I don't know why I didn't publish this before. ANyhow, here is the PR Speil for the ALMS M3.
Clear the decks for the race version of the latest generation BMW M3.
02-07-2008 Press Release
Chicago/Munich,
6 February 2008. BMW presented the racing version of the new BMW M3 at
the Chicago Auto Show. Powered by a 485 bhp eight cylinder engine, this
impressive race car has been designed to compete in the American Le
Mans Series (ALMS) from 2009 onwards. The car is based on the fourth
generation of the BMW M3, the high-performance sports car produced by
BMW M GmbH.
BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen says: “With the sporting
genes of the production BMW M3 being clearly evident, developing a
racing version of the car was the next logical step. The fact that the
road-going vehicle is fitted with a V8 engine as standard provided us
with an ideal base. However, the BMW M3 is more than a race car, it has
achieved legendary status amongst race fans across the globe. I am
convinced that this unique story of the BMW M3 racing cars will now be
expanded upon by the addition of further chapters.”
“We are very pleased to be returning to the American Le Mans
Series with our latest generation BMW M3,” states Tom Purves, Chairman
and CEO, BMW of North America. “Sports car racing has been part of BMW
of North America’s history practically from day one. Just two weeks
after the company was formed in March 1975, a BMW CSL won the 12-hours
of Sebring. We are confident that the fourth generation M3 will
continue the legacy of its two predecessors which combined to win six
manufacturer’s championships over nine seasons. As it has been in the
past we believe the ALMS is the ideal venue to showcase the potential
of the newest BMW M3.”
BMW’s 2009 entry into the Sports Car Championship will be overseen
by the United States-based Team Rahal Letterman operation. “BMW has an
illustrious racing heritage,” says co-owner and US motorsport legend
Bobby Rahal. “Rahal Letterman Racing is eagerly anticipating, not only
becoming part of that heritage, but helping to enhance it. Our
dedication to this project will be without equal and we look forward to
racing at the front of the grid with BMW in the years to come.”
The BMW M3 Race Version: Sportiness personified.
In the course of developing the race version of the BMW M3, BMW’s
engineers were faced with an ambitious task: to improve upon the
sportiness of an already sporting car. A better base would, though, be
difficult to find. In standard form the vehicle delivers powerful
dynamics and sporting aesthetics. Thanks to an eight cylinder engine
producing 420 bhp, BMW’s customers are provided with a unique driving
experience. Those engine blocks, cast in BMW’s light alloy foundry in
Landshut – the very source of BMW’s Formula One castings – selected for
race duty need to withstand even more power: the BMW P65 engine
delivers 485 bhp.
In order to enable the BMW M3 to make full use of this performance
on the race circuit, the experts in Munich have not concentrated solely
on the engine, but have race-tuned the chassis as well. The race
version of the BMW M3 is wider and significantly lighter than its
production equivalent, enabling it to perfectly transmit the power of
its V8. Widespread use of carbon-reinforced plastic (CRP) provides
proof of substantial weight reduction. As with the production version,
the race car’s roof is manufactured from this high-tech material.
The race version of the BMW M3 is clearly aimed at the top echelon
of motorsport. As such, it is no surprise to discover that in the
course of its development, begun in mid-2007, numerous Formula One
techniques were applied. These include computational fluid dynamics
(CFD) and wind tunnel analyses, both of which have ensured the best
possible aerodynamic package for the BMW M3.
Intelligent control systems have been incorporated throughout the
BMW M3. The POWER400 control unit actuates all the accessories fitted
to the car, such as lights, wipers, etc., via two bus systems.
Traditional relays and fuses are thus eliminated, ensuring considerable
weight saving, improved reliability and ease of application. The
functions of the BMW P65 engine are managed by an ECU 408 electronic
control unit, developed in-house by BMW Motorsport. The software and
applications, too, have been developed by the experts in Munich.
Return to familiar territory.
An intensive test program, during which the performance of the race
car will be honed by BMW Motorsport, looms for the BMW M3 over the
coming months. Development drivers will be BMW works drivers Andy
Priaulx (GBR), Jörg Müller (GER) and Augusto Farfus (BRA), currently
racing in the FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC). The aim is,
after all, for the BMW M3 to be an immediate front-runner upon its
comeback to the American Le Mans Series. BMW can look back on numerous successes and titles in the AMLS.
In 1999 and 2000 the BMW LMR V12 scored six prototype victories. For
2001 BMW switched to the GT Class, winning everything in sight with the
BMW M3 GTR, which was developed specifically for the ALMS: BMW works
driver Jörg Müller claimed the drivers’ championship, Team BMW
Motorsport took the team title and BMW won the manufacturers’
championship in the company’s most important export market.
Rahal Letterman Racing made its debut in the ALMS in 2007,
immediately laying claim to podium places in the GT2 category. The 2008
season gets under way, as has become traditional, with the Sebring 12
Hour Race on 15 March.
BMW in the American Le Mans Series.
The American Le Mans Series is far from virgin territory for BMW.
During both 1999, the series’ inaugural season, and the following year,
the company celebrated major successes in North America. Under the
management of the Schnitzer Team’s Charly Lamm, five BMW drivers scored
a total of six victories with the 580 bhp BMW V12 LMR. In 1999 the
impressive BMW V12 LMR simultaneously won the very race which served as
inspiration for the ALMS: the Le Mans 24 Hour Race.
In 2001 BMW deployed a new car. For the third ALMS season a switch
was made from the Prototype category to the GT class using the BMW M3
GTR, a totally new development powered by an eight cylinder engine
delivering 450 bhp. Two operations, Team BMW Motorsport from Germany
and the US-domiciled BMW Team PTG, entered two cars each. The Team BMW
Motorsport entries were driven by Jörg Müller/JJ Lehto and Fredrik
Ekblom/Dirk Mller respectively, with Hans-Joachim Stuck and Boris Said,
and Niclas Jonsson and Bill Auberlen doing driver duties in the Team
BMW PTG Team-entered cars.
The debut season of the BMW M3 GTR rapidly became a success story:
BMW drivers mounted the top step of the podium seven times, with six
pole positions falling their way. BMW works driver Jörg Müller captured
the drivers’ title, Team BMW Motorsport took team honours, and BMW the
manufacturers’ championship. After a development programme totalling
less than six months BMW was able to lay claim to no less three
championships with the BMW M3 GTR.
Ultimately successful 2001 season does not start to plan.
The 2001 season did not, though, start to plan. At the opening race
on 4 March in Fort Worth, Texas, the BMW M3 as raced during the
previous year was deployed. Stuck and Said gave it their all, and
placed third for BMW Team PTG. Approximately two weeks later things
looked up: at the Sebring 12 Hour Race in Florida the BMW M3 GTR
celebrated its track debut having undergone only cursory shakedown
tests due to time pressures. However, Müller and Lehto immediately
fired a shot across the bows of the opposition: they crossed the finish
line of the classic race in third place, thereby ensuring BMW’s first
podium place with the BMW M3 GTR. “That was the car’s first test drive
under racing conditions,” said team manager Charly Lamm.
Team BMW Motorsport thereafter crossed the Atlantic in order to
amass more experience by taking in two European Le Mans Series events
of 2.45 hour duration each at Donington (Great Britain), and in Jarama
(Spain). Although the team suffered a double retirement in England, the
Jarama race ran totally to plan: Team BMW Motorsport celebrated its
first one-two via Ekblom/Dirk Müller and Lehto/Jörg Müller. Both driver
pairings raced the new BMW M3 GTR.
They’re unleashed.
After its European sojourn, Team BMW Motorsport returned to the
USA. Together with Team BMW PTG, Charly Lamm’s operation fought for
points and placings at California’s Sears Point Raceway. Lasting almost
three hours, the race culminated in a quadruple success for BMW:
Lehto/Jörg Müller won from Said/Stuck, with Ekblom/Dirk Müller and
Auberlen/Jonsson following them across the line. The next race, at
Portland, Oregon, saw Said/Stuck win, with Team BMW Motorsport taking
third and fourth places.
The extent of the domination of the BMW teams became clear during
the final four rounds of the series: in Mosport (Canada), Mid-Ohio and
Laguna Seca Lehto/Jörg Müller won from Ekblom/D Müller; the season
finale, the ‘Petit Le Mans’ at Road Atlanta, saw Auberlen/Said/Stuck
win. Dirk Müller and Jörg Müller placed second.
Thus the BMW teams ended the 2001 AMLS season with four
consecutive one-two victories. BMW drivers mounted the top step of the
podium seven times, with Jörg Müller celebrating the most: he amassed
185 points to take the drivers’ title by five points from team-mate JJ
Lehto. The teams’ classification was won by Team BMW Motorsport (184
points), with BMW Team PTG placing third with 170. The Manufacturers’
Championship went to BMW with 198 points.
In total the BMW teams had contested ten races each. For Team BMW
Motorsport in particular, participation in the series proved a major
logistical challenge: the team travelled 11,000 kilometres within
Europe and a further 45,000 kilometres in North America as its crew
travelled from race to race. A regular paddock and permanent workshop
facilities were as sorely missed as were home town comforts.
“The technicians, the teams and the drivers performed
magnificently,” said BMW Motorsport Director Mario Theissen after the
season finale. “The late project start, combined with the logistical
challenges of the North American races, made it extremely demanding.”
The effort was, though, justified: the BMW M3 GTR came through its
baptism of fire with flying colours.
Technical Specifications BMW M3 Race Version.
Weight: 1150 kg
Tank capacity: 110 Liter
Chassis/body: Unitary construction steel body with welded safety
cell made of extremely rigid precision steel tubing; safety fuel tank
in CRP sandwich tray; pneumatic four-stamp jack system
Aerodynamics: Front wings, rear apron, motor hood, roof, trunk lid, rear wing, front wings, and flared rear wheel arches in CRP
Transmission: Carbon fibre clutch operated by hydraulic central
slave cylinder; 6-speed sequential racing transmission with
straight-cut, unsynchronized gears; additional oil/air cooler; quick
shift system with ignition cut-out controlled by shifting force;
mechanical limited slip differential with additional oil/air cooler
Front axle: Based on production version, with increased wheel
caster angle, enlarged track width and enhanced wheel camber; five-way
adjustable shock absorbers; tubular stabilizer bar
Rear axle: Based on production version, with enlarged track width
and enhanced wheel camber; five-way adjustable shock absorbers, tubular
stabilizer bar
Front brake system: Six-piston aluminium brake calipers, inner-vented grey-cast iron brake disks 380mm in diameter
Rear brake system: Four-piston aluminium brake calipers, grey-cast iron brake disk, 332mm in diameter
Steering: Rack and pinion steering with electro-hydraulic power
Wheels: Aluminium wheels, 18 inches
BMW P65 Engine.
Type: Eight cylinder, V-configuration
Capacity: 3999 cc
Bore x stroke: 92 x 75.2 mm
Max. output: approx. 485 bhp
Max. torque: approx. 500 Nm
Cylinder block: Aluminium cylinder block construction with bed plate power section
Crankshaft: Steel crankshaft
Pistons: Forged skirt pistons
Conrods: High-performance steel
Cylinder head: Aluminium DOHC (Double Over Head Camshaft); four valves per cylinder
Valve train: Four overhead chain-driven camshafts, valve actuation via rocker arms
Intake system: Eight throttle valves, made of CRP with load-charge optimized ram tubes
Exhaust system: Headers, silencer
Fuel system: Single cylinder multi-point injection
Lubrication: Dry sump lubrication
Cooling: Water/air cooler and oil/water heat exchanger
Electrics/Electronics.
Engine management: BMW Motorsport ECU 408 with two high-performance
micro-processors; Individual cylinder injection and ignition; BMW
Motorsport Lambda Controller
Pit speed limiter, Quick Shift function; Engine data memory system
Energy management: Electric energy management and monitoring with
BMW Motorsport POWER400 control unit, networking of all sensors and
actuators through bus system
Wiring harness: Weight optimized
Ignition coil: Eight high-performance pencil coils with integrated ignition drivers
Spark plugs: High-performance spark plugs
Cockpit: Free programmable LCD Display with integrated shift indicators
Steering wheel: Quick release multi-function steering wheel with integrated display unit |
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