After winning the commuter and squad championships:  BMW also secures the ALMS manufacturers' title at Petit Le Mans.

Munich/Atlanta – October i, 2011… BMW has written some other chapter in motorsport history in the USA at the finale of the American Le Mans Series (ALMS), the g-mile Petit Le Mans, at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia. BMW Team RLL won a 2d consecutive manufacturers' championship in the GT class to complete a 2011 chapeau-trick of titles. The drivers' and squad championships had already been secured two weeks ago with one race still to get. The last time BMW achieved this feat was in 2001 with the BMW M3 GTR. BMW merely returned to the ALMS with the BMW M3 GT in 2009.

After a thrilling race, Dirk Werner (DE), Bill Auberlen (United states of america) and Augusto Farfus (BR) ultimately achieved a tertiary place finish, completing 367 laps around the two.54-mile excursion. Afterwards an incident with a slower car in the closing stages of the race caused ii pit stops to repair the damage, their teammates Dirk Müller (DE), Joey Manus (Usa) and Andy Priaulx (GB) finished the race in 9th identify.

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At least one BMW M3 GT finished on the podium in every single race this season. Dirk Müller and Joey Hand secured first place in the drivers' championship, ahead of Oliver Gavin and January Magnussen (Corvette). Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen (Us) finished third overall. BMW Team RLL clinched victory in the team competition, ahead of Corvette Racing. In the Manufacturers' Title, BMW finished ahead of Porsche.

With this strong result, the BMW drivers scored valuable points for ii championships. The 1000 mile race at the roller coaster Route Atlanta circuit not just counts towards the American Le Mans Series, but also the 2011 Intercontinental Le Mans Cup.

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"The unabridged squad deserves a huge compliment. Anybody involved on both sides of the Atlantic accept been justly rewarded for their tireless efforts", said BMW Motorsport Manager Jens Marquardt. "To celebrate this kind of success in one of the toughest racing series in the GT class is a fantastic result. Throughout the flavor, the key to this success was excellent drivers, a very depression mistake charge per unit, a team working in most perfect harmony, our strong tire partner Dunlop – and the BMW M3 GT, of course. Our engineers really raised the bar in GT racing with this motorcar this year."

Ludwig Willisch, President of BMW of North America, added: "Congratulations to everyone at BMW Squad RLL. To accomplish an fantabulous outcome similar this with the BMW M3 GT in ane of the virtually prestigious GT racing series in North America is simply fantastic. We tin all be proud of this achievement. More BMW Chiliad cars are sold in the United states of america than anywhere else in the globe, underlining the importance of this success."

BMW also emerged victorious in the "Dark-green X Challenge" category, which is all nigh using resources responsibly.



Bobby Rahal: "We came here to win the Manufacturers Title for BMW and nosotros did it. Information technology was not an piece of cake race. Nosotros had a number of tire punctures, an incident with a slower car in the dark, and then much traffic. This kept us from the top of the podium, just nosotros knew what we had to practise to win the Manufacturers Championship and I am certainly pleased to bring the title to BMW for the second consecutive year. I am extremely grateful to all of the sponsors and partners that support BMW Squad RLL."

Dirk Müller: "In the race, I had a moment of stupor. I came into a blind noon in fourth gear and merely avoided crashing into some other machine that was stopped on track. I simply clipped the correct side of my motorcar and had to pit for repairs. Correct at present, I am just happy to be here in one piece. Nevertheless, we had a neat season. I am very, very pleased that were able to secure the commuter's championship at the last race. We can be very proud on our achievements."

Joey Hand: "It is a great feeling racing here as the 2011 driver's champion. It was a great effort from everyone, BMW Motorsport, BMW Team RLL, Dunlop and Crowne Plaza. This championship was not just won by me and Dirk. It was won by the entire program over the form of three years. This BMW is the coolest and most comfortable racing car I accept ever driven. I simply had the greatest year of my career."

Andy Priaulx: "I raced at Sebring where this successful season began, and so information technology was another keen experience coming over hither and exist part of BMW Squad RLL one time more at the Petit Le Mans. The atmosphere hither is equally bright as the BMW M3 GT. Congratulations to Dirk and Joey for winning the commuter's title and a big give thanks you to everybody in the team. I enjoyed the weekend very much."

Dirk Werner: "It is a scrap of a pity that we lost a second place finish, but we've been able to secure the manufacturer's title for BMW with a podium. It was a very tough race. Equally they did the entire season, the team helped u.s. with peachy pit stops to gain positions in the race. The team did an absolutely fantastic job."

Bill Auberlen: "Petit Le Mans is always very tough race. Dirk did an absolutely slap-up job in the final stint to keep us on the podium. I am very proud to be office of this team and go on to add to BMW's trophy case. Congratulations to Dirk and Joey for winning the driver's title."

Augusto Farfus: "It is always great to race in America. The event here at Road Atlanta is amazing. I would compare it to a small Nürburgring with regards to both the racetrack and the atmosphere. There are a lot of BMW fans. The spectators are very close to the excursion and we can see them waving and auspicious. This flavor has been very successful for BMW, and I am proud that I was given another chance racing in the ALMS with such peachy teammates."

This completes an extremely successful motorsport flavor in the U.s. for BMW. On September 17th, TELMEX Bit Ganassi Racing, with Felix Sabates drivers Scott Pruett and Memo Rojas behind the wheel of a BMW Riley, secured the drivers' title in the Grand-AM Rolex Sport Car Series at the EMCO Gears Classic in Lexington/Ohio. For the pair in the TELMEX Chip Ganassi Racing BMW number 01, this was the 2nd consecutive championship with BMW Ability. Paul Dalla Lana of the Turner Motorsport team also had reason to be happy. He drove a BMW M3 to the drivers' title in the 2011 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport Grade – also at the Mid-Ohio Sports Motorcar Course. The Turner Motorsport team can also celebrate the squad title, while the championships also went to BMW for a 2nd sequent year in the engine and manufacturer competitions.