Joy For Bmw At Sebring

BMW Team RLL and its M3 GTs had an excellent start to the American Le Mans Series (ALMS) when Dirk Müller, Joey Hand and Jonathan Summerton brought home their number 56 M3 in first place after a grueling 12 hours and 307 laps of the Sebring International Raceway.
In contrast to many of their competitors, the BMW drivers managed to keep out of any turmoil in the first half of the race. Their BMW M3 GT cars enabled them to clock consistent lap times, keeping in touch with the front-runners throughout the race. As the race developed, a gripping duel between BMW Team RLL and the two Chevrolet Corvettes kept the fans on their feet, all four cars only seconds apart for several hours. More than ten full-course yellows kept the GT field close until the closing stages of the contest. Only in the dying moments of the race were the BMW drivers were able to seal their second consecutive Sebring GT win. Both Hand and Jörg Müller were both victims of contact in the final minutes of the race. While Hand successfully defended his lead despite driving a heavily damaged car, Jörg Müller lost third position in the ALMS class, eventually finishing in fifth place.
With this win, a BMW M3 has now emerged victorious in the GT class of this event for the fourth time: 1997, 1998, 2011 and 2012. BMW claimed overall victory at the Sebring 12 Hours in 1975 with the BMW 3.0 CSL as well as with the BMW V12 LMR in 1999.