This year’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Lone Star Le Mans race will see BMW Team RLL arrive at the Circuit of the Americas, in Austin, Texas, with BMW’s newest GT class competitor, the BMW M6 GTLM, ready for the penultimate race of the 2016 season. The team will be racing for its fourth podium finish of this year, still gunning for the first GTLM class victory for the new car. To date, the team has scored very promising results at three of North America’s classic circuits; second place at Sebring and a third place finish at both Watkins Glen and Road America.
Last season’s Lone Star Le Mans saw BMW Team RLL score the last of three wins in the 2015 season with the BMW Z4 GTLM as Bill Auberlen and Dirk Werner finished the season strongly, ultimately finishing a close second in the driver’s championship.
The team closes the development season chapter of the M6 GLTM at this weekend’s two-hour-and-forty-minute contest at COTA and the 10-hour Petit Le Mans race at Road Atlanta, in Braselton, Georgia in two weeks time. As with any new racing car testing has been at the top of the engineers list. The past two weeks following the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway at the end of August has seen the team criss-cross the country to complete a very rigorous testing schedule that included two days at Circuit of the Americas and one day at Road Atlanta.
"We've had a pretty good record at COTA,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “We were on pole a couple of years ago with Joey Hand and then last year we won a great fuel strategy race. We were able to defeat the faster Porsches on fuel strategy which was fun. It's clear the M6 likes tracks with fast corners, which of course Circuit of the Americas has a lot of so we should be competitive. I'm hopeful that COTA will bring us another victory like it did last year."
Bill Auberlen, driver No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM: “It's been a bit of a tough start for the BMW M6 GTLM. We have been in position to win a few races, but Lady Luck was not looking down upon us. We have been on the podium a few times but have just missed the top step and now hopefully at COTA it's time to bring home the victory.”
Dirk Werner, driver No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM: “Our testing at COTA went quite well. We certainly made improvements to the car, but this race - especially with the heat we usually have there this time of the year - can make it very difficult. A development year is always challenging because the progress you make does not always immediately result in victories, but it is all part of moving the program forward.”
John Edwards, driver No. 100 BMW M6 GTLM: “COTA is always a tough race. Tire management will certainly be one of the keys to success. Our recent testing has answered many of this year’s remaining questions and I believe we may see some gains in the next two races. Our podium at Road America has helped our spirit because Lucas and I have not had much luck, but I’m confident our time is coming.”
Lucas Luhr, driver No. 100 BMW M6 GTLM: “Going into the final two rounds of the season John and I are working really hard to get a couple of good results for the No. 100 BMW M6. This season has been one of the most up and down ones I have ever experienced in America, with sadly more downs than ups. COTA is a track I like a lot as it is very challenging - especially the higher speed corners. We know we have the pace to be competitive in GTLM which is so close this year, but pretty much anything that can go wrong has gone wrong for us.”
The Lone Star Le Mans takes the green flag at 12:35 p.m. ET Saturday, Sept. 17 with the live broadcast beginning at 12:30 p.m. ET on FOX Sports 2 and IMSA.tv. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for “from-the-pit-box” updates all weekend. Plus we'll be there rooting them on and sharing live updates on all of our social media channels. Be sure to follow along on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Snapchat at @BMWCCA!
