TotalMotorSport All the latest Motorsport news, race reports and photographs from around the world. Alms, Touring Cars, Formula One & Le Mans 24 Hours

<body> <Table Width="550" border="0" style="border-collapse: collapse" cellpadding="0"><TR><TD Width="35"><IMG SRC="//www.totalmotorsport.com/images/spacer.gif" WIDTH="35" HEIGHT="1"></td><td> <CENTER><Table border="0" width="100%"> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="5">SPORTS CAR CHALLENGE</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2">25/10/2003</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="4">SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT Championship</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><B><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="3">Auberlen Quickest In Both Practice Sessions</FONT></B></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="center"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="1">  </FONT></TD></TR> <TR><TD width="100%" align="left"><FONT FACE="Tahoma" SIZE="2"><B>Auberlen Quickest In Both Speed GT Practice Sessions</B> <BR> <BR> <B>BMW Team PTG Drivers Stand First, Fourth, Fifth And Eighth</B><BR> <BR> The Speed GT-class cars had the honour of being the first to take to the new 1.6-mile, 10-turn Isla Grand Prix Circuit in San Juan, Puerto Rico, in this morning's 35-minute practice session for the 10th and deciding race of the 2003 SCCA Pro Racing Speed GT Championship.<BR> <BR> BMW Team PTG driver Bill Auberlen set the fastest time of this first session of two with a 1:10.328 lap.<BR> <BR> PTG team-mate Hans Stuck was sixth (1:11.651), Boris Said seventh (1:11.751) and Justin Marks ninth (1:11.888).<BR> <BR> In the 35-minute afternoon session all four BMW Team PTG drivers improved their morning times with Auberlen again topping the time sheet with a 1:09.484 lap. His session was cut short after being hit by a slower competitor, but his M3 received minor damage and will be repaired for tomorrow.<BR> <BR> Boris Said recorded the fourth fastest time (1:10.047) with Hans Stuck fifth (1:10.268). Justin Marks was eighth (1:11.149).<BR> <BR> <B>Bill Auberlen, No. 7 BMW Team PTG M3 (1st):</B><BR> "My M3 was good and we are definitely making changes in the right direction. There is not much grip because the track is so dirty, but that will get better. I hope they can clean up the track tonight. It feels a bit like I'm racing Baja. I am disappointed that the second session ended like it did. I went under a Mazda, but he kept moving over on me until he successfully broke the left front of my car."<BR> <BR> <B>Boris Said No. 6 BMW Team PTG (4th):</B><BR> "It is a great track. I can only imagine how hard it is to put on an event like this. Mr. Jorge Diaz (event promoter) has done a wonderful job. The track is quite dirty today, but that is to be expected. I think it will get faster and faster. It will be a good track for the M3. It is very hard on the brakes and the combination of the M3 and Performance Friction is hard to beat when it comes to braking."<BR> <BR> <B>Hans Stuck, No.8 BMW Team PTG M3 (5th):</B><BR> "This is my kind of track. It is not a circuit that shows who can jump the curbs the best. It requires a precision that I like. We will have to be very, very smart to survive here. My settings are right on for the old tires I ran in the second session so I am quite happy with the first day."<BR> <BR> <B>Justin Marks, No. 80 BMW Team PTG M3 (8th):</B><BR> "We are working on an oversteer that is making it very difficult to get the power down coming out of the corners. This is not an everyday race track so there is no rubber down. Some bumps at critical places and all the sand and dirt on the surface are not helping us either. It will take a while for the track to come in so we will just have to deal with that for a while."<BR> </FONT></TD></TR> </TABLE><BR> </CENTER> <BR><CENTER><font size="1" color="#808080" face="Tahoma">Copyright ©2000-©2023 TotalMotorSport</font></CENTER> </td> </tr> </table> </body>