M3s Finish First and Third in GT Mont-Tremblant, Quebec, Canada – May 21, 2005… Anchored by Joey Hand’s iron-man performance, BMW Team PTG won its third 2005 Rolex Sports Car Series GT class victory in a row at today’s 6 Heures du Circuit Mont-Tremblant.   The No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 of Hand, Ian James and Chris Gleason took the win, completing 180 laps in the six-hour contest. They finished 27.9 seconds ahead of the No. 80 Porsche and one lap ahead of the No. 16 BMW Team PTG F1 Air M3 of Hand, Tom Milner and Justin Marks. Hand drove both the first and third place finishing M3s during some five hours behind the wheel.

The victory moved him to fourth place in Driver Points.   Starting the No. 16 M3, Hand began his endurance run under a light rain that increased in intensity for the first two-and-one-half hours of the contest. The conditions caused the inside of the windshields on both the Nos. 16 and 21 M3s to fog forcing Hand and Kelly Collins to the pits to clear them in the opening minutes of the race. They remained on the lead lap, while the No. 22 of James circulated farther up in the field. He took advantage of a caution period to pit for fuel on lap 21. Unfortunately, as the track went green on lap 27, he returned to the pits to serve a stop- and-go penalty for contact a few laps earlier. He dropped a number of positions, but remained on the lead lap. As the weather began to clear and the track dried the three BMW Team PTG M3s continued to race in the top-10. Hand turned the No. 16 M3 over to Tom Milner on lap 55.  Six laps later Collins handed the No. 21 M3 to Auberlen. On lap 67 James pitted the No. 22 for fuel and tires and after a second quick stop on lap 72 to tighten a loose wheel nut he continued to stay in the top-five. He handed the No. 22 to Joey Hand on lap 88, who rejoined the race with dry tires. At the four-hour mark, Hand had taken the GT class lead and Auberlen had the No. 21 in third. On lap 111 Auberlen put a wheel off and impacted the bridge at turn 12. He climbed from the car, but was taken to the hospital for observation.

Milner pitted on lap 114 and handed the No. 16 M3 to Justin Marks. Three laps later Hand pitted the No. 22 M3 for fuel. By lap 138 Hand was back in the lead. Pitting under a caution period just before the five-hour mark, both M3s took on fuel for their final stop of the race. The final hour of the race saw Hand and Marks consolidate their hold on the first and third positions for BMW Team PTG’s third GT win in a row. Round six of the Rolex Sports Car Series, the second six-hour race of the season, will take place on June 10 - 12 at Watkins Glen International.

JOEY HAND, DRIVER NO. 22 AND 16 BMW TEAM PTG M3: “I wish I could have done better for the No. 16 car. I simply could not see through the windshield early on and had to pit. I was a bit upset at that so when I got in the No. 22 M3, I got after it. PTG always gives me the best M3 they possibly can and they definitely did that today – twice.”

IAN JAMES, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3: “Joey did an amazing job for the final half of the race. This is my first GT win and I could not be happier to win it in a BMW M3.”

JUSTIN MARKS, DRIVER NO. 16 BMW TEAM PTG F1 AIR M3: “These races are very difficult and you have to drive smart to, not only finish, but to finish at the front. The No. 16 M3 was extremely consistent throughout my entire stint, and, with their extraordinary effort, BMW Team PTG continued to prove they are the class of the GT field.”

TOM MILNER, DRIVER NO. 16 BMW TEAM PTG F1 AIR M3: “We got down almost a complete lap when Joey had to pit to clear the windshield. As the track dried, we made the decision to go to slick tires as soon as we could because we were so far back. The gamble paid off and I moved the car back towards the front. Justin did an awesome job in holding off the fourth place car.”

TOM MILNER, OWNER BMW TEAM PTG: “First, I am glad Bill is okay. My thanks to Chris Gleason. He did not drive the car today because a pit stop for a driver change could have cost the team the win. He is a real team player. We struggled a little today as the conditions made decisions difficult. I do think we were one of the first teams to make the call to go to slick tires (on the No. 16 M3) and that helped secure the third place finish for that car.”

LARRY KOCH, BMW OF NORTH AMERICA MOTORSPORTS MANAGER: “The team worked through every problem we encountered during the race and had to race hard for this win. Fortunately, Bill is okay and can help celebrate with us.”

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