# Team PTG at Sebring winter tests



## dhabes (Jan 22, 2004)

check out the cars shortly after they were unloaded. http://www.lmsr.net/jan27.html

lmsr.net has been great with the latest pics from Sebring.


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## WILLIA///M (Apr 15, 2002)

That's some serious lip on the front air dam.:yikes:


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## LmtdSlip (May 28, 2003)

Very cool...Thanks for the pics?

How different is the car from the World Challenge car?


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## dhabes (Jan 22, 2004)

Those cars are a lot closer to the World Challenge cars than they were to the 2005 Grand Am cars. The 2004 Grand Am cars were much more similar to the ALMS cars. We had a big confusing discussion about the similarities etc on bimmerforums if you are interested.


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

The 2004 GrandAm cars were essentially the 2001 M3 GTR's with S54 engines instead of the V8. I thought the 2006 cars were a development of that chassis. The SWC cars are closer to the standard M3 unitized body, which is more like the 2005 GrandAm cars. These cars should be more radically modified with more extensive use of carbon fiber. At least that's what I think. Nice to see the pictures of them out though.


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## Seneca (Feb 13, 2003)

SteveT is correct in his opinion of the cars.


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## dhabes (Jan 22, 2004)

yea, thats pretty much what i meant, i just didnt say it right 

As for drivers, there has been no official word yet but from pics ive seen Auberlen, J Marks, J. Hand, and T Milner are all present so that would be my guess for the season and then add 1 guy to each car for the longer races... possibly.


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## Seneca (Feb 13, 2003)

dhabes said:


> yea, thats pretty much what i meant, i just didnt say it right
> 
> As for drivers, there has been no official word yet but from pics ive seen Auberlen, J Marks, J. Hand, and T Milner are all present so that would be my guess for the season and then add 1 guy to each car for the longer races... possibly.


Looks like Tom Milner Jr. may be driving the Panoz GT car this season in ALMS, instead of a PTG M3. He tested the Panoz at Sebring and did pretty well, and the decision should be made by the end of the week.

I think going to Panoz would be a good move for Milner Jr. As long as he drives exclusively for his Dad, there will always be criticism that he is getting favorable treatment. If he proves himself to be fast and competitive in another car (which I think he will), that would be a very positive development for his racing career.

Ian James and Graham Rahal were also testing the M3's at Sebring.


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## Seneca (Feb 13, 2003)

On Wednesday:


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## SteveT (Dec 22, 2001)

*Faster than last year's pole by 1.5 sec*

Pretty encouraging. Here's a paragraph from AmericanLemans.com.



> So begins the first full season in the Series for BMW since 2001, when the prestigious German marque won the GT class championship. Things have started well for BMW Team PTG, as evidenced by Joey Hand's fast lap in Wednesday morning's practice session. He turned a 2:03. 355, the best GT2 lap of the week, that was about 1.5 seconds better than the class qualifying record (2:04.804 by Timo Bernhard). Not bad for a car that has been sitting in the team shop for a year-and-a-half, Milner said.


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