Car Porn Deluxe - "Heir to the Throne" edition - Tom Milner Jr.and the RLR M3 GTR

Tom Milner Jr. talks through his experiences as a RLR M3 GTR pilot with some great in car footage. It's my understanding that the M3 GTR will also be included in the standard Need for Speed Shift game, which looks like another reason to stay home from work for a month. A little jumbled but I think that some of the shots make up for it. Enjoy!

ALMS St. Petersberg Qualifying Results

Here's the running order for tomorrow's race.  Looks like the BMW M3's came back with a vengence in GT2. Good Luck Rahal Letterman Racing!


Pos Num CL Car Best Lap Time Fastest Driver
1 66 P1 Acura ARX-02a 1:03.776  Simon Pagenaud
2 9 P1 Acura ARX-02a 1:04.722  Scott Sharp
3 15 P2 Acura ARX-01B 1:05.178 Luis Diaz
4 16 P2 Lola Mazda 1:05.464 Guy Smith
5 20 P2 Lola Mazda 1:05.666 Marino Franchitti
6 37 P1 Lola AER 1:09.044 Chapman Ducote
7 62 GT2 Ferrari F430GT 1:12.892 Jaime Melo
8 87 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:13.173 Wolf Henzler
9 90 GT2 BMW E92 M3 1:13.267 Joey Hand
10 92 GT2 BMW E92 M3 1:13.458 Dirk Mueller
11 45 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:13.465 Patrick Long
12 21 GT2 Panoz Esperante 1:14.109 Dominik Farnbacher
13 40 GT2 Doran Ford GT 1:14.281 David Murry
14 28 GT2 Corvette C6 1:14.633 Eric Curran
15 11 GT2 Dodge Viper 1:15.938 Joel Feinberg
16 22 GT2 Panoz Esperante 1:15.996 Tom Sutherland
17 44 GT2 Porsche 911RSR 1:18.592 Seth Neiman

Recap - Mobil 1 12 Hours of Sebring - Battle of the Titans

The Audi R15 and Peugeot 908 waged war for the entire 12 hours of the race, acting as though it was a 20 minute sprint instead of an all out endurance race. This battle proved to be an amazing way for the American LeMans Series to celebrate their 100th race. If you didn't have an opportunity to catch the action, here is small example of the type of racing that went on for the entire 12 hours.


I was excited to see the action in GT2. As I expected, the Ferrari 430's dominated the class, with an amazingly strong showing by PTG with their 3 year old Panoz, piloted by Ian James and Dominik Farnbacher. A special word of congratulations to Ian James in holding off Marc Lieb in the Flying Lizard GT3RSR. Unfortunately the battle ended in tears, but it must have taken some amazing driving to hold off the brand new Porsche with the under-powered and under-developed Panoz.

Of course my greatest disappointment of the weekend were the new BMW M3's, with both cars out of the race before the half-way point. According to Bobby Rahal, team Principal of Rahal Letterman Racing, the cars developed oil leaks and needed to retire. According to spectators at the race, this is exactly what happened, except that the oil leak was likely caused by a connecting rod ventilating the crankcase. That having been said, enjoy some (poor quality) footage from the brief time that the M3's were running.


Congratulation to Audi for winning a tough race and Peugeot for giving the Audi team a real run for their money. While these two titans won't be around much in ALMS this year, the 24 Hours of LeMans in June promises to be a true fight to the finish.

As for ALMS, if Porsche and BMW can up their game, the 2009 season in GT2 class may prove to be as exciting as P1 at Sebring, if they do not, I see many podiums for RISI Ferrari and (yikes) Panoz.

BMW to offer customer race cars

Do you find your new e92 M3 getting passed too often at track days in Barcelona?

Tired of Porsche Super Cup cars blowing by your old factory M3 GTR at the Ring?

Does your ex-works WTCC 325 not provide enough thrills at Silverstone?

Well if you have $156K,  BMW Motorsport may have your answer.  According to Brian Morgan at Roundel, you can now buy your very own factory race-prepped M3, although with a much more pedestrian motor.

Now I know that many folks will say that this is another example of ///M standing for Marketing instead of Motorsports.  I'd say that this a far better deal for US track addicts than any M3 CSL, so let's hope BMW brings it stateside 

BMW Motorsport has announced that it will offer an out-of-the-box M3 race car—called the M3 GT4—to private teams for €120,000, about $156,000 at current exchange rates. 

In the press release on the new car, BMW Motorsport director Dr. Mario Theissen says, “In 2009, we will witness the BMW M3 racing not only for the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans series. The new BMW M3 GT4 now also provides private teams with numerous opportunities. For over 50 years, customer racing has been a cornerstone of BMW’s motorsport programs. After all, what better global ambassador for the performance pedigree of BMW cars than a privateer who is competing for victory in a BMW vehicle?”

While the new car will resemble the ALMS M3 in some respects, it is not the same vehicle. The ALMS car’s engine is designated P65, while the engine in the customer car is an S65—the same designation as the street M3 V8. But it is fitted with a single-mass flywheel, a racing clutch and release bearing, and what BMW calls an “optimized race exhaust system.”

Specific information on the engine-management system is not provided in the information now available on the car, and output figures have not been released. The customer-car transmission is a six-speed H-pattern gearbox, while the ALMS car runs a six-speed sequential box. Brake diameters differ slightly between the two cars. 

Other customer-car specs include a 3.85:1 final-drive ratio, a suspension with adjustable Ohlins race shocks, and stiffer anti-roll bars and suspension mounts than those on the production E92 M3. The car runs forged BBS wheels, 9.5X18" front and 10.0X18" rear—and, like the ALMS car, it is fitted with Dunlop tires.

The car is available for the 2009 racing season. But well-heeled BMW CCA Club racers should not get their hopes up; the car is not being offered for sale in the USA.—Brian S. Morgan, motorsports editor, bmwcca.org

American LeMans Series 2009 - Sebring testing

So if I understand the final list of attendees there will be no one in LMP1, as Audi has pulled out, (although its unclear if the new Aston LMP1 car will come to the states to test for LeMans.)

Acura and will be the only major player in LMP2, (with maybe a Dyson Mazda entry).

GT1 will be unoccupied, (except for maybe the  LISTA Maserati MC12 that shows up on occasion).

The real excitement will be in GT2, with the return of the BMW M3, the newly launched Porsche GT3 RSR and Corvette now competing with an actual Corvette, (not the Pratt and Miller beast disguised to look like a Vette) and Ferrari F430’s.  

Although I am very sad to see the current M3's in white instead of team PTG colors, it is nice to see BMW back in the series.  I wonder how long it will be be until Tom Milner dumps the Panoz's and finds his way back to Munich's finest.

From what I have read of the current Sebring testing, (although very early) there should be some fantastically close racing action in GT3. Thanks to SpeedTv for the Winter testing photos.