Bill Auberlen will start his 100th American Le Mans Series race with another record on his resumé. The Redondo Beach, Calif., driver put the No. 55 BMW Team RLL BMW M3 on the GT class pole for Sunday’s race at Lime Rock Park in Lakeville, Conn. The record lap time of 50.920 seconds, at an average speed of 104.211 mph, gave Auberlen his 107th career record.

“This is a great way to go to Lime Rock, which is BMW’s home track,” he said, noting the manufacturer’s U.S. headquarters are in nearby Woodcliff Lake, N.J. “All the executives from BMW are here and I’m so pleased to have brought them the pole. It comes down to great engineering from BMW, the hard work of the crew and good tires from Dunlop. This is a big combination. They got everything right for us to go out there and be quickest. I am elated!”

Auberlen has 10 victories and 20 podium finishes at Lime Rock and he has set seven records on the 1.474-mile road course. He says the key to his success is a well-balanced car.

“The reason we do well at Lime Rock is the car’s balance. I’ve driven BMWs for 17 years and it’s one of the most balanced driving machines ever. So I just follow that roundel on the hood and it knows the way to victory lane.”

Performance
Bill Auberlen has driven BMW cars in more races than any other driver in the world. He has won six professional auto-racing championships, four with BMW power. He has competed in 459 professional races to date, 303 in BMWs. His results include 84 race victories, 178 podium finishes, 55 pole positions, 77 fastest race laps and 107 records.