Sebring PTG BMW Qualifying

PROTOTYPE TECHNOLOGY GROUP BMW M3 TEAM - FRIDAY, SEPT. 18, 1998 NAPA Auto Parts Sebring Classic, Sebring (Fla.) International Raceway

PTG BMW M3s QUALIFY SECOND, FOURTH IN GT3 Bill Auberlen put the No. 10 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3 four-door on the front row of the GT3 class in qualifying today for Saturday's three-hour NAPA Auto Parts Sebring Classic presented by Royal Purple Motor Oil. Auberlen, co-driving with Mark Simo this weekend, recorded a qualifying lap of 2 minutes, 10.744 seconds (an average of 101.87 mph), just 37 thousandths of a second behind the pole-sitting No. 22 Porsche RSR. PTG's Peter Cunningham put the other team car, the No. 6 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3 coupe, on the second row in fourth position with a time of 2:11.843 (101.02 mph) over the 3.75-mile Sebring International Raceway road course. Cunningham will share the car with Ross Bentley and Marc Duez. Race time Saturday is 1 p.m. EDT.

BILL AUBERLEN, No. 10 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3 Four-Door - "We didn't get the pole, didn't miss it by much, but we had very consistent lap times for the entire (20-minute) qualifying session. That's a good thing here. Just a few thousandths of a second on such a large track, I was doing everything I could to try and find it. I even tried using the grass in one corner, the curb at another. Where could those few thousandths of a second be? I'm really excited at the prospects of doing some real racing tomorrow!"

PETER CUNNINGHAM, No. 6 Yokohama/Fina BMW M3 Coupe - "The car was good, but I wasn't at the very start of the session when it was most crucial to turn a quick time. There was definitely another half-second in the car at the outset. I feel like we've got a really good car, though, in a race situation. That's what we're here for, really." (NOTE: Cunningham is pulling double duty this weekend, co-driving a BMW 328is with Mike Fitzgerald in today's 2-hour, 45-minute Speedvision Cup race.