BMW Team PTG - Stuck & Marks added to the lineup

[TomM]

From http://www.world-challenge.com/news/03press58.html

"BMW TEAM PTG CONFIRMS STUCK FOR REST OF SCCA SPEED GT SEASON; ADDS JUSTIN MARKS TO TEAM

WINCHESTER, Va. (April 9, 2003) _ Tom Milner, owner of BMW Team PTG, announced today the addition of two more BMW M3s to the team for the rest of the 2003 SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT championship. This makes a total of four BMW Team PTG M3s that will compete in the series.

Legendary international racer Hans Stuck will take over the seat of a brand-new M3, and Justin Marks will drive the fourth all-new BMW M3, beginning at the season's second event at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on May 18.

Stuck drove a brilliant race to finish fourth in a McMillin Motorsports BMW M3, at the season opener in Sebring, Fla. The car was campaigned by BMW Team PTG at this event while the team continued the construction of the new cars.

Justin Marks, at 21, is already experienced in racing World Challenge cars, having competed in the series for three years. The California State University student joins PTG veterans Stuck, Bill Auberlen and Boris Said for the first time.

Marks, of San Francisco , has competed in 21 Speed Touring Car and GT races since 2000. He has two top-five finishes and 11 top-10s, with his best result a third in GT at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca in 2002. Marks is a Skip Barber Racing School alumnus and has raced NASCAR Mini Super Trucks, Late Model stock cars and in SCCA Club Racing.

"Obviously, it's great that Hans is back with the team for the season," said Milner. "He did an outstanding job at Sebring, finishing fourth after starting in the pit lane. At the same time, we¹re happy to have a new young driver on the team who has experience in the Speed GT series. He knows most of the race tracks already and he's done pretty well in some of the races."

"It's like a wish and a dream come true," said Stuck, who lives in Austria . "I had three very nice seasons with Tom and everybody knows I like very much to race in the States and to be over here as much as possible. Racing in the States is different than racing in Europe ."

"I think it's really a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to compete for Tom Milner and BMW Team PTG and to race with Hans, Boris and Bill," said Marks. "They all represent unparalleled success in sports-car racing. It's really exciting to be a part of such a first-class effort and I look forward to developing as a driver in this environment."

"Justin is clearly determined to prove his abilities inside the race car and also to demonstrate his professionalism outside the car," added Tom Salkowsky, Motorsports Manager for BMW of North America, LLC. "We feel this is an opportunity for him to learn not only from very experienced BMW drivers, but also from a top motorsports organization like PTG.

"As for Hans," continued Salkowsky, "it is always rewarding to have a driver like Hans Stuck representing BMW. Not only does he bring years of experience and passion to the entire team, but he is willing to share his knowledge and strategies with everyone within the organization."

The Mosport SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT race is set to start at 10:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 18, and is scheduled for broadcast on Speed Channel at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 24."

Yes, that is 4 cars for PTG now.

[Alfie]

PTG has quite the Armada with 4 M3s in the SWC GT...which is great. What colors with the 2 new ones be? At Sebring Stuck was rocking the red McMillin M3 while Auberlen sported the PTG white, red and blue.

While I was watching Boris Said win the Trans-Am of Long Beach the commentors mentioned Said going to Nürburgring to do some testing for BMW. They said his suspension broke at 150 mph and he ate the wall. TomM since your the guy on the inside do you know anything about it or is it top secret BMW info .

[TomM]

Stuck and Marks should have a different paint scheme than Boris and Bill. Probobly the same layout, but different colors to reflect sponsors.

Boris was testing with Schnitzer at Spa for the 24Hr. race at the Nurburgring. While going through Eau Rouge (for those who don't know, its a flat out 140mph climbing right, VERY FAST) a rear wheel came off and Boris had a nasty wreck there. He is fine, but the car wasn't.

Tom

[Eric]

didn't read the whole article, but are these v8 powered M3's?

[GMGBMW]

No those arent V8 M3's . SCCA does not allow BMW to run the V8 as the M3 is not sold with the V8. But, rest assured that the 6 cyl M3 engine's are making over 400Hp

With 4 M3's its only obvious BMW is out to win the Manufacturers Championship in GT.

It will be a battle to the finish since the competition is getting tougher and tougher with Audi, Porsche , Corvette and the Vipers in the mix.

It will be interesting to see how the season plays out..


All the best to Team PTG and drivers.. Its time to put the M3's back on top where they belong............






Fabryce
Global Motorsports Group

[TomM]

PTG just completed a two day test at VIR and put in some 300 total laps with both cars. Bill, Boris, and Justin were on hand and Justin is doing great. Justin and Hans will have brand spanking new cars for Mosport.

Thanks GMGBMW - Good luck to you guys as well. TC has some stiff competition.

Tom

[E36DJ]

Originally posted by TomM
Stuck and Marks should have a different paint scheme than Boris and Bill. Probobly the same layout, but different colors to reflect sponsors.

Boris was testing with Schnitzer at Spa for the 24Hr. race at the Nurburgring. While going through Eau Rouge (for those who don't know, its a flat out 140mph climbing right, VERY FAST) a rear wheel came off and Boris had a nasty wreck there. He is fine, but the car wasn't.

Tom

I saw some test videos of the Schnitzer V8 GTR M3s.. incredible.

So, the car that crashed was a GTR?

I think that turn was on one of the videos.

Oh, I just read the news on the Speed GT page, I had NO IDEA you guys were so close to winning! I thought it was a simple race, no problems.. just not quite fast enough yet. There's no doubt in my mind that if you had no mechanical issues you would have given the Audis some drama. You were more than a second faster then the lead Audi?! That's awesome, I had no idea.

PTG is going to tear it up this season, I just hope I can get out to one of the races.


edit: found some schnitzer stuff..
How badass is this?
http://foto.renn.tv/web/video/M3GTR_Eiskurve_aussen.wmv <- Video

[E36DJ]

The wheel arches stick out like 8 inches!