Turner Motorsport's Paul Dalla Lana is the top BMW privateer racer in 2011
Paul Dalla Lana was awarded the BMW Sports Trophy in Munich on Saturday, November 26. Dalla Lana, a Canadian racer based in Toronto, piloted a Turner Motorsport M3 to the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge Grand Sport drivers’ championship in 2011 and drove Turner’s Rolex Series M3 to a seventh-place finish in GT drivers’ points.
Dalla Lana’s primary co-driver in 2011 was Bill Auberlen, but he shared his cars with other drivers when Auberlen was away racing for BMW Team RLL in the American Le Mans Series.
BMW scored a triple in the CTSCC Grand Sport class, with Dalla Lana winning the drivers’ title, Turner Motorsport winning the team championship, and BMW winning the manufacturers’ championship. (Text continues after photos)
Dalla Lana said, “I didn’t expect to win the BMW Sports Trophy. We had a fantastic 2011 season, but this comes as no surprise when you work with BMW, a team like Turner Motorsport or drivers like Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand. It just feels great to be part of the BMW family. From talented young guns to true-blood professional drivers, everybody comes together here. Being part of it makes me proud.”
Rob Driscoll and Jeff Henderson finish third and fourth in Sports Trophy standings
Connecticut-based racers Rob Driscoll and Jeff Henderson finished third and fourth in Sports Trophy standings. Driscoll and Henderson, who are partners in AutoTechnic in New Milford, Connecticut, finished first and second in the SCCA Pro IT series ITS class in a pair of BMW 323s.
Dutch racer Ricardo van der Ende, who won the European GT4 Cup and Dutch GT4 Championship in an M3 GT4, finished second in Sports Trophy points.
This year’s Sports Trophy competition, the fiftieth, was contested by 235 privateer BMW racers. BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt said, “Even after 50 years, the BMW Sports Trophy still retains its appeal for drivers around the world. We once again had a record number of participants in 2011. A closer look at the list of entrants shows the many different ways in which drivers and teams can race successfully with BMW cars: 27 different models were in action in over 40 racing series across four continents, winning an impressive nine titles. Every driver competing in the BMW Sports Trophy is part of the BMW Motorsport family. The participants have come to value this for half a decade. They are fantastic ambassadors for BMW.”—Brian S, Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org
