BMW Team RLL will return to the American Le Mans Series in 2013 with new cars, a mix of old and new drivers, and a new BMW NA Motorsport Manager.
Bobby Rahal’s Team RLL will field two Z4 GTEs in the ALMS, with team veterans Bill Auberlen, Joey Hand, and Dirk Müller on board along with Maxime Martin, who will also serve as BMW’s test and development driver in DTM, and John Edwards, who will substitute for Joey Hand when he is racing in DTM in Europe. Jörg Müller, who raced for Team RLL full-time in 2012, while return for Sebring and Petit Le Mans, as will Uwe Alzen.
Martin, runner-up in the 2012 BMW Sport Trophy standings, raced a Z4 in the Blancpain Endurance Series and an Alpina B6 GT3 in the ADAC GT Masters last year. John Edwards, a Star Mazda and Atlantic champion, has been racing a Stevenson Camaro in Grand-Am.
Gordon McDonnell, the new BMW NA motorsport manager, is a long-time BMW NA employee with experience that includes North American management of BMW Motorsport Parts, M Performance Parts, and BMW NA’s current GRAND-AM programs.
BMW NA President and CE) Ludwig Willisch said, “We are really looking forward to this new chapter for BMW racing in North America. After several championship wins for BMW Team RLL and the BMW M3 GT, we now entrust the same strong team to deliver more trophies with our new BMW Z4 GTE. We are absolutely convinced BMW fans will again see great ALMS GT class racing in 2013.”
The 2013 ALMS season opens at Sebring on March 16.—Brian S. Morgan
