BMW Motorsport made the perfect start to the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup (ILMC) season with a one-two in the GT class at the 12-hour race in Sebring (US). While BMW Team RLL was responsible for the two BMW M3 GT cars at the curtain-raiser to the season, BMW Team Schnitzer will take over for the next races in Europe and the finale in China. The driver line-up is now official for most of the races.
Augusto Farfus (BR) and Jörg Müller (DE) will alternate behind the wheel of the no. 55 BMW M3 GT. They will be joined for the 24-hour race in Le Mans (FR) by Dirk Werner (DE), the regular BMW Team RLL driver in the American Le Mans Series (ALMS). Müller and Werner gave BMW the best possible finish to the 2010 ILMC season with a win in the GT class in Zhuhai (CN).
In the second BMW M3 GT (number 56), three-time world touring car champion Andy Priaulx (GB) will contest all the races in the ILMC and the Le Mans 24 Hours. He will be supported by Uwe Alzen (DE) in Spa-Francorchamps (BE) and will share the car with Pedro Lamy (PT) in Imola (IT). The winning team from Sebring will be reunited at the 24-hour classic at the “Circuit de la Sarthe”: Priaulx will be joined by Dirk Müller (DE) and Joey Hand (US) in the no. 56 BMW M3 GT.
This is Hand’s first outing on European soil for BMW Team Schnitzer. His outright victory at the 24-hour race in Daytona (US) at the start of the year and success at the 12-hour race in Sebring were timely reminders of the American’s talent ahead of the team selection for Le Mans.
The successful drivers from the ”Sebring International Raceway” will compete again at the Intercontinental Le Mans Cup round in Road Atlanta (US): Augusto Farfus, Bill Auberlen (US) and Dirk Werner will be fighting for victory in the GT class in car number 55. Number 56 will be driven by Andy Priaulx, Joey Hand and Dirk Müller.