To the extent that historical press releases reference BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC as the manufacturer of certain X model vehicles, the referenced vehicles are manufactured in South Carolina with a combination of U.S. origin and imported parts and components.
PressClub USA · Article.
BMW Team RLR to Defend GT Titles in 2011 American Le Mans Series
Tue Dec 07 15:33:57 CET 2010 Press Release
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. - Dec. 7, 2010... BMW has announced its return for a third consecutive season of American Le Mans Series competition in 2011 to defend its 2010 GT Manufacturer and Team championships. Before launching the new championship defense, BMW of North America and Rahal Letterman Racing partnership will change the name of its partnership to BMW Team RLR, to align with BMW Motorsport’s global racing nomenclature.
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Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Dec. 7, 2010… BMW has announced its return for a third consecutive season of American Le Mans Series competition in 2011 to defend its 2010 GT Manufacturer and Team championships. Before launching the new championship defense, BMW of North America and Rahal Letterman Racing partnership will change the name of its partnership to BMW Team RLR, to align with BMW Motorsport’s global racing nomenclature.
Two new BMW M3 GT race cars are being constructed by the Team for returning drivers Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand and Dirk Mϋller. BMW Motorsport driver Dirk Werner will replace Tommy Milner who has left to pursue other opportunities. Werner co-drove with Auberlen and Milner at the Twelve Hours of Sebring and the Petit Le Mans in 2010.
“Consistency was the key to our championships last season,” said Martin Birkmann, outgoing BMW of North America Motorsport Manager. “The four full-season drivers are a major component in our success and we are excited to have
Dirk Werner join us in 2011 to maintain our strong driver lineup. Tommy Milner is truly an outstanding talent. We thank him for his years of service to BMW and wish him nothing but the best.”
Martin Birkmann will move to Munich and enter his new role as Manager, Powertrain Strategy for BMW Group on January 1, 2011. Larry Koch will become responsible for management of BMW of North America’s racing programs in 2011.
“We are very proud of what we have accomplished with BMW over the past two seasons and are eagerly anticipating the 2011 season where we intend to continue enhancing our efforts,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “We welcome Dirk Werner as a full-time driver with BMW Team RLR in 2011 and feel secure that he will bolster what has proven to be a very strong driver lineup. Our team is currently working on the 2011 BMW M3 and we look forward to getting it on the test track in just seven short weeks.”
The 2011 American Le Mans Series starts with the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 19, 2011. BMW Team RLR will begin testing the new race car chassis at the end of January, also at Sebring.
About BMW Team RLR
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 nearly two decades, compiling 22 victories, 31 poles and two series championships (1992, 2010) as well as an Indianapolis 500 championship (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series, and in 2010 won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category.
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Journalist note: Information about the BMW Group and its products is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com. Real-time updates at www.twitter.com.BMWNA_Racing. Video interviews and on-board clips at www.youtube.com/BMWNAMotorsport. Information about Rahal Letterman Racing is available via the Internet at: www.rahal.com.