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 RLL Qualifies 5th and 10th for Sports Car Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
Sun Jul 13 03:21:57 CEST 2014 Press Release
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 12, 2014 . . . BMW Team RLL will start from the fifth and tenth starting positions in tomorrow’s 2.75-hour Sports Car Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 12, 2014 . . . BMW Team RLL will start from the fifth and tenth starting positions in tomorrow’s 2.75-hour Sports Car Grand Prix at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada.
Despite running near the front of the GTLM class throughout practice both cars were unable to post a faster time in today’s 15-minute qualifying session. Dirk Müller qualified the No.56 BMW Z4 fifth with a time of 1:15.497 minutes around the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit - .291 seconds from the pole winning Dodge Viper SRT of Kuno Wittmer. Müller’s quickest practice time (1:15.270 minutes) would have qualified him second. He and co-driver John Edwards stand seventh in GTLM driver points.
Andy Priaulx qualified the No. 55 BMW Z4 tenth with a time of 1:16.395 minutes. Priaulx and co-driver Bill Auberlen currently stand second in GTLM driver points.
“Both drivers felt the grip was pretty low after the CTSCC race,” said Jay O’Connell, RLL VP Technology. “I think Dirk did a good job getting good speed out of his car and we are going through the data on the other car to figure out what happened on Andy's run. He struggled with the grip of the car on that run, and that is not characteristic. We will figure out what is going on with the car and get it right for the race tomorrow. It is forecast for rain, and rain has usually been good for us as the car has been good in the wet. The rain would be welcome I think!”
Dirk Müller, driver No. 56 Z4 GTLM – (5th) – “Coming from first in the last practice session down to fifth in qualifying is disappointing. The track was not in the condition we had this morning because of all the different rubber laid down by the races today. It was the same for everyone, but it affected us more. We can see from the data the others made up the time on the straights. All things considered, I had a good qualifying effort. Considering the circumstances with a little less grip on the track that is the best I could do.”
Andy Priaulx, driver No. 55 Z4 GTLM – (10th) – “That was no fun as the car had no grip. I drove the track for the first time in the first practice session and I was on the pace, but I have gotten slower and slower and that is not normal. We put Bill in the car in the third practice and he didn't do any better time than me so we have got issues. We just don’t have the balance we normally have and, obviously, must find it again.”
In other BMW racing news, Maxime Martin, a BMW Team RLL driver in 2013, drove to his first career DTM pole today at the Moscow Raceway. More information on BMW Motorsport’s DTM program can be found at www.bmw-motorsport.com.
The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix will take the green flag at 2:05 p.m. ET Sunday, July 13th. The race will be broadcast live on Fox Sports 1 with coverage beginning at 2:00 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend. More information on the program can be found at www.bmwusa.com and www.imsa.com.
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 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 and X4 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 339 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 139 BMW motorcycle retailers, 120 MINI passenger car dealers, and 35 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
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for over two decades, compiling 30 victories, 42 poles and three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) as well as claiming an Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le Mans Series. In 2010 the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category. In 2011 the team swept all three GT titles - Manufacturer, Team and Driver.
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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.
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