STUCK, REDMAN REUNITED WITH 1975-WINNING BMW CSL AT SEBRING
BMW TEAM RLL UNVEILS SPECIAL ‘THROWBACK’ PAINT SCHEME TO CELEBRATE 40TH ANNIVERSARY
IMSA.COM:
BMW Motorsport will proudly glance at the rear-view mirror while embracing the present this weekend at Sebring International Raceway.
To mark the 40th anniversary of BMW Motorsports’ first victory, the two BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTLMs will carry the classic paint scheme from 1975 in Saturday’s 63rd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida.
The “throwback” livery for the No. 24 IHG Rewards Club entry of John Edwards, Lucas Luhr and Jens Klingmann, and the No. 25 IHG Rewards Club BMW of Bill Auberlen, Dirk Werner and Augusto Farkus was unveiled this past weekend at the Amelia Island Concours d’Elegance near Jacksonville, Florida.
“Definitely my best Sebring memory was my first win with the BMW,” Stuck said. “Getting to drive that car will be a very precious moment – I haven’t driven that car in a long, long time. I remember 1975 was a very exciting race, and I really appreciate BMW taking me over for this event.”
Redman and Allan Moffat were the original drivers of the No. 25 BMW in the 1975 event. Stuck won the pole in the team’s similar No. 24 entry, but switched to the eventual winner when their car retired. The four drivers combined to win by three laps.
“They were fantastic cars, back in 1975 and 1976, and BMW had the only real works team at that time,” Redman said. “The degree of preparation was extremely professional. The following year, the leading BMW went to five cylinders at 5 a.m., and it was still faster than any Porsche RSR out there. It was a fantastic car. The engine revved at 9,000 RPM – the power band was 6,000-9,000 – and the brakes were terrific.
“I remember our only problem was that the battery was going down late in the (1975) race.. So I was running without lights, except past the pits, because I didn’t want to get black flagged. With 20 minutes to go, the rear axle temperature gauge was off the clock. So I crawled around, it held together and we won. We later found that the rear axle pinion bearing had failed, and it could have stopped at any time.”
Auberlen also will be celebrating two personal anniversaries at Sebring. The weekend is the 30th anniversary of his father Gary Auberlen’s lone IMSA victory in the 1985 Twelve Hours, while Auberlen won the GT2 class in 1995 at age 23, early in a career which has seen him win 53 major sports car races in North America.
Fans can follow the action in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring flag to flag this weekend. Coverage begins on FOX Sports 1 from 10:30 a.m. – 12:30 p.m., before moving to FOX Sports 2 from 12:30 -7 p.m., IMSA.com from 7-10 p.m., and finishing on FOX Sports 2 from10-11 p.m. A two-hour special highlights show will be aired on FOX Sports 1 on Sunday, March 22, from 8-10 a.m.