BMW Team RLL and Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation Team Up at Road America.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 6, 2015… The No. 24 BMW Team RLL Z4, driven by John Edwards and Lucas Luhr, will be racing with Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation livery this weekend in Round Seven of the 2015 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The fifth installment of the Mission: Impossible movie franchise from Paramount and Skydance Media opened to #1 at the worldwide box office on July 31st and reached a global box office gross of more than $150 million in its first week of release. The film features several BMW models including the all-new BMW 7 Series, the brand’s flagship in its sixth generation. BMW is the exclusive worldwide automotive partner of this installment of the legendary action film franchise starring Tom Cruise.

“Ultimate performance is exactly what Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation, our BMW Z4 racing program and, most importantly, the BMW brand is all about,” said Trudy Hardy, BMW of North America LLC. Vice President of Marketing. “The decision to run the film’s livery this weekend at Road America was an easy one and is just one more example of how BMW NA has marketed on the race track since our very first days in North America 40 years ago with the BMW 3.0 CSL.”

This is the second time BMW has lent its superior technological support to the franchise, enabling it to deliver breathtaking automotive stunt scenes shot around the globe. BMW previously partnered with Paramount on 2011’s “Mission: Impossible – Ghost Protocol.”

In addition to providing production support to the filmmaking team, BMW of North America will launch a series of “Mission to Drive” marketing initiatives around the film including television, radio and digital advertising. The automaker was the exclusive sponsor of the world premiere of the film in Vienna, Austria.

Road America has seen more BMW Team RLL success than any other circuit in North America. The venerable four-mile, 14-turn circuit in Elkhart Lake, Wis. is a personal favorite of team principal Bobby Rahal and his team has won races for BMW three times (M3: 2009, 2010, 2012), finishing second twice (M3: 2011; Z4: 2014).

This season BMW Team RLL arrives at Road America with a four point lead in the GTLM class Manufacturer points standings by virtue of two wins and an additional four podium finishes in the first six races of the ten-race season. Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner stand second in the driver points standings. John Edwards and Lucas Luhr stand third. The No. 25 Z4 and No. 24 Z4 are second and third in team points standings respectively.

The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase takes the green flag at 2:05 p.m. CT Sunday, August 9th and will be broadcast live on FOX Sports 1 from 3:00 - 6:00 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.

Paramount Pictures and Skydance present a Tom Cruise / Bad Robot Production, “MISSION: IMPOSSIBLE – ROGUE NATION.” With the IMF disbanded and Ethan (Tom Cruise) out in the cold, the team now faces off against a network of highly skilled special agents, the Syndicate. These highly trained operatives are hell bent on creating a new world order through an escalating series of terrorist attacks. Ethan gathers his team and joins forces with disavowed British agent Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), who may or may not be a member of this rogue nation, as the group faces its most impossible mission yet. Starring Tom Cruise, Jeremy Renner, Simon Pegg, Rebecca Ferguson, Ving Rhames, Sean Harris and Alec Baldwin.

The film is directed by Christopher McQuarrie, with a screenplay by Christopher McQuarrie and story by Christopher McQuarrie and Drew Pearce. Based on the television series created by Bruce Geller. Produced by Tom Cruise, J.J. Abrams, Bryan Burk, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg and Don Granger. Jake Myers is an executive producer.

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; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based 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, 148 BMW motorcycle retailers, 123 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 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.

The BMW Group

With its three brands, BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services.  As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2014, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.118 million cars and 123,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2013 was euro 7.91 billion on revenues amounting to approximately euro 76.06 billion. As of 31 December 2013, the BMW Group had a workforce of 110,351 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been built on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

Rahal Letterm an 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, CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for over two decades. Prior to the start of the 2015 season, the team had compiled 30 victories, 47 poles, 130 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) and claimed 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. The following year, the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles - Manufacturer, Team and Driver – in 2011. In 2012 the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. The 2014 season brought a new challenge with the creation of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and the team finished on the podium six times including four second-place finishes. In 2015, the team will attempt to add to their 10 wins and 49 sports car podium finishes.

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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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