Munich (DE), 29th June 2016. Following an eight-week hiatus in the
2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC), BMW Team RLL
shifts right back into high gear with races at Watkins Glen
International (US) on the 3rd July and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park
(CA) one week later. The two venerable North American permanent road
courses will surely be a challenging test for the new BMW M6 GTLM that
showed early promise at Daytona (US) and Sebring (US), but struggled
to put all the pieces of the new package together at Laguna Seca (US).
For both races BMW of North America will race the number 25 car,
driven by Bill Auberlen (US) and Dirk Werner (DE), with a special
livery to celebrate the 4th July as well as to pay homage to one of
the most popular BMWs ever to race in North America – the BMW M3 GTR.
The BMW M3 GTR raced and won with this stars and stripes livery at the
October 2001 Petit Le Mans race in Road Atlanta (US). Auberlen, along
with Boris Said (US) and Hans-Joachim Stuck (DE), were the winning
drivers. The number 100 BMW M6 GTLM, co-driven by John Edwards (US)
and Lucas Luhr (DE), will continue to race with its unique livery
celebrating BMW’s 100th anniversary.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen is up first at the newly
resurfaced 3.4-mile, 17-turn Watkins Glen circuit. The team tested
twice at Watkins Glen in May, gaining experience on the new Michelin
tyre that was introduced at Laguna Seca before the Le Mans break. An
additional two-day test recently at Road Atlanta (US) provided more
data that will help the BMW M6 GTLM compete on the high-speed,
unforgiving circuit in the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
The Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen takes the green flag at 16.10 CET
Sunday, 3rd July. The Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix at the Canadian
Tire Motorsport Park takes the green flag at 17.05 CET Sunday, 10th July.
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal BMW Team RLL):
“We tested at the Glen recently and I think we had good pace. The
Watkins Glen test was our first chance to really understand the new
tyre that was introduced, so the performance was better and I feel
good about that. The repaving of the circuit has made it much quicker
than it was, so it will be fast, very fast. We’ve been on pole there
before, finished third last year. We’ve had pace there so I’m
optimistic of our chances there for sure. You always look forward to
going to Watkins Glen because it’s such a historical place and really,
in many ways, the birthplace of racing in this country.”
Bill Auberlen (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“We’ve done quite a bit of testing at the Glen and we’re getting more
in tune with the car each test. Mosport quickly follows so we have to
be ready for both weekends when we roll out of the truck.”
Dirk Werner (Number 25 BMW M6 GTLM):
“Laguna Seca showed that we had to make improvements and we used the
break to do exactly that. My sense is we’ll be able to get closer to
our competition, as the BMW M6 GTLM seems to like high speed corners
and that is what Watkins Glen and Mosport offer.”
John Edwards (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“Watkins Glen is my favorite circuit in North America and, with the
resurfacing, I’m even more excited to race there again. The test
showed us how much grip there is now, so it seems the track flows even
better than it did before. Having Mosport the next weekend only adds
to my excitement, as a racing driver likes nothing more than two fast
weekends in a row.”
Lucas Luhr (Number 100 BMW M6 GTLM):
“Mosport clearly separates the men from the boys and is my favorite
of the two circuits. I believe the BMW M6 GTLM will be strong there. I
said last year that Watkins Glen reminds me of sections of the
Nordschleife, so it is a close second to Mosport. Now that it is
repaved it is fantastic to drive. It will be a challenging two weeks.”