Racing News

The IMSA 2014 TUDOR Championship will come to an end this weekend at Road Atlanta with the Petit Le Mans 10 hour endurance race. BMW Motorsport is hoping to end the season on a high note with their first win of the season as they have struggled with Balance of Power. Hopefully they will rekindle the fire they had at the start of the season with a second at the Daytona 24 Hours and a third at the 12 Hours of Sebring.

Once again Joey Hand and Dirk Werner will fill out the team for the weekend. Here is the driver lineup for the 10 hour race:

#55 Z4 GTLM (Black Beast) - Bill Auberlen, Andy Priaulx, Joey Hand

#56 Z4 GTLM - Dirk Müller, John Edwards Racing, Dirk Werner

Here is what the team had to say about the last race of the season:

Bobby Rahal (Team Principal BMW Team RLL): “Over the years, we have generally qualified well for Petit Le Mans and have had reasonable finishing positions but no wins, so we obviously hope to turn that around this time. It’s a very long, hard race and in many respects harder than Sebring. Road Atlanta is not as physically demanding on the car as Sebring, but for the drivers there are narrower speed differentials and I think the track has a little bit more risk in it than Sebring or Daytona, so consequently the opportunity for mistakes or incidents is greater. It will be good to have Joey Hand and Dirk Werner back with us for Petit. We have a lot of experience with both drivers, both are really fast and I think they will really complement the team. From a driver line-up standpoint, once again, our guys are still the best guys.”

Bill Auberlen: “Petit Le Mans is the race you wait all year for because it has become a fantastic event. On the other hand it means the end of our season. We finished second there last year, so I have some unfinished business to take care of and will try to end our season on the top step of the podium. BMW Team RLL and all the drivers have done an amazing job in the most competitive series around making the 2014 season a special one.”

Andy Priaulx: “I am looking forward to Petit Le Mans. As we still have a very narrow chance to win the championship, I am going to go there feeling positive and will simply just concentrate on finishing the season on a high note. It’s a long race and a lot can happen, so I am staying completely open minded. Though Austin proved to be extremely frustrating, the last races have gone very well for me personally and I’d like to take this opportunity to thank the team and my teammate Bill for a very enjoyable first season in the US.”

Dirk Müller: “We had a tough race at COTA – the last event – but I know the entire team is focused forward. This year the race is scheduled to finish after ten hours – not 1,000 miles - so that will mean an extra stint or two for the GT cars. I see this as a positive for BMW Team RLL as we have been very strong in the longer races this season.”

John Edwards: “It is always great to go back to Road Atlanta. The track is fast and challenging under normal conditions. The variables added by darkness and rain showers can really make Petit Le Mans interesting. A lot can happen during the race, so qualifying and speed are never enough to bring home a win. I have a lot of family near the track, so this event feels a lot like a home race for me, which makes it very enjoyable. The season for Dirk and I has really been up and down, but we are hoping to be back on the podium again in Atlanta like we were last year and finish the season strong.”

You can watch qualifying on www.IMSA.com on Friday at 4:40 PM ET. The full race can be viewed on www.IMSA.com starting at 11:00 AM ET and live on TV starting at 3:00 PM ET on Fox Sports 2.—Nate Risch