Hand and Müller extend their drivers’ points lead
Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen in their BMW Team RLL M3 finished second in the GT class in a four-hour American Le Mans Series race at Road America. Their teammates Joey Hand and Dirk Müller finished third.
Werner was leading with thirty minutes left when he was passed by the Risi Competizione Ferrari 458 Italia of Jaime Melo/Toni Vilander, which went on to score its first class win of the season.
Müller started from the pole, while Auberlen qualified fourth, behind the second-place Corvette of Jan Magnussen/Oliver Gavin and the third-place Melo/Vilander Ferrari. It was Team RLL’s fifth consecutive pole.
Hand led early in the race until he was passed by Melo in the Ferrari. Gavin took over from the Ferrari, leading until Hand regained the top spot after a round of pit stops. After that, both BMWs took turns in front, swapping the lead with the Risi Ferrari, another Ferrari driven by Johannes van Overbeek, and the Corvettes of Magnussen/Gavin and Milner/Beretta. Eight GT class racers finished on the lead lap. (Text continues after photo)
The overall win went to the Lola-Aston martin of Klaus Graf and Lucas Luhr, who finished just .112 seconds ahead of the Lola-Mazda of Chris Dyson and Guy Smith. It was the closest overall finish in the history of the ALMS.
Going into the Labor Day Weekend race on the new street course in Baltimore, Hand and Mueller lead drivers’ points ahead of Magnussen and Gavin, with Auberlen and Werner third. BMW leads manufacturers' points, and BMW Team RLL leads team points. —Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
