Photo: BMW
In the first race on the Circuit of the Americas for the American Le Mans Circuit, in Austin, Texas, BMW Team RLL managed to secure a podium finish and a fourth place, both Z4 GTEs performing admirably throughout the race.
The long straights were problematic, where the more powerful Vipers and Corvettes dominated, during the closing stages. The number 56 BMW Z4 GTE driven by Dirk Muller and John Edwards managed to finish third, making Muller runner up in the overall GT Class standings.
John Edwards showed what a true racing driver is this weekend and managed to run up to fifth place after starting dead last on the grid, due to some misunderstandings relating the tire setup during the qualifying rounds. After 50 minutes and 24 laps, Muller took over and even reached the second spot before the last race, when he was defeated on a long straight by a faster Viper and had to settle with the 3rd spot on the podium.
More bad luck for the other team, as Joey Hand managed to get a pole position in the qualifying rounds but due to some technical malfunctions at the starting line, his teammate Bill Auberlen lost 6 positions. After a fierce fight over the entire race, Joey managed to finish just behind Muller, on 4th.
“I’m disappointed for the team. There’s such a deficit in straight-line speed, it just hurts our ability to race those other guys. But the BMW Z4 GTE ran beautifully and handled well. The pit strategy was solid; we passed the Ferrari and both Vipers in the pits, so we made up a lot of places,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal BMW Team RLL.
“We did our best; third and fourth are not so bad, and we’ll try again at VIR. The Circuit of the Americas is fabulous… world class. I haven’t been to anything else built like this in this country, perhaps ever,” he added.
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