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BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM ADDS JÖRG MÜLLER AND ANDY PRIAULX TO PETIT LE MANS LINEUP
Wed Sep 09 20:31:47 CEST 2009 Press Release
Woodcliff Lake, N.J. - Sept. 9, 2009... The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team will add BMW Motorsport drivers Jörg Müller (DE) and Andy Priaulx (GB) to its 2009 Petit Le Mans driver lineup. Müller and Priaulx will join BMW of North America Motorsport drivers Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, Tommy Milner, and Dirk Müller to campaign two BMW M3 Coupes in the 1000-mile endurance race on September 26 at Road Atlanta.
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BMW Group
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Kenn Sparks
BMW Group
Woodcliff Lake , N.J. – Sept. 9, 2009… The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team will add BMW Motorsport drivers Jörg Müller (DE) and Andy Priaulx (GB) to its 2009 Petit Le Mans driver lineup. Müller and Priaulx will join BMW of North America Motorsport drivers Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, Tommy Milner, and Dirk Müller to campaign two BMW M3 Coupes in the 1000-mile endurance race on September 26 at Road Atlanta.
Priaulx and Müller tested the BMW M3 GT2 for BMW Motorsport this year in Europe, and both participated in the first U.S. test at Road Atlanta in November of last year.
Currently, Müller and Priaulx are racing in the World Touring Car Championship behind the wheel of a BMW 320si, standing sixth and fourth in driver points respectively. Both have significant M3 endurance racing experience, and each has won the 24 Hour Race Nurburgring in an M3 GTR. Müller co-drove the M3 GTR to four ALMS victories in 2001 on his way to the ALMS GT Drivers Championship.
Müller, 40, has been racing in BMW Motorsport livery since 1995, competing at the Petit Le Mans three times from 1999 to 2001. At this year’s Petit, he will co-drive the No. 92 M3 with Tommy Milner and longtime racing partner Dirk Müller (no relation).
Priaulx, 36, from Guernsey, began karting on his native Channel Islands in 1984 and has been a BMW Motorsport driver since 2003. He is a three-time WTCC champion. This will be Priaulx’s first race in North America, and he will join Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand in the No. 90 M3.
“Andy and Jörg were chosen to join us at Petit due to their base of experience with the M3 GT2 and their aptitudes which match those of our full-season drivers,” stated Martin Birkmann, BMW of North America Motorsport Manager. “Their collective experience in WTCC perfectly rounds out our team and should help deliver an action-packed show for Petit Le Mans spectators.”
“I am looking forward to this year’s Petit Le Mans,” stated Bobby Rahal, Principal of Rahal Letterman Racing. “Our team has developed at every level this year, including technical improvements, reliability, and speed. From a strategic standpoint, the addition of Jörg and Andy means we can properly manage factors like driver fatigue, which puts us in an even stronger starting position.”
The Petit Le Mans Powered by Mazda 6 is scheduled to start at 11:15 a.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 26 and will be broadcast live on SPEED television.
About BMW Rahal Letterman Racing:
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 83 MINI passenger car dealers, and 30 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for more than a decade compiling 20 victories, 30 poles and one series championship (Bobby Rahal in 1992 in CART) and an Indianapolis 500 championship (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2008 Rahal Letterman Racing again won Rookie-of-the-Year honors at the Indianapolis 500 and partnered with Andersen Racing to run two entries in the Indy Pro Series. In 2009 the team has joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series and will also serve as the organizers of the Formula BMW Americas championship.
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