ALMS Mosport Qualifying - BMW Motorsport
Qualifying Saturday
Round 5, American Le Mans Series
18 August 2001, Bowmanville, Ont.
BMW front row in Mosport qualifying
Munich/Bowmanville. BMW Motorsport will start from the GT class pole
for Sunday's round five of the American Le Mans Series at Mosport
International Raceway. Dirk Müller qualified the No. 43 GTR that he
shares with Fredrik Ekblom (S) in one minute 18.873 seconds on the
2.459-mile road course to take the pole position. JJ Lehto (FIN)
posted the fastest time of 1:18.840 in the No. 42 BMW M3 GTR, but his time
was disallowed for a car ride-height infraction. He and his
co-driver Jörg Müller (D) will start at the back of the field.
BMW Team PTG drivers Hans-J. Stuck (D) and Boris Said (USA) will start
second in the No. 6 BMW M3 GTR (1:19.428).
BMW Motorsport team manager Charly Lamm: "It was a very good
qualifying for us in terms of the performance we were able to dial into
our BMWs. We are sorry for JJ that his pole position time was
disallowed: Both our cars were adjusted and checked to the same ride
height prior to the practice, so we have to investigate why car 42 failed
the post-qualifying test."
JJ Lehto #42: "It was a surprisingly slow track compared to
what we had in the morning. There were some races in between and
that made the circuit much more slippery, so it was difficult to find
grip. We are happy with the car for the race, after we have been
playing with the setup a lot this weekend. All of our mechanics have
been working very hard to get the car closer to what Jörg and I like to
drive."
Jörg Müller #42: "It's quite close, isn't it? Both of
the cars are quite equal. I was happy that we were on pole position,
but it doesn't matter. For the race, it's important how long the
tires last and how the crew works during pit stops, so the race is much
longer than just 20 minutes of qualifying."
Fredrik Ekblom #43: "Dirk has been really quick all weekend,
and there's just nothing in between the team cars. We'll be racing
hard tomorrow for the win, for sure. The track seems to change a
lot, from hour to hour and from 10 minutes to the next 10 minutes.
But we're fairly happy with the car. I think we have a very good
chance for Dirk and myself tomorrow."
Dirk Müller #43: "I'm happy for the team, that we did the
pole. Fredrik and I have improved the car step by step, so thanks a
lot to the guys on the crew!"
BMW Press: Guido Stalmann, tel +49 (0) 89 382 23401, fax +49 (0) 89
382 27563, e-mail: Guido.Stalmann@bmw.de
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