An eventful race like the one that took place in Baltimore, this weekend, could not go by without some strong reactions from the people involved, especially the BMW Team RLL, that was extremely close to winning it.
As the Team RLL Manager puts it, it was amateur night, with an accident in the first lap that crippled the race time to the shortest in the ALMS history in the largest city of Maryland.
“We knew this weekend would be rough and tough. We thought the Z4 GTE would be extremely well-suited to this course and we saw that in qualifying. The race seemed to have a mind of its own and we were along for the ride. I’m really proud of the guys for keeping their heads down,” said Gordon McDonnell, BMWNA Motorsport Manager.
Probably, the most disappointed person in the whole race, was Joey Hand, who had to turn it the car to Dirk Muller after a really short run.
“We’ll take a third-place but we’re not as excited as we would have been. Dirk did a good job but got unlucky during that restart with the traffic. But that’s what endurance racing is all about. I love racing and came here to race, but today I had to be a team player and get out of the car early," Joey said after the race.
Dirk Muller was blocked from getting the first place after the last race restart, when a prototype car missed the chicane and blocked him, allowing the two Corvettes that got first and second place to overtake him.
“What a race. What a strategy! We pitted early went from dead last, after yesterday’s penalty, all the way up to the front. I had the pace, and the car was strong. On the last restart I was fully prepared but everybody ahead checked up and I had to apply emergency braking into the chicane," Muller said.
"Basically the two Corvettes just took advantage of it. Once behind them I was quicker, and was able to close the gap somewhat, but P3 is more than I was hoping for overnight. I’m really happy. There is still a ways to go in the championship; we are getting stronger and stronger. This result was a team effort,” he added.
For a better grasp at what happened in the first lap of the Baltimore Grand Prix, take a look at the video below. You'll also get to see just how good Bill Auberlen's reflexes are and how he managed to avoid the crash at the last moment.
Google News