BMW Team PTG will enter three BMW M3s in this weekend's 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant in an attempt to make it three GT wins in a row for the defending 2004 Rolex Sports Car Series GT champions. Following its class victory at the April 3rd Grand American 400 at California Speedway with a 1-2-3 M3 class sweep of the Road and Track 250 at Laguna Seca, BMW Team PTG is back performing in the same manner they did when they won seven races in a row last year.
"Our plan was always to bring three M3s to Mont-Tremblant," said BMW Team PTG owner, Tom Milner. "Not only does this give us a little more time to repair the car damaged at Laguna Seca, but, as we showed there, we can still get the job done. This is a very competitive series and we dug ourselves quite a hole in the first two races of the year. We will race for wins, but every point we score is important."

 

Rearranging eight of the best drivers in any road racing series Joey Hand will join the No. 16 F1 Air M3 of Tom Milner and Justin Marks. Bill Auberlen will share the No. 21 F1 Air M3 with RJ Valentine and Kelly Collins. Chris Gleason and Ian James will pilot the No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3.

 

Last season, Boris Said and Bill Auberlen took their third win in a row at Mont-Tremblant, as BMW Team PTG raced to a record seven wins in a row. That win took Said and Auberlen to the top of the points, but this year, after poor performances in the opening two rounds of the championship, only two BMW Team PTG drivers stand in the top-10 in Driver points. Auberlen stands fourth and Hand is fifth. Despite gaining seven points at Laguna Seca, BMW trails Porsche by 35 in Manufacturer points.

 

"Any thing can happen in a six-hour race, and, usually does," continued Milner. "We made all the right calls at Laguna Seca and we will have to do it again at Mont-Tremblant. The series has added an additional 100 pounds to the M3 after Laguna Seca, making our job just that much tougher."

 

Official practice sessions begin on Friday, May 20, with qualifying scheduled for 2:45 p.m.

 

The 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant is scheduled to begin at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday and will be televised live on Speed Channel.

 

Background:

 

2005 marks the tenth season of competition for BMW M3s of BMW Team PTG and 30th anniversary of BMW of North America's motorsport programs. In nine seasons of competition, BMW Team PTG has won a total of 47 races in both sprint and endurance racing series and 14 sports car racing championships. In 2004, BMW Team PTG swept the Rolex Sports Car Series GT class Manufacturer, Driver and Team Points championships, winning 10 of 12 races.