ALMS 2012 - BMW finishes 2nd at the Long Beach Grand Prix, tied for season points lead

[Sticky]

BMW got another podium in Long Beach, California finishing in 2nd and 11th. The M3 finishing in 11th was involved in an accident on the first lap which required lengthy repairs. The 11th place finish puts the second car out of the points so BMW is now tied for the overall manufacturer lead. Chevrolet took the victory and the C6 ZR1 race car had a strong showing with 1st and 4th place finishes. Corvette Racing appears to be the BMW's biggest challenge and rival in their quest for a third straight championship.

Joey Hand, driver No. 56 M3 GT - "We won the race at Sebring by double stinting tires and we placed here the same way. It says a lot to have that kind of confidence in a tire that not only has the performance, but it will also go the distance. I know I can't win the Championship again this year, but I really, really want to do my best to help the team, BMW and Dirk repeat."

Dirk Müller, driver No. 56 M3 GT - "That race was certainly was another mileage test for Dunlop. Bobby and Chris made the right call and it paid off. I knew I had to go a full stint on tires that had already gone 25 laps so I focused on their management - not what was behind me."

Bill Auberlen, driver No. 55 M3 GT -"The No. 55 M3 was a rocket ship today, but you need luck at Long Beach. Traffic got stacked up and Jörg got into it. The radiator was damaged, but after he went back out he was the fastest car on the track. It hurts to know how hard everybody worked and that we had a car that could win, but could not show it."

Jörg Müller, driver No. 55 M3 GT - "It's disappointing that I got trapped in an accident on the second lap. The Corvette braked very hard and I had nowhere to go. We had to change the radiator so we lost many laps. Afterwards the car was still fast. It's a shame when you have the real potential to win the race and you don't get any points."


Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach
Long Beach street circuit, Long Beach, Calif.

1. (2) Lucas Luhr, Germany; Klaus Graf, Germany; HPD ARX-03a Honda (1, P1), 86.
2. (1) Guy Smith, Beverley, UK; Chris Dyson, Pleasant Valley, NY; Lola B12/60 Mazda (2, P1), 86.
3. (8) Alex Popow; Ryan Dalziel, Scotland; Oreca FLM09 (3, PC), 85.
4. (11) Michael Guasch, Palo Alto, CA; Memo Gidley, San Rafael, CA; Oreca FLM09 (4, PC), 84.
5. (10) Jon Bennett; Colin Braun, Ovalo, TX; Oreca FLM09 (5, PC), 84.
6. (18) Tom Milner, Leesburg, VA; Oliver Gavin; Corvette C6-ZR1 (1, GT), 84.
7. (16) Joey Hand, Sacramento, CA; Dirk Mueller; BMW E92 M3 (2, GT), 84.
8. (24) Johannes van Overbeek, San Francisco, CA; Scott Sharp, Jupiter, FL; Ferrari F458 Italia (3, GT), 84.
9. (17) Antonio Garcia; Jan Magnussen; Corvette C6-ZR1 (4, GT), 84.
10. (4) Scott Tucker; Christophe Bouchut, France; HPD ARX-03b Honda (5, P2), 83.
11. (27) Darren Turner; Adrian Fernandez; Aston Martin Vantage (6, GT), 83.
12. (23) Bryan Sellers, Centerville, OH; Wolf Henzler; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (7, GT), 83.
13. (25) Patrick Long, Oak Park, CA; Jörg Bergmeister; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (8, GT), 83.
14. (20) Bryce Miller, Hoboken, NJ; Sascha Maassen; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (9, GT), 83.
15. (3) Michael Marsal; Eric Lux, Jacksonville, FL; Lola B11/66 Mazda (10, P1), 83.
16. (14) Lucas Downs, North Mankoto, MN; Kyle Marcelli; Oreca FLM09 (11, PC), 83.
17. (6) David Heinemeier Hansson; Martin Plowman, Indianapolis, IN; Morgan/Nissan (12, P2), 83.
18. (13) Duncan Ende, Los Angeles; Henri Richard; Oreca FLM09 (13, PC), 82.
19. (7) Luis Diaz, Mexico; Scott Tucker; HPD ARX-03b Honda (14, P2), 81.
20. (21) Seth Neiman, Burlingame, CA; Marco Holzer; Porsche 911 GT3 RSR (15, GT), 81.
21. (22) Ed Brown, Las Vegas, NV; Guy Cosmo, Long Island, NY; Ferrari F458 Italia (16, GT), 80.
22. (9) Rudy Junco Jr.; Butch Leitzinger, State College, PA; Oreca FLM09 (17, PC), 80.
23. (29) Peter LeSaffre, Rye, NH; Damien Faulkner; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (1, GTC), 79.
24. (28) Cooper MacNeil; Leh Keen, Dublin, GA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (2, GTC), 79.
25. (31) Chris Cumming, Vancouver, BC; Michael Valiante, Vancouver, BC; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (3, GTC), 79.
26. (33) Alex Welch; James Sofronas, Newport Beach, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (4, GTC), 79.
27. (30) Emilio Di Guida; Spencer Pumpelly, Mason Neck, VA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (5, GTC), 77.
28. (32) Michael Aventatti; Bob Faieta, Tujunga, CA; Porsche 911 GT3 Cup (6, GTC), 74.
29. (19) Jorg Muller, Germany; Bill Auberlen, Hermosa Beach, CA; BMW E92 M3 (18, GT), 71.
30. (12) Tomy Drissi, Hollywood, CA; Bruno Junqueira; Oreca FLM09 (19, PC), 69.
31. (26) Bill Sweedler, Westport, CT; Townsend Bell, Santa Monica, CA; Lotus Evora/Cosworth (20, GT), 57.
32. (15) Tony Burgess, Canada; James Kovacic; Oreca FLM09 (21, PC), 35, Accident.
33. (5) Tim Pappas, Boston, MA; Jeroen Bleekemolen, Netherlands; Lola B11/80 HPD (22, P2), 1.

[M3_WC]

I think the M3's have a real advantage with those Dunlop tires. They seem to be able to go much longer in a stint. The Vette's look like the burn through their Michelin's much quicker.