Photo: BMW
The second street race of the year for Team RLL is going to take place at the Grand Prix of Baltimore. Winning this race would allow them to turn their fortune around and reignite the 2013 American Le Mans Series.
Following disappointing fifth and sixth place finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and seventh and eighth place finishes at Road America in the last two rounds, the team has fallen in the GT class standings.
Dirk Müller, the driver’s point leader prior to CTMP, has suffered a 21-point loss in the last two rounds and he now stands in a three-way tie for third, five points in arrears of the Corvette drivers at the top. In the Manufacturer’s championship BMW stands second, 16 points behind Corvette and nine points ahead of Viper.
The team raced to the top of the podium at both Long Beach and Lime Rock Park this year and is looking to the similarly tight confines of the Baltimore temporary street circuit, where handling outweighs horsepower, to get the season heading back in the proper direction.
“Baltimore is a track that we probably should have had a little more success than we have had. The first year we were leading and we got taken out by one of the Corvettes. Last year we were leading when the officials black flagged us for intimidating a slower car that spun and hit the wall in front of us. There was no contact and we didn’t agree with the call but that ended our podium chances," said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal.
"I think that our new Z4 will be even better suited for the circuit than the M3 was so my expectation is that, like Long Beach, we should be competitive. Like any street circuit, there will be a lot of pushing and shoving and a lot of opportunities to make mistakes so it’s just going to be all about being smart,” he added.
Following disappointing fifth and sixth place finishes at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (CTMP) and seventh and eighth place finishes at Road America in the last two rounds, the team has fallen in the GT class standings.
Dirk Müller, the driver’s point leader prior to CTMP, has suffered a 21-point loss in the last two rounds and he now stands in a three-way tie for third, five points in arrears of the Corvette drivers at the top. In the Manufacturer’s championship BMW stands second, 16 points behind Corvette and nine points ahead of Viper.
The team raced to the top of the podium at both Long Beach and Lime Rock Park this year and is looking to the similarly tight confines of the Baltimore temporary street circuit, where handling outweighs horsepower, to get the season heading back in the proper direction.
“Baltimore is a track that we probably should have had a little more success than we have had. The first year we were leading and we got taken out by one of the Corvettes. Last year we were leading when the officials black flagged us for intimidating a slower car that spun and hit the wall in front of us. There was no contact and we didn’t agree with the call but that ended our podium chances," said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal.
"I think that our new Z4 will be even better suited for the circuit than the M3 was so my expectation is that, like Long Beach, we should be competitive. Like any street circuit, there will be a lot of pushing and shoving and a lot of opportunities to make mistakes so it’s just going to be all about being smart,” he added.
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