PHOTO UPDATE 1: ALMS Manufacturer's and Team Championships to the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team.

Woodcliff Lake , N.J. – Oct. 2, 2010… In only its second season of competition, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team won the American Le Mans Series GT Manufacturer and Team Championships in the closing moments of the 13th annual Petit Le Mans, after a season of hard-fought competition.

The fourth place finish by the embattled No. 92 M3 GT of Bill Auberlen, Tommy Milner and Dirk Werner was the only race in 2010 that the Team did not finish with at least one M3 GT on the podium. The No. 92 M3 GT completed 354 laps in a race that lasted just over 9 hours, 12 minutes. The race was ultimately decided on fuel efficiency, and BMW-RLR was awarded the Michelin GreenX Challenge race win for the best combination of performance and efficiency as a result.

The finish was enough to score the badly needed points to stay ahead of fierce competitors Ferrari and Porsche in the GT Manufacturer’s Championship by a single point. “All it takes is one point,” quipped a happy Bobby Rahal, Team Principal, at the post-race press conference. Rahal Letterman Racing handily secured the GT Team Championship with the result. Martin Birkmann, BMW NA Motorsport Manager, reflected, “Tonight I can say we’ve done almost everything we set out to do when we put the program together, and we dedicate this Manufacturer’s Championship to the memory of our dear friend, Jack Pitney.”

The great start by the No. 90 M3 GT was spoiled by a controversial steward’s call for alleged contact only an hour into the race. The resulting stop-and-go penalty cost Müller one lap, but then extensive repairs to a failed starter motor following the car’s first scheduled pitstop effectively eliminated the No. 90 from contention. Müller, Hand, and Priaulx continued to circulate, ultimately finishing 13th in the GT class.

YouTube: JOY is Victory on Pit Wall.

YouTube: Bobby Rahal reflects on winning the Manufacturer and Team Championships.

YouTube: Martin Birkmann reflects on the accomplishments of the 2010 ALMS season.

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 and X3 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, 100 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.