The 2nd-worst kept secret in sportscars

[extramundane]

PTG/BMW Factory return to ALMS (http://americanlemans.com/News/Article.aspx?NewsID=1672)

[NismoZ]

I guess winning 17 of 26 races was too easy? Not wanting to be part of a "tube-frame, bolt on body" series was key, don't you think? Still something to be said for innovation and technology! Hooray! (oh, and "diversity and imagination!") :thumbup:

[extramundane]

Not wanting to be part of a "tube-frame, bolt on body" series was key, don't you think?

That, and they finally had a ruleset that allowed their cars to again run in the ALMS. I suspect had the whole homologation flap not occured a couple years ago, you'd have never seen factory participation in GA.

[RacinM3]

Tom Milner and his son Tom Jr. are being very vague about what car will be raced. E46 M3? E90 M3 (which has not yet been introduced, hell, they don't even have a non-M E90 3-Series coupe out yet!)? I-6 or V8? The inline-6 didn't make enough power before, and the non-homologated V8 was the reason that BMW left last time. So unless they've reached an agreement with ALMS about allowing the still non-homologated E46 M3 V8, I'm guessing that the race cars will be E90 M3's with V8's, as it's a foregone conclusion in BMW circles that the V8 will be the only engine offered in the roadgoing E90 M3.

This would be a brilliant move by BMW's marketing department, for everyone to see the E90 M3 as a race car first, street car second. It would also be a big gamble, as the car better be fast out of the box!

[Accipiter]

Great news.

If you go to the trouble of building up your road car into a racing machine, and then get beaten by a Riley & Scott chassis with a fake molded body stuck on it, it really takes the value out of your program. Grand Am should be all one way or the other. The logic of their seires should lead them to go completly towards the tube frame option, but no way will they do that now with Pontiac's commercial support behind them. So regardless of what Roger Edmondson implied in recent interviews, his seires is compromised by manufacturer money too.

[coolhand]

So BMW bolted from Grand American :laugh:

[extramundane]

Tom Milner and his son Tom Jr. are being very vague about what car will be raced. E46 M3? E90 M3 (which has not yet been introduced, hell, they don't even have a non-M E90 3-Series coupe out yet!)? I-6 or V8? The inline-6 didn't make enough power before, and the non-homologated V8 was the reason that BMW left last time. So unless they've reached an agreement with ALMS about allowing the still non-homologated E46 M3 V8, I'm guessing that the race cars will be E90 M3's with V8's, as it's a foregone conclusion in BMW circles that the V8 will be the only engine offered in the roadgoing E90 M3.

This would be a brilliant move by BMW's marketing department, for everyone to see the E90 M3 as a race car first, street car second. It would also be a big gamble, as the car better be fast out of the box!

The S2 regulations say the engine may be "replaced by another series engine from the manufacturer’s family of engine with not more than eight (8) cylinders and that are produced in quantities of 10,000 units in twelve consecutive months." That has fueled speculation that they'll run the e46 with the V8 that will be in the e90. Next year, the e90 proper would roll out with a year of engine development behind it.

Of course, some of these same people were convinced they'd run and M5 or even a Z4 coupe. Only Milner knows for sure.

[RacinM3]

Thanks extramundane...I am not familiar with these S2 rules, so yes, E46 with V8 to start, followed by E90 with developed V8 makes perfect sense.

As for the M5 or Z4 theories, this excerpt from the press release seems to indicate it will be the M3. It's the only car that really makes sense:


"In 2006, BMW fans will see more M3s racing in professional sports car championships than ever before," said Larry Koch, M Brand Manager for BMW of North America, LLC. "With BMW Team PTG ensuring that ‘the car is the star' in the American Le Mans Series … we are anticipating another stellar racing season."

[NismoZ]

Now all I want to know is, who will drive? Same guys?

[FCYTravis]

I'm guessing it'll be an E46 M3 with the V8. I think that's the only combo that makes sense to be ready for Sebring.

Great news all around for BMW fans - next year there will be two factory PTG M3s in ALMS GT2 and four quality privateer PTG-built M3s in Grand-Am Rolex GT. That's more competitive BMW racers than we've seen in top-level GT competition since... the PSCR days?

[extramundane]

Now all I want to know is, who will drive? Same guys?

They were running up to 4 cars in GA, so someone's gonna get cut. I think you can bank on Bill Auberlen and Tom Milner Jr; as for the others...?

[FCYTravis]

My money's on Justin Marks and Joey Hand.

[RacinM3]

I'll guess Bill Auberlen, and possibly, Joey Hand. Don't know about the others. Tom Milner, Jr. will probably end up driving for one of those 4 privateer Grand Am M3 teams, possibly in exchange for a break on the price of the cars. I think Marks will be left out in the cold, unless Will Turner is able to come up with a couple of SWCT cars, placing Marks in one and Auberlen in the other, as SWC and ALMS are frequently racing the same place, at the same time.

[extramundane]

So BMW bolted from Grand American :laugh:

"Gotta love PTG, cut and run when the going gets tough." :rolleyes:

[Sean O'Gorman]

Factory teams don't belong in Grand-Am anyway. The BMW/Porsche battles in PSCR in the late 90s were great, hopefully they are on fairly even ground now.

[FCYTravis]

Yeah actually now that Scott jolted my memory... I think Tom Milner, Jr. is going to drive a Matt Connolly Motorsports Grand-Am GT M3 full-time next year, along with Billy Johnson.

[extramundane]

Factory teams don't belong in Grand-Am anyway.

So you'd have no problem losing, say, Wayne Taylor, Ganassi, Howard-Boss, Doran Racing, and the TRG GTOs?

[Sean O'Gorman]

I didn't see any other teams running M3s while PTG was there. You can't say the same about the other teams you listed except for the GTO.Rs, which are customer cars now

[FCYTravis]

And another team ran their own design tube-frame GTOs, which actually showed up before the Pratt and Miller/TRG version.

Unfortunately, they didn't have the budget or the drivers to really make a dent :(

[theunions]

Auberlen seemed pretty certain in his Mexico City TV interview he wouldn't be back with BMW...or PTG, anyway...

[NismoZ]

As long as we are talking ALMS, what is the IMSA Lites series all about? Is it just pro C&DSR or are the cars tweaked some. Is it just spec or is there mfg/engine/chassis competition? Saw a little at www.westracecars.com

[extramundane]

I didn't see any other teams running M3s while PTG was there. You can't say the same about the other teams you listed except for the GTO.Rs, which are customer cars now

Whether they sell cars or not is irrelevant- they're all still factory teams in some form.

[extramundane]

Auberlen seemed pretty certain in his Mexico City TV interview he wouldn't be back with BMW...or PTG, anyway...

All indications are he's not returning to Panoz.

[NismoZ]

Oh, dummy me...WR1000 spec racer, Kawasaki ZX10R, 12,000rpm, 174hp, 1000 lbs. 165 mph...says 3 mfgs. chosen. Anyone know about the other 2?

[extramundane]

Panoz & Radical have been suggested, but Stohr and others are reportedly interested.

[NismoZ]

The new LMP2 Porsche looks just like a Stohr... on stohroids!

[extramundane]

n/m