BMW Team PTG Silverstone Debut

BMW Team PTG notes: provisional qualifying, May 12 Silverstone 500 USA Challenge, Silverstone Circuit race three of 12, American Le Mans Series

BMW Team PTG qualified ninth and 10th on the provisional GT grid for Saturday's race, the first in the European Le Mans Series. Boris Said qualified the #6 BMW M3 ninth in class in one minute, 55.846 seconds (99.25 mph). Team newcomer Nic Jonsson was 10th in the new #10 M3 (1:56.121, 99.02 mph).

Boris Said, driver, #6 BMW M3

"I think we're making progress on the cars. I didn't do the best job qualifying, but I keep learning [the track] every time. I haven't had one great lap yet -- I've had some good corners but I screw up somewhere else. But I'll get better. The Porsche is in another league with its engine. We're outhandling it and outbraking it, but we just don't have the horsepower yet. We'll keep digging."

Nic Jonsson, driver, #10 BMW M3

"We did a few changes that we thought should improve the car, but the track temperature was a little bit different and the conditions overall were different, so we misjudged a little bit. We went about four- or five-tenths slower [in qualifying] than we did this morning. We have to keep working and hopefully have a good race car. We have to get the car to handle through the whole race and have good stints to be very, very consistent."

new car and colors

BMW Team PTG introduced its second 2001 BMW M3 this week. The #10 car will be driven by Brian Cunningham, Peter Cunningham and Nic Jonsson. The new car carries the Yokohama colors of red, white and black. The #6 M3, driven by Boris Said, Hans Stuck and Johannes van Overbeek, has a new burgundy-and-silver paint scheme, representing the colors of sponsor Flextronics International.

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BMW Team PTG driver Hans Stuck first raced at Silverstone in 1975, in a BMW. Brian Cunningham raced for a British Formula Three team based at Silverstone from 1993 to 1996. During that time, he met and married his wife Susan in nearby Wicken. They met in the town's only pub and married in the town's only church. Nic Jonsson's parents are visiting from Sweden. This week's race offers them a race opportunity to see their son, who now lives in California.