix.

Tommy Milner, driver No. 92 M3 (third):
"Our second podium proves how strong this team is. The tires were consistent
and the team called a great pit strategy. No one could beat us in the corners."

Dirk Müller, driver No. 92 M3 (third):
"I am thrilled to be on the podium for a second time in a row. Tommy did a
fantastic first stint and Dunlop gave us excellent tires. It was quite
difficult with all the traffic and the lowering sun became an issue for me late
in the race. We had an awesome pit stop. It was really, really, quick. The M3
had me driving to the limit and I was closing the gap to P2. Unfortunately, a
slow LMP1 car held me off for five laps and I lost 12 to 14 seconds. We
certainly had the potential for a better result."

Bobby Rahal, Team Principal:
"We are certainly happy to be on the podium for a second time. It is the best
evidence of progress. It looked like we could have finished even better, but on
a tight track like this it is very easy to lose time to slower traffic, even
slower prototype class cars."

Martin Birkmann, BMW of North America, LLC Motorsports Manager:
"We captured a second consecutive podium, but again we were unfortunate with
the No. 90 M3. This time however it wasn't racing luck as Joey tangled with a
lapped competitor and perhaps some insufficient flagging played a part. One
target was to get both cars to the checkered flag so for that we can say
mission accomplished. We continue to look at the glass half-full and we will
see what happens at Miller."

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 also
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
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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
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www.rolls-roycemotorcars.com

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