Every morning this weekend, Bill Auberlen has woken up in his own Redondo Beach home and taken the quick fifteen-minute drive to the Long Beach Grand Prix track, where he’ll team up with Sacramento native Joey Hand to compete in today’s 100-minute American Le Mans Series race. Piloting the white #90 BMW M3, the two Californians will try to leverage this home-track advantage into victory in the GT2 class today.
Their car and their team (Rahal Letterman Racing) are new to ALMS racing, but Auberlen and Hand both grew up watching the Long Beach Grand Prix on television and dreamed of one day winning the race. Hand has finished in second and Auberlen in third in years past, and both are eager to score their first Long Beach victory for their new team on their favorite track.
“We get so much home support that now it feels like homecourt advantage in a basketball game,” Auberlen said after a Friday practice session. “I’ve raced everywhere from Le Mans to Monaco and for me, this is one of the top races in the world.”
Photo by Samuel Lippke
It’s an attitude that was instilled in both drivers when they were young boys. As a child, Hand used to drive the track on a computer game and remembers watching classic battles unfold on these very streets.
“I mean, I watched Bobby Rahal and Al Unser Jr. dice it out on this track when I was younger. Some of the best drivers in the world have been here,” he says. “I want to win this thing so bad. There are certain places where you just give it everything you’ve got.”
Auberlen and Hand will have their chance to stand atop the podium when they partner up later today for the ALMS race. They’ll share duties in the M3 and begin the race in fourth place out of twelve class competitors (after the would-be polesitter was disqualified), posting a 1:21.382 lap in Friday’s qualfying. It’s an impressive showing, considering the car is brand new and this is only the pair’s third race of the season.
“I think we’ve made some big gains,” Auberlen says. “I think we’re maybe a little closer than we thought we’d be.”
Some of that may be due to the car itself, a BMW E92 M3 that uses the same 4.0-liter V8 engine as the production version that’s often seen cruising the streets. The racing version has received a bump in horsepower (from about 418 to 485), and the drivers rave about the result.
“When you put your eyes on what BMW has put under that hood, its technology that’s never been done before,” says Auberlen. “It’s a car that brakes well and is so agile that you can place it millimeters off the wall, and that’s a great combination.”
Another great combination: home cooking and enthusiasm for the event. Keep a look out for that bright white #90 car during the afternoon race, piloted by two native sons chasing a lifelong dream.
Photo by Russell Conroy