Bill Auberlen to make 400th BMW start at Petit Le Mans

By Oct 3, 2017, 8:07 PM EDT
Photo courtesy of IMSA
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This weekend’s running of the Petit Le Mans will see BMW Team RLL driver Bill Auberlen reach a milestone with the German automaker: his 400th start with the manufacturer.

Auberlen, who will hit 550 total starts in his professional racing career on Saturday, joined BMW’s racing efforts in 1996, first joining what was then called BMW Team PTG, beginning a partnership than has spanned over two decades and has seen Auberlen be a part of ever BMW of North America racing program since then.

Though he is primarily known as a GT driver, Auberlen’s tenure does include some work in prototypes, such as in 1999, when he was a part of the driving lineup in a BMW V12 LMR in the then American Le Mans Series.

BIll Auberlen, second from the left, piloted a BMW prototype in 1999. Photo: BMW Team RLL

Racing with BMW Team RLL since 2009, when RLL picked up the BMW contract, Auberlen has won in every marque BMW has contested: the M3, the Z4, and the M6. The new M8 GTE debuts next season.

However, despite the milestone, Auberlen’s focus is on winning Saturday’s race. “The amount of work done by everyone that has contributed to this effort over the last two years of the BMW M6 program has been extraordinary. Although we can’t win the championship, we can certainly win this race. 400 races for BMW? It has been great, but I don’t often look back. Bring on the next one!” Auberlen quipped.

Perhaps Auberlen’s most notable results with BMW are class victories at the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 1997 and 1998. This year, Auberlen and co-drover Alexander Sims have won twice, at Watkins Glen and Canadian Tire Motorsport Park in July.

Bill Auberlen and co-driver Alex Sims have won twice in 2017 in their BMW M6 GTLM. Photo courtesy of IMSA

Currently, Auberlen and Sims sit third in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTLM standings, one point behind the Ford Chip Ganassi Racing duo of Ryan Briscoe and Richard Westbrook. Corvette Racing’s pair of Antonio Garcia and Jan Magnussen lead the title and will clinch provided they make the minimum drive time to score points on Saturday.

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Ford Mustang GT3 test has Austin Cindric dreaming of Daytona: ‘I want to drive that car’

By Mar 22, 2023, 2:30 PM EDT
Cindric Ford GT3 test
Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images
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Austin Cindric wasn’t the “mystery” test driver behind the wheel of the new Ford Mustang GT3 at Sebring International Raceway, but the Team Penske driver desperately wanted to be.

Ford CEO Jim Farley, an amateur sports car driver himself, made the big reveal via a Tuesday tweet that provided the first video evidence of the GT3 Mustang on track.

“I’ve watched the video in question about a million times,” Cindric said Wednesday during a Ford Performance Zoom news conference to promote NASCAR’s first road course weekend of the season at Circuit of the Americas. “Definitely exciting times for sure. I want to drive that car. It suits my experience level and also the relationships that I have.”

Ford will enter the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship next season with its GT3 Mustang, entering a two-car factory effort (that will be managed by Multimatic) in GTD Pro and making customer cars available in the GT Daytona category.

That increases the likelihood of seeing more NASCAR drivers crossing over to IMSA. Cindric has been the only full-time Cup driver in the Rolex 24 at Daytona the past two years, but Ford Performance global director Mark Rushbrook has said the GT3 Mustang will provide more opportunities.

Ford has used its GT4 Mustang as a NASCAR driver development tool in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge with Harrison Burton and Zane Smith combining to win the season opener at Daytona International Speedway in January.

“We’re excited about the Next Gen car and the new architecture there and the similarities between that car and GT3 and even GT4 cars,” Rushbrook said at the announcement of the Ford GT3 program in January 2022 at Daytona. “We think it’s a great opportunity and to do be able to do that in a 24-hour race and get NASCAR drivers even more time is something we need to consider taking advantage of that opportunity.”

Given his sports car background, Cindric probably still would be in the Rolex 24 regardless. He has eight IMSA starts since the 2017 season opener at Daytona, racing a Lexus RCF GT3 and Mercedes-AMG GT3 in the GT category. The 2022 Daytona 500 winner made his second LMP2 start this year with Rick Ware Racing.

But Cindric’s preference naturally would be in a Ford, particularly with sports car racing enjoying convergence and crossovers in both GT and prototype racing.

“It’s an exciting time in GT racing, just as it is now for prototype racing with a lot of new regulations and manufacturers building new GT3 cars,” he said. “And also the opportunity with WEC (the World Endurance Championship) and Le Mans and how that all lines up for that category of car. It’s definitely an exciting time. I want to be as much of a part of that as possible.”

Though those odds seemingly will increase with multiple Ford entries in the Rolex 24 field next year, Cindric said NASCAR drivers still have to put in the networking to land rides as he has in recent years.

“Now how (the GT3 Mustang) relates to specifically NASCAR drivers and how often they want to be in the Rolex, could it be an influence? Absolutely, as far as the tie-in with the manufacturer,” Cindric said. “But the challenge and the drive and the logistics of getting an opportunity for a race like the Rolex 24 will be just as challenging as it always is to find your one-off ride for the race. At least from my experience, that’s what I still anticipate.”

It turned out the “mystery” test driver wasn’t from NASCAR (Farley revealed the driver to be 24 Hours of Le Mans winner Joey Hand after a fan asked whether it was Joey Logano).

But Cindric believes there could be more Cup drivers — and perhaps himself — behind the wheel of Mustang GT3s in the future.

“There’s definitely more of a pathway than I think there would be before as far as Ford drivers are concerned,” he said. “Hopefully, I’ll get the opportunity to drive that thing. It’s obviously a great looking car. That’s the first box you’ve got to check. And it’s cool (to have) a guy like Jim Farley, no doubt he’s a racer just as much as he is steering the ship for Ford. It’s cool to see he’s just as excited as the rest of us about it.”