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-GT: Sebring BMW M3 qualifying notes and quotes 9-10-16

PTG BMW M3 NOTES AND QUOTES Exxon Supreme GT Series - GTS-3 NAPA Auto Parts Sebring Octoberfest Sebring International Raceway Qualifying - Thursday, October 16, 1997 FIVE BMW M3s will start in the inaugural Exxon Supreme GT race at ...

Edited: May 8, 2001, 12:19 PM

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PTG BMW M3 NOTES AND QUOTES Exxon Supreme GT Series - GTS-3 NAPA Auto Parts Sebring Octoberfest Sebring International Raceway Qualifying - Thursday, October 16, 1997

FIVE BMW M3s will start in the inaugural Exxon Supreme GT race at Sebring International Raceway - the 1-hour and 45-minute race starts at 1 p.m. on Friday, October 16, 1997. Bill Auberlen qualified the No. 10; Marc Duez qualified No. 7; Butch Leitzinger qualified No. 6; Eduardo Pellerano qualified No. 5.; Pete Halsmer qualified No. 77 for the independent Mattco Racing Team.

BMW M3 Starting Positions:   No. 10 - Bill Auberlen, Butch Leitzinger   1st
                             No. 7 - Dieter Quester, Marc Duez          3rd
                             No. 77 - Pete Halsmer/Tony Renna           4th
                             No. 6 - Javier Quiros, Butch Leitzinger    5th
                             No. 5 - John Paul, Jr., Eduardo Pellerano  8th

BILL AUBERLEN - No. 10 YOKOHAMA BMW M3 FOUR-DOOR captured the POLE for tomorrow's GTS-3 race with a time of 2:13.396 - 3D99.853 mph. This is Auberlen's fourth pole of the season. His other poles came at the 12 Hours of Sebring, Sears Point and Mosport Park. Auberlen has two victories in the 12 Hours of Sebring. He drove a BMW M3 to victory in 1997 and won in a Mazda in 1995. QUOTE - "It took a day to figure it out, but the crew discovered exactly what the car wanted. The tires and car, everything is race ready. If we parked it now, I'd be really happy. It ran perfect; we should be in good shape for the race." HOW DO YOU LIKE THE NEW TRACK CONFIGURATION? "It's all right; the essesses are neat, everything is really nice through there, but it is much narrower. It used to be incredibly wide, now it's two cars wide. It takes something away, but you make do with what you have."

BUTCH LEITZINGER after qualifying the No. 6 YOKOHAMA BMW M3 "We made a few changes to the car and I really didn't like them. It has a lot of oversteer in the faster turns, and I just kind of held on. At first I hoped it was the tires, but it was the changes that we made. So, we'll put things back to where they were and Javier will get in the car and drive it since he is a lot more familiar with the M3 than I am. We'll be good for the race, which I am really looking forward to." HOW DO YOU LIKE THE NEW TRACK CONFIGURATION? "I don't like the new track, this place used to have a real feel to it; a lot of high speed turns, a lot of wide open racing where you could take all sorts of lines and out brake people. Now it is a follow the leader course."

TOM MILNER, PTG TEAM OWNER - "Qualifying went well. We went as hard as we could and so did the Porsche. We are very evenly matched. I am glad to have the M3 on the pole. . Bill (Auberlen) did a great job, taking the pole on the last lap. I think it will be a close race as is apparent from the speeds today."

EDUARDO PELLERANO after qualifying the No. 5 CONOCO BMW M3 FOUR-DOOR - "It went really well, we improved almost three seconds from our last practice session yesterday. The track is very fun; it's a high-speed track and the car is handling much better, so I'm very excited, and looking forward to tomorrow. We have one more practice and have a few things down are sleeve to help us improve our lap times."

JOHN PAUL, JR. - "No. 5 CONOCO BMW M3 FOUR-DOOR will also drive in SportsCar's World Sports Car class for Dyson Racing. HOW DO YOU LIKE THE NEW TRACK CONFIGURATION? I think it's positive; they tried to make it interesting. The wall in the two corners coming onto the back straight and the wall coming off the back straight is a little too close; they are blind corners now. Keep have the curb where it is, but pull the wall back so you can see. Other than that, it's pretty good stuff. It's nice and smooth, which is a change for here. Overall, I think it's a plus."

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