BMW M3 GT Joerg Mueller in-car video from VIR

Yup, easy flat in the upper esses (on the second lap) and nice Ferrari dodge at 2:01 in the clip!


One of the sponsors of the race this week end is TrackPro Advisors. Check it out and if interested, promocode AXISALMS will get you 3 months free.

The Sweet Sounds of the Flat Plane

Flat plane crankshafts just have that something extra....Joey Hand testing in the BMW RLR GT at Road Atlanta.



"Joey Hand - normally found in the No. 90 M3 GT - tests the No. 92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3 GT at Road Atlanta in preparation for Petit Le Mans 2010. Testing allows the team to try quite a few things to find every possible tenth. Here Joey was able to drive both M3s back-to-back to test two different spring set-ups. September 25, 2010"
(BMWNA Motorsport).

ALMS Mosport: Ride along in the #92 BMW M3

Tommy Milner keeping cool at the office, in this case the newly rebuilt #92 BMW M3 GT which had been destroyed in a crash at Raod America just this past week end.

Millner and Bill Auberlen qualified second in the GT calss less than three 1/100 of a second behind the Flying Lizard Porsche of Bergmaister/Long.


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Terminator!

That's what this picture of the #92 BMW M3 ALMS car getting rebuilt in the Rahal-Letterman Racing shop reminds me of. The original car was involved in a crash at Road America and chassis written off. The team has a race this coming week end so time for rebuild is short.

One of the cool things about the rebuild pictures is seeing to what extent the M3 is modified for racing. As you may know, the gearbox is moved to the back in a transaxle design, the front suspension is not struts like on the street M3 but A arms, like on most new and future BMW's. Most triking is how the engine is mounted, lower and much further back to help lowering and centering the mass.



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Mobil 1 12 hrs of Sebring. By Old Boone
More Pictures Of the Day on Axis

How do you take care of the car in a 12 hour race?

The question came from Andres in Colombia...


Email questions HERE.


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Postcard from Sebring

The BMW-RLR M3 of Müller-Hand- Priaulx ready for 12 hours of ripping!



Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand on now being with different crews for the 2010 season after "doing it together for five years"...




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More Reader Questions for The BMW RLR Team...

Jay O'Connell, technical director at Rahal-Letterman Racing answers questions from Alex and from Ruben in Holland...
Oh and in case you are wondering what a "stall test" is, (what the pole sitting BMW of Dirk Müller failed), it involves blocking the intakes with the engine at idle, if it stalls you pass the test. If it does not it means there is a leak which can potentially be construed as cheating since more air than allowed by the restrictors reaches the engine.







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Your Questions for BMW, Answered From the Sebring Paddock!

Tough break for BMW at Sebring, Dirk Müller's car failed a post qualifying "stall test" after setting the fastest GT2 time. Flying Lizards Porsche inherits the pole spot.

Bad luck there but the Rahal-Latterman team did take some time out to answer a few of our reader questions. Let's start with Tommy Milner fielding one on that eternal Sebring dilemma, from out own Axis CG. More to come. You can still send us your questions and we'll forward them to Florida though we suspect they might get a little busy... Email the questions HERE

Everything you wanted to know about the BMW M3 RLR but were afraid to ask

...well, probaly not EVERYTHING but BMW kindly offered to field questions from our readers on video during the upcoming 12 Hours of Sebring.

What was it you always wanted to ask Bill Auberlen? How do you set someone up for a pass? What pressure do you use for those Dunlop tires? How do you cope with the Sebring bumps? How does the team keep from getting its Dirks confused? Whatever, send us your questions for the drivers or the engineers, we'll forward the best ones to the team and wait for the race on Saturday. Email the questions HERE, post them as a comment or, if you are especially ambitious, record your question on YouTube and send us a link.



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12 Hour of Sebring Preview: Joy of Racing

Great slogan and nice work if you can get it we might add!

Many of our readers not from the US may not be familiar with the BMW North America, Rahal-Letterman Racing team.

Dirk Müller will be a familiar name from WTCC but maybe you don't know Bill Auberlen, a legend of American road racing. Along with Joey Hand (he of the biggest crash ever) and Tommy Milner, he will be duking it out with Porsches, Ferraris, Jaguars and Corvettes at Sebring this coming week end, March 20th. The 90 and 92 cars will each have a third driver especially for Sebring, Dirk Werner and Andy Priaulx respectively.

The 12 Hours of Sebring is the final warm up for the 24 Hours of Le Mans and ALMS runs what are usually called GT cars as GT2 in order to conform with the LM rules. This is not to be confused with the FIA's GT2 class which will not run at all this year for lack of entries, despite the recent fanfare in Paris. Confused yet?

The ACO is in fact expecting a healthy field of GT2 cars for the 24 hour classic later this year.

Below is a BMW produced video introduction to the RLR team. After the jump, our own clip from last season taking you up close and personal with the BMW M3 RLR.

Raikkonen and Loeb at the 2010 Le Mans 24 Hours...

Keep an eye on the 2010 24 Hours, it has the potential of being the most interesting in years. The latest rumors are of a Red Bull sponsored Peugeot 908 Hdi driven by Kimi Raikkonen, Sebastien Loeb and perhaps David Coulthard. Certainly would attract media attention, something RedBull has show to have a certain talent for over the years...

Also in 2010, BMW will return to contest as an official factory team for the first time in years. There will be GT2 M3s but perhaps also the new GT3 class Z4 racer the bavarians have cooked up. Stay tuned for updates.
(autohebdo.fr, motorsportblog.it)






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Postcard from Long Beach.

Rahal Letterman BMW M3-RLR in Long Beach California. Qualified 3rd and 4th for Saturday's race after Jaime Melo's Ferrari got disqualified for a technical infraction.
The race will be show on tape delay Sunday 12:30PM EST on ABC.
Watch Qualifying HERE





Tequila Patrón American Le Mans Series at Long Beach

Postcard from St. Petersburg: BMW's getting in the groove

BMW- RLR M3s working much better this week end, qualified 3rd and 4th in ALMS GT2.

BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM M3s WILL START ST. PETE RACE FROM THIRD AND FOURTH ON GT2 GRID
04/04/2009

St. Petersburg, Fla. - April 3, 2009... After setting the fastest GT2 class time in the one-hour practice session immediately before qualifying, the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3s qualified in the third and fourth GT2 class starting positions for tomorrow’s Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg.
Joey Hand, co-driving the No. 90 M3 with Bill Auberlen, will start third after recording a 1:13.262 minute lap on his fourth circuit around the 1.8-mile, 14-turn temporary street course. Dirk Müller’s third lap of the 20-minute session, 1:13.458 minutes, will put him next to Hand, fourth in the GT2 field. Müller will co-drive with Tommy Milner.

Earlier today, the 11-car GT2 field was greeted with a torrential downpour half way through the morning’s one-hour practice session. Both cars took to the track, but the chance to collect data during the team’s first laps at the 1.8-mile, 14-turn street circuit was limited.

The one-hour and-fifty-five minute Acura Sports Car Challenge of St. Petersburg is scheduled to take the green flag at 1:20 p.m. tomorrow.

Joey Hand, driver No. 90 BMW M3 (third):

“The BMW M3 loves this circuit. The car is so agile that I can stick it between these walls and leave only millimeters to the mirrors. The M3 always brakes and corners really well. It drives like a go kart. My favorite part of the circuit is the Turn 11 and 12 sequence. You are totally hooked up in fourth gear, turn in fast, off the throttle, over a little curb, in the grass, fly in left, settle and back on it. I am psyched we are on the second row because it is so difficult to pass on a street course. It’s really important to start close to the front.”

Dirk Mueller, driver No. 92 BMW M3 (fourth):

“I was aiming for my fast lap on lap four, but I’m not entirely happy because I caught traffic. My laps could have been better, but for the team I am delighted. Capturing P3 and P4 is great! From my background racing Touring cars in Europe, street circuits are home to me and I really love racing on them. This track demands a high level of concentration so it is really exciting.”

Bobby Rahal, team principal

“I am pleased we are beginning to show progress. Any new effort takes time, but perhaps we are changing the rate of our learning curve. I believe the team’s knowledge about St. Pete from previous Indy Car and ALMS experience played a large factor today and will certainly help us tomorrow. It is important to start at the front of the field and we look forward to tomorrow’s race.

( a live stream may be available HERE )

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Postcard from Sebring

The M3 RLR getting its headlights adjusted



BMW M3 RLR details



BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM EXPERIENCES MIXED RESULTS IN 12 HOURS OF SEBRING QUALIFYING
03/19/2009

Sebring, Fla. – March 19, 2009… Bill Auberlen, driving the No. 90 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3, qualified seventh for the 57th annual 12 Hours of Sebring. Auberlen's lap of 2:04.566 minutes around the 3.7-mile Sebring International Raceway places him and co-driver Joey Hand in the top-half of the 15-car GT2 class field for the team's debut race.
Dirk Müller, driving the No. 92 BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team M3, experienced mechanical problems immediately after leaving the pits and did not complete a qualifying lap. Müller, who will co-drive with Tommy Milner, will have to start from the rear of the field.

Two more sessions are scheduled before Saturday’s 12 Hours of Sebring. A one-hour-and-forty-five minute practice is scheduled to begin at 7:15 p.m. this evening. A final one hour practice session is scheduled for 9:55 a.m. tomorrow morning. The 57th annual 12 Hours of Sebring starts at 10:30 a.m.

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BMW's trick M3 GTR

Or as Grumpy McFreep chastised me for, the BMW-RLR M3...

You will immediately notice double A arms rather than McPherson struts and an engine mounting position which makes the Rahal-Letterman Racing entry closer to a mid-front layout. But most intriguing is the shifter linkage going towards the rear of the car making it likely that BMW used a transaxle design for the GTR. And let's not forget the classic VW Golf shift knob.

Brian Watts , a club racer and poster at Bimmerforums.com, points out how the front half of the drivers compartment is closed off from the rear with a plexy bulkhead. He speculates this is to have a smaller area to cool with the air aonditioning units mandated by ALSM from this year.

So, not very much in common with your garden variety M3 but extremely cool. I wonder if Porsche will protest or run?

If you want to see more and oogle at all carbon fiber goodness, check the SLIDESHOW HERE or head over to the Axis Flickr page where you'll find 2650x1600 sized pictures.




The BMW M3 Race Version: Sportiness personified.
In the course of developing the race version of the BMW M3, BMW’s engineers were faced with an ambitious task: to improve upon the sportiness of an already sporting car. A better base would, though, be difficult to find. In standard form the vehicle delivers powerful dynamics and sporting aesthetics. Thanks to an eight cylinder engine producing 414 bhp, BMW’s customers are provided with a unique driving experience.

Those engine blocks, cast in BMW’s light alloy foundry in Landshut – the very source of BMW’s Formula One castings – selected for race duty need to withstand even more power: the BMW P65 race engine delivers 485 bhp.

In order to enable the BMW M3 to make full use of this performance on the race circuit, the experts in Munich have not concentrated solely on the engine, but have race-tuned the chassis as well. The race version of the BMW M3 is wider and significantly lighter than its production equivalent, enabling it to perfectly transmit the power of its V8 to the track. Widespread use of carbon-reinforced plastic (CRP) provides proof of substantial weight reduction. As with the production version, the race car’s roof is manufactured from this high-tech material.

The race version of the BMW M3 is clearly aimed at the top echelon of motorsport. As such, it is no surprise to discover that in the course of its development, begun in mid-2007, numerous Formula One techniques were applied. These include computational fluid dynamics (CFD) and wind tunnel analyses, both of which have ensured the best possible aerodynamic package for the BMW M3.

Intelligent control systems have been incorporated throughout the BMW M3. The POWER400 control unit actuates all the accessories fitted to the car, such as lights, wipers, etc., via two bus systems. Traditional relays and fuses are thus eliminated, ensuring considerable weight saving, improved reliability and ease of application. The functions of the BMW P65 engine are managed by an ECU 408 electronic control unit, developed in-house by BMW Motorsport. The software and applications, too, have been developed by the experts in Munich.

Technical Specifications of the M3 Race Version.
Weight 2,535 lbs./1150 kg
Tank capacity: 29 gallons/110 Liters
Chassis/body: Unitary construction steel body with welded safety cell made of extremely rigid precision steel tubing; safety fuel tank in CRP sandwich tray; pneumatic four-stamp jack system
Aerodynamics: Front fenders, rear apron, hood, roof, trunk lid, rear wing, front wings, and flared rear wheel arches in CRP
Transmission: Carbon fiber clutch with hydraulic central slave cylinder;
6-speed sequential racing transmission with straight-cut, unsynchronized gears;
additional oil/air cooler; quick shift system with ignition cut-out controlled by shifting force; mechanical limited slip differential with additional oil/air cooler
Front axle: Based on production version, with increased wheel caster angle, enlarged track width and enhanced wheel camber; five-way adjustable shock absorbers; tubular stabilizer bar
Rear axle: Based on production version, with enlarged track width and enhanced wheel camber; five-way adjustable shock absorbers, tubular stabilizer bar
Front brake system: Six-piston aluminum brake calipers, inner-vented grey-cast iron brake disks 15.0 in./380mm in diameter
Rear brake system: Four-piston aluminum brake calipers, grey-cast iron brake disk, 13.1 in./332mm in diameter
Steering: Rack and pinion steering with electro-hydraulic power
Wheels: Aluminum wheels, 18 inches

BMW P65 Engine.
Type: Eight cylinder, V-configuration
Capacity: 3999 cc
Bore x stroke: 92 x 75.2 mm/3.62 x 2.96 in.
Max. output: approx. 485 bhp
Max. torque: approx. 368 lb-ft/500 Nm
Cylinder block: Aluminum cylinder block construction with bed plate lower section
Crankshaft: Steel crankshaft
Pistons: Forged skirt pistons
Conrods: High-performance steel
Cylinder head: Aluminum DOHC (Double Over Head Camshaft); four valves per cylinde
Valve train: Four overhead chain-driven camshafts, valve actuation via rocker arms
Intake system: Eight throttle valves, made of CRP with load-charge optimized ram tubes
Exhaust system: Headers, mufflers
Fuel system: Single cylinder multi-point injection
Lubrication: Dry sump lubrication
Cooling: Water/air cooler and oil/water heat exchanger

Electrics/Electronics.
Engine management: BMW Motorsport ECU 408 with two high-performance micro-processors; Individual cylinder injection and ignition; BMW Motorsport Lambda Controller; Pit speed limiter, Quick Shift function;
Engine data memory system
Energy management: Electric energy management and monitoring with BMW Motorsport POWER400 control unit, networking of all sensors and actuators through bus system
Wiring harness: Weight optimized
Ignition coil: Eight high-performance pencil coils with integrated ignition drivers
Spark plugs: High-performance spark plugs
Cockpit: Free programmable LCD Display with integrated shift indicators
Steering wheel: Quick release multi-function steering wheel w/ integrated display unit
Steering: Rack and pinion steering with electro-hydraulic power
Wheels: Aluminum wheels, 18 inches