6/23/02
What an experience!

"Those guys are tall! I can barely reach the pedals," I thought while I tried to get comfortable in their American Le Mans Series cars. Then I remembered that Boris Said and Hans Stuck are about 6' 2"…at least four inches taller than I am. I felt like a 4-yr. old kid sitting in my Dad's car, with my feet not touching the pedals and dreaming of driving. But this wasn't a dream. Well, to a racer, it was.

I was offered the opportunity to fly down to Sebring and drive one of Team PTG BMW M3 GTR's. So I thought about it… my choices were either stay at home and go Christmas shopping with a bunch of parking lot maniacs or drive probably one of the best production based racecars. The decision was not that difficult. Christmas comes every year, a chance like this, not nearly as often.

We had a brief gathering the night before I was to drive, at the Chateau Elan hotel, which sits a stones throw from the racetrack. Folks from Yokohama and BMW were on hand to explain the next day's activities. It was good to see Tom Milner again, a familiar face in the group.

With all the recent announcements regarding the ACO ruling of BMW's homologation eligibility, the timing of this event was perfect. To actually sit down and chat with both Milner and Tom Salkowsky, BMW Motorsports manager was excellent.

At the end of last season, the ACO put the future of the BMW in question over concerns about the number produced to homologate the car. The issue was under discussion late last year and it was possible that the ALMS might have to become involved to help settle the issue.

On Tuesday morning, we meet at the track around 8:30 am. A typical Sebring foggy morning, but the sun was trying to come through the clouds. Bill Auberlen was on hand to give us a few reconnaissance laps in a street M3 around the shortened Sebring course.

I was then asked if I wanted to drive the street M3 on the course for a few laps. Even though I had driven the street M3 a fair amount at the BMW Performance Center I had never driven on the Yokohama AVS Sport tires. So off I went for a handful of laps. I must say I was impressed. The tires just really complemented the excellent handling of the car. One thing that really stood out was how well the car turned in on the corners. And after five fairly hard laps, the tires did not change in their personality.

The first driver out in the M3 GTR was John Morton. I had the privilege to be on the same team with John in the 2000 Petit Le Mans race. He is a super person and a great driver.

When John came into the pits after his laps, the car chief of the #6 car asked him if he wanted out or do more laps. He never got a chance to answer. Before poor John could say a thing, I said with a big smile on my face, "get him out of there" as I was pulling up my driving suit and grabbing my helmet. Everybody just chuckled.

I was very intrigued and curious to drive this car. I had watched it for several years out on track and wondered just what made it so special. Well, I was about to find out.

While all of this was going on, the PTG team was testing the #10 car with some different brakes compounds. Even though Milner was chatting by the second car, he would occasionally glance over to keep tabs on us. I know he has done a lot of these events over the years in motor sports, but I couldn't imagine the feeling in his gut of letting people with different driving backgrounds and talent get behind the wheel of his awesome racing machines. He has more nerve than I do... or at least he hides it well.

As I was getting buckled into the car, Scott Clarke was giving me a briefing. The inside of the cockpit, as I call it, was laid out very nice for the driver. For racecar drivers, ergonomics is very important, especially for endurance racing.

One of the simplest features, which found extremely effective, was how to move the seat. It was a 12" bar that extended out in front of the seat and looped around the other side. So to move the seat, all the driver has to do is push down with your foot on the bar and it releases the seat forward and aft. It was very simple but very cool. Once again, its BMW's attention to detail that makes them a true champion.

As I started my warm up laps, the first thing I noticed was the gearbox. I had never driven a "dog" box or a transmission without synchromesh. The V8 M3 is equipped with a Hewland six-speed, which requires a little more "authoritative" style of shifting.

Then all of a sudden, I had a flash in my brain, "Cindi, remember you're here to evaluate this car, not race it!" What a new concept! A bit strange for me but I am willing to try. Plus, I didn't want to put a scratch on Milner's car and then have to face him. No way.

By my second lap, I started to settle in with the GTR. The torque, 354lb-ft @ 5500 rpm was very noticeable and very controllable. You had to be very soft with the application of the throttle when coming off the corners. As a few more laps were completed, my shifting was starting to smooth out and I was starting to carry more speed in the corners.

There were two things I wanted to concentrate on, braking and cornering. Lets start with the cornering ability first. I am very simple in the way I analyze car ability to corner; I look at fast speed corners and slow speed corners. These are usually two different animals on how you approach setting up a car.

On the slower corners around the track, the car turned in well and was able to get the nose "pointed" coming off the corner. Shock technology has come a long way in the recent years and the PTG cars are running on Moton Shocks.

But it's on the faster corners that tell the story a little more. There were two higher speed corners at Sebring, turns 1 and 17, which really separate a car's abilities.

The GTR was absolutely phenomenal in this area. Going into turn 1, I dropped a gear, let the car take a set and start picking up the throttle. You didn't feel a lot of weight transfer from the front to the rear. This car was well balanced, especially in the middle to exit of the corners.

And those brakes… maybe the saying is true, "you can stop on a dime." The brakes were indeed very impressive. PTG runs the Brembo ventilated disc, 6-piston calipers on the front and 4-piston calipers on the rears. The brake pedal effort is not that hard and gives the driver lots of feedback. Under aggressive braking the car is very stable. Again, you didn't feel a lot of weight transfer towards the front. Sometimes you will hear drivers speak of the "car really dances under heavy braking," meaning it does a little squirming from side to side and drivers really need to be on their toes to control the car. But this is not the case with the M3 GTR. But, you better have your belts very tight.

After about six laps, they radioed to me to come on into the pits, and turn the car over to another driver. As I got out of the car, there were a few smiles from the faces from the PTG crewmembers. Normally, I would walk over to the car chief and start downloading what the car felt like and what we should do to go faster. I had to stop myself!! But I was almost caught up in the moment. Even if I were in "that racing mode" I would have no suggestions. The car is wonderful.

Darrick Dong, Director of Motorsports for Performance Friction, was on hand for the brake testing for the #10 car. He explained how they look at temperatures on each individual rotors and calipers. Just like a tire pyrometer, they stick a probe through the wheels to get these readings off the certain parts. As I came into the pits, he took the temperatures off the brakes of my car and he could tell I was not "trail braking" into the corners. He came to this conclusion by how even the 4 temperatures were on each wheel. Ideally, you are trying to get all four corners in the similar heat range for the most efficiency.

After a lunch break back at the Chateau Elan, we returned for one more session in the car.

As the 2 pm sun beat down on the track, I slide my helmet back on and hopped back in. Sometimes one of the most challenging aspects of driving a true high performance racecar is getting it going from a stop. The flywheel is so light it is very easy to stall it. It can be very frustrating.

This time around, I noticed how quickly the motor revs. A driver really needs to be aware of this at all times. Other teams just put a warning shift light when you are getting close to the rev limiter. PTG put a series of six small LED's on the very top of the dash. This gave the information back to the driver using in the peripheral vision and not having to take your eyes off the track. It is more of that attention to detail.

As the laps clicked off, I was starting to realize how this M3 did not beat you up. The GT3-R Porsche that I drove at the Petit Le Mans was more physical to drive. But there's a big difference between a rear engine 6-cylinder racecar compared to a front engine V8 car. Two different philosophies from different manufactures on how to build a racecar.

After another five laps, I came into the pits to once again hand over the car. I have never questioned BMW's total commitment to motor sports. And now haven driven one of the best GT cars, I have a new admiration for that devotion.

Very simply, this car just flat out works. It accelerates, brakes and corners with ease and efficiency. The bar has definitely been raised in the world of GT racing.

Speaking from a driver's point of view, the BMW M3 GTR is a work of art and should be on the track, fighting and sometimes swapping paint for a corner. It is what the racing fans want to see. And this car can do it.