BMW Team PTG was back in form today as Boris Said qualified the No. 21 BMW Team PTG M3 fastest in the GT field for Saturday’s 250-mile Grand Prix of Miami with a time of 1:19.325 around the 2.3-mile road course at Homestead-Miami Speedway. The No. 21 M3 of Said and Bill Auberlen was the fastest in Thursday’s practice session and was at the top of the 11-car GT  class time charts in today’s earlier practice sessions as well. Said captured the $1000 Axiom Grand Touring Challenge Pole Bonus and the first pole for BMW Team PTG in the Rolex Sports Car Series.

Justin Marks qualified the No. 22 BMW Team PTG M3 fourth with a lap of 1:19.753. He will drive the No. 22 car with former Formula Atlantic standout Joey Hand of Concord, Ohio. Zippo  Live  Timing  and  Scoring  is  available  for  all  on-track  activities  on  the  official  Grand American  website,  www.grandamerican.com.  The  250-mile  race  is  scheduled  to  begin  at 3:00 PM EST on Saturday.

BORIS SAID, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (first):“To come to Homestead and put the M3 on the pole after our disappointing performance at Daytona  shows  what  BMW  Team  PTG  is  made  of.  No  one  could  touch  us  today,  but  the competition is tough so we will have to keep up this pace.”

BILL AUBERLEN, DRIVER NO. 21 BMW TEAM PTG M3:“The track is just like I remember. You have to find the balance between being quick out of the  banking  with  getting  the  right  amount  of  downforce  and  grip  through  the  infield.  In addition to that you have to manage the heat and the load on the tires. You have to make the tires live. We have a reasonable balance now and the M3 is very comfortable to drive. Now it is up to the crew to prepare the for the race and for Boris and me to get it on the podium.”

JUSTIN MARKS, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3 (fourth):“We  have  been  fighting  a  few  problems  in  practice  that  did  not  allow  us  to  take  complete advantage of new tires. Even though everything was not perfect we managed to be the fourth fastest. We have one more session tomorrow to see if we can make things a bit better. “

JOEY HAND, DRIVER NO. 22 BMW TEAM PTG M3:“Co-driving a racing car is definitely new to me. In an open-wheel car all of the weight is on your shoulders. Everything is your fault-period. I do like it that way so it is new to hand the car off or to have someone else qualify it. It is a new adventure and I love new adventures. Justin  and  I  seem  to  run  the  same  set-up  and  he  is  very  quick  so  I  am  very  comfortable driving with him. We are both looking forward to a good finish tomorrow.”

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