BMW Press Club
www.press.bmwgroup.com
BMW website – www.bmwusa.com
PTG website – www.ptgracing.com

Bill Cobb
Press Officer at the track
215-295-3115 / 215 431-7223 cellular / wrcobb@attglobal.net

BMW Team PTG M3s Finish Fourth and Sixth in Miami 250

Winchester, Va. (Sept. 20, 2004) – BMW Team PTG came within 23 minutes of their eighth straight Rolex Sports Car Series GT class victory, but the team’s run of good luck ended this weekend. After confidently leading the Miami 250 for more than two hours and 20 minutes, and building a one-lap margin on the competition, the No. 21 M3 of Bill Auberlen and Justin Marks suffered an engine failure. The duo was credited with sixth place finish after completing 86 laps. The No. 22 M3 of Boris Said and Joey Hand finished fourth (98 laps) after an early race pit stop to replace a cut right rear tire dropped them a number of laps down. A deteriorating clutch kept them from regaining the lost ground later in the race.

BMW Team PTG’s bad luck resulted in the first win of the year for The Racer’s Group Porsche of Kevin Buckler and Tom Nastasi.

The team’s fourth place finish held BMW’s lead in all GT-class championships; Manufacturers Points, Team Points and Drivers Points. Bill Auberlen leads the Driver’s Points (278). Boris Said is just one point behind in second (277), Justin Marks is fourth (245) and Joey Hand sixth (226).

The next race will be the VIR 400, Round 10 of the Rolex Sports Car Series, at Virginia International Raceway in Alton, Virginia on October 1-3. The race will be televised live on Speed Channel at 12:00 p.m. ET on Sunday, Oct. 3.

JOEY HAND, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (fourth):
“ I got knocked off the track in the opening laps and cut the tire. It took three or four laps to deflate and finally let go entering Turn 1. I had to limp back to the pits and, ultimately, we lost two laps there and then one more on the next caution period. Even before the clutch slowed us, our day was over early.”

BORIS SAID, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (fourth):
“ The clutch was bad when I got in the car and all I could do was nurse it home. Sooner or later bad luck catches up with everyone. In fact, it caught up with both cars this weekend.”

JUSTIN MARKS, DRIVER NO. 21 BMWTEAM PTG M3 (sixth):
“ Everything went well for me during my stint in the car. It was extremely hot and humid, but you don’t feel it as badly when you are leading. We put ourselves in a winning position, but today just was not our day.”

TOM MILNER, OWNER, BMW TEAM PTG:
“ A sixth place finish just does not tell how hard we worked for that eighth win. We led all day and even gambled a bit on our final pit stop during the fourth caution period to gain further advantage. We got a wave-by and pitted the No. 21 M3 early. The guys were fast. They got Bill out before the pace car came by and we gained a lap on the 67 Porsche. Unfortunately, we lost the engine and the No. 22 car lost laps early and was not in a position to finish better than fourth.”

HERNANDO CARVAJAL, MOTORSPORT MANAGER, BMW OF NORTH AMERICA, LLC:
“ Despite mechanical problems with both M3s, BMW Team PTG managed fourth and sixth place finishes. The No. 21 M3 was in a strong position for another win, but we came up some 20 minutes short. On the positive side of things, even though we did not reach the podium this weekend our seven-race win streak has kept us in the Championship lead.”

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