12 Hours of Sebring Qualifying Results

Sebring, Fla – March 19, 2010… The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team completed an intense week of pre-race preparations and practice with a bittersweet qualifying result for the 58th running of the American Le Mans Series 12 Hours of Sebring.  The No. 92 and No. 90 BMW M3 GT Coupes will start from 7th and 13th on the GT2 grid[1], respectively.

All week, the compelling pace from both BMW Coupes brought energy and excitement to the team, and an inspirational drive by pilot Dirk Mϋller placed the No. 90 M3 into the provisional pole position. However, a mechanical issue caused a technical infraction and dashed the team’s chances of a front row start. The mechanical issue which caused the infraction has been identified and corrected. Now, Mϋller and co-drivers Joey Hand and Andy Priaulx, along with the No. 90 team, face the challenging mission of starting from the rear of the class at the 12 Hour classic.

Bill Auberlen, backed by co-drivers Tommy Milner and Dirk Werner, will start the No. 92 BMW M3 from the 7th spot on the GT2 grid, after Auberlen set a qualifying lap of 2:01.922 minutes around the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway, 0.772 seconds from the eventual polesitter. Auberlen was one of eight GT2 drivers to qualify faster than last year’s pole time.

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, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 143 BMW motorcycle retailers, 91 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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[1] For the 12 Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans, the class will be called GT2 to match ACO classifications. For all other ALMS events in 2010, the class will be called GT.