BMW Team PTG hot Texas qualifying

BMW Team PTG is fifth and sixth on the provisional GT grid for the Saturday evening race on the 2.324-mile Texas Motor Speedway road course. Hans Stuck, co-driving with Johannes van Overbeek, was quickest of the BMW M3 drivers with a time of one minute, 26.104 seconds in the #7 BMW M3. Brian Cunningham, driving with Nic Jonsson, qualified sixth in the #10 M3 in 1:26.735. With an ambient temperature of 112 F and a track-surface high of 148 F, the Texas heat will play a major role in tomorrow's race.

Brian Cunningham, driver, #10 BMW M3
"The track is really slick with the heat and the rubber -- I don't think the two mated very well. Yokohama puts a great tire together, but with the heat, everyone's struggling out here. We gained over this morning's practice in terms of where we are relative to the front. But I made a few mistakes and the lack of rear grip didn't help us any. We'll try tonight and see where we go."

Hans Stuck, driver, #7 BMW M3
"We're closer to the Porsche than we thought, so all the changes we made were good. Special thanks to Yokohama -- they gave us a good tire for this weekend. I think the race-deciding story will happen an hour from the end of the race, not in qualifying. We have to be pretty smart on everything on the car to be able to finish the race, and then we'll see where we are."

Chris Miller, motorsports manager, Yokohama Tire Corporation
"We have extremely high ambient temperatures here, which is a challenge in itself for tires. But we also have the combination of the really low-grip infield section, which is crucial to a good lap here. So we're struggling between the high temperatures and needing to go fairly aggressive with the compound to get the grip. But we think we have a good handle on it and we'll be ready for the race."

BMW Team PTG driver Nic Jonsson has trained Swedish royal family bodyguards and secret-service agents in high-performance and self-defense driving. Hans Stuck has trained the elite GSG-9 troops in Germany, and is one of a few people who can identify them. He received a special trophy case for his efforts, complete with steel handcuffs, a club and medals, and was named an honorary commander.