A disappointing qualifying session will see BMW Team RLL drivers start in the eighth and ninth GTLM class positions in tomorrow’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Continental Tire Road Race Showcase. Engine regulation issues forced both cars to the pits twice during the 15-minute session. Unable to be rectified, the drivers were unable to complete a competitive lap.
Lucas Luhr qualified the #100 BMW M6 eighth with a lap of 2:04.129 minutes around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. He will co-drive with John Edwards. The pole position (2:02.451) was scored by Dirk Müller in the No. 66 Ford GT. Bill Auberlen, driving the No. 25 BMW M6 he shares with Dirk Werner, set the ninth fastest time with a 2:04.882 minute lap.
“That was obviously disappointing,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “At the moment I am not quite sure what happened, but both cars reacted negatively and we couldn’t do any competitive laps. To be honest it is not going to make a lot of difference come tomorrow and our tires are in a better shape than anyone else’s, so maybe there is a bright side to what happened today after all.”
Lucas Luhr, driver #100 BMW M6 GTLM (P8): “Up until this session we had two great cars for the whole weekend and we were on the pace. Now we have to sit together and analyze what went wrong in qualifying. We’ll sort it out for tomorrow.”
Bill Auberlen, driver #25 BMW M6 GTLM (P9): “Things happen to everybody. It was a technical issue that wouldn’t allow us to successfully complete laps. Rather than use the tires up we made a quick decision, as the team always does, to save the tires and keep them in good shape for the race. Once understood we will fix the problem and go racing tomorrow.”
The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase takes the green flag at 4:05 p.m. ET Sunday, Aug. 7 with the live broadcast beginning at 4:00 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 1. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend.
