BMW Returns to the American Le Mans Series 2009
Out on the battlefield, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3s are recognizable by their high-pitched scream and piercing yellow Xenon headlights. “You can hear the racecar all the way around the track,” says Martin Birkmann, manager of BMW Motorsport for North America.
“But when that green flag falls, your heart beats louder than all the cheers of the fans in the stands.”
This year’s American Le Mans Series (ALMS) heralds BMW’s return to GT2 racing after a two-year hiatus.
Rule changes and a new platform for the production M3 gave BMW the opportunity to field a brand-new racecar for 2009. GT2 regulations require a direct relationship between the racecar and the street model.
So the development of a new production BMW M3, with its enhanced efficiency and V-8 power, pristine 50/50 weight distribution, pronounced torsional stiffness and lightweight carbon-fiber roof, presented BMW Motorsport with a perfect platform to build a new racecar. Powered by the same 4.0-liter V-8 engine block as the road car, the racing motor reaches a thundering 485 hp.
The M3 racecar finished its first road tests with BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team last December. Bobby Rahal was enthusiastic. “BMW has an illustrious racing heritage,” he said, adding that it is an honor to be associated with the newest M3. BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team has tapped celebrated BMW and GT drivers Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, Dirk Müller and Tommy Milner to put the M3s through the ALMS battleground of 10 races across North America in 2009.
The four drivers face the competition on North America’s most legendary racetracks, with a schedule that tallies seven months, seven states – and two countries. Battling the most storied names in the sport, in contests ranging from 1.75-hour sprints to 1,000-mile endurance tests, on sweeping raceways and exciting city circuits, they’re bringing the action right to the spectators.
Each event offers access to open paddocks before races, and personal time with the drivers, cars and teams. A unique trackside experience ensures spectators are offered an emotional stake in the competition.
When the checkered flag falls at the last race at Laguna Seca this autumn, the drivers will have covered some 4,200 miles and over 44 hours on a combination of ALMS courses that favor the M3’s low center of gravity, superb weight distribution and thrust. These traits enable exceptional traction out of tight corners and outstanding compliance through fast “sweepers” and over elevation changes.
BMW’s return to GT2 racing bolsters the M3’s presence in showrooms. The similarities between the production and racing versions’ lightweight construction, aerodynamic efficiency, electronic traction, stiff body structure and dynamic controls primes the all-new M3 not only for the thrills of the racetrack, but for the grand vistas of roadways from Connecticut to California.
Source: BMW Magazine