ALMS star revved up for RA return

ELKHART LAKE – Over the past 54 years, the picturesque and challenging Road America race course has gained lofty status as one of the elite road-racing facilities in the world.

Racers and fans commonly praise the Elkhart Lake track for its high speeds, tight turns, elevation changes and scenic beauty.

For veteran sports car endurance racing star Bill Auberlen, competing at Road America will always have extra special significance.

“I won the very first sports car race of my career in an IMSA event at Road America, when I was 19,” Auberlen said. “That gives coming back to compete at the track special meaning for me.”

Auberlen, 40, visited Sheboygan County July 27-29 to promote the upcoming American Le Mans Series (ALMS) event at Road America will take place Aug. 13-16.

The ALMS race on Sunday, Aug. 16, headlines the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase, which also features the Speed World Challenge Saturday, Aug. 15, as well as IMSA GT3, IMSA Lites, MX-5 and TDI Cup divisions.

Auberlen, who resides in Redondo Beach, Calif., launched his extensive and successful career in the motocross ranks.

At an early age, his father introduced him to sports car racing, and he has been hooked ever since.

“Through my father, I got involved in sports car endurance racing,” he said. “I was fortunate enough to drive for Porsche, Mazda and Ferrari teams, but I have been with BMW for the majority of my career, including the last 12 years.”

Throughout his career, Auberlen has racked up more than 70 victories on the way to six sports car racing championships in various divisions.

Auberlen’s first series title came in 1997 when he won the IMSA GT3 championship. During a highly successful three-year span between 2002-2004, Auberlen racked up four series championships, including two in the Grand Am GT series (2002, 2004), two in the Speed World Challenge Touring Car Series (2003, 2004) and one in the Rolex Sports Car Series (2o04).

In 72 ALMS series starts, Auberlen has compiled two race victories and 34 top-five finishes. In 1997, he notched victories in the GT class at the Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona and the 12 hours of Sebring.

After driving in the GT2 division for the Panoz Team PTG for several years, Auberlen has joined the new BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team, co-owned by 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner and three-time CART Indy Car series champion Bobby Rahal and iconic late-night television talk-show host David Letterman.

Auberlen and his teammate Joey Hand share the driving duties for the team’s BMW M3 sports car, competing in the GT2 class.

“Everything is new this year,” he said. “We have a brand new car and a brand new team.

“I am very happy to have this opportunity to drive for a team like Rahal Letterman Racing. It is really an honor.”

He said the first-year team has experienced its share of struggles this year.

“Being so new, it is tough to compete with the experienced teams, like Ferrari, Porsche, Panoz, Ford, Chevrolet and Dodge, which have been together for so long,” Auberlen said. “We are getting faster every race weekend, so I think our time is near.”

In addition to competing in the 12-race ALMS series for Rahal Letterman Racing, Auberlen also drives a BMW M3 machine in the Grand Am GS class for Turner Motorsports.

“My priority is driving in the ALMS series for Rahal Letterman racing,” he said. “When there is not a conflict, I also enjoy racing in the Grand Am GS class.

“Our Grand Am team is having a great year. We have been finishing in the top three at nearly every race this year and we are right up there in the championship standings too.”

A total of 30 cars in two divisions will hit the track for the two-hour and 45-minute ALMS race, which runs from 2:05 to 4:50 p.m. Sunday, Aug. 16.

The driving team of Auberlen and Hand comes into the Road America event ranked 12th in the GT2 championship standings.

“We’ve had a second-place and a third-place finish in our last few races, so hopefully a win is just around the corner,” Auberlen said. “I can’t think of a better place to break through with a victory than Road America.”

After scoring his first career victory over 20 years ago at Road America, Auberlen has re-visited victory lane at the 4.048-mile, 14-turn Sheboygan County track a handful of times, including the Can-Am 30-year celebration race in 1996.

“Road America is just a phenomenal track,” he said. “To me it is one of the top two or three tracks in the world, including places like Daytona and Le Mans.

“Sebring is my favorite track, but I would put Road America second on that list,” he said. “I like it, because it’s fast and it has some tricky turns that bring the driver into play. It’s a driver’s track.”

During his stay in the area, Auberlen took advantage of a unique opportunity to move out of his familiar world-class race course surroundings and into the not-so-familiar surroundings of a world-class kitchen.

The cooking event took place at the Demonstration Kitchen in Kohler, under the direction of Ulrich Koberstein, group director of culinary arts for Kohler.

Mary Lou Haen, spokeswoman for Road America, helped organize the cooking demonstration, which was filmed for a promotional video, showcasing racecar drivers and Sheboygan County foods.

“The video happened because we have many corporate partners that are involved in food or the food business like Johnsonville Sausage, Sargento Cheese, Coca Cola and Cedar Crest Ice Cream,” Haen said. “Kohler is our official plumbing sponsor, but they have great restaurants and a fabulous demonstration kitchen.

“So we thought, let’s incorporate this with a race-car driver and put together a fabulous meal in 30 minutes or less.”

“Doing the cooking demonstration is something really different for me,” Auberlen said. “It was fun and I got to learn quite a bit.

“Now I can go home and show off my new cooking skills to my wife,” he said.

Auberlen said the ALMS race is sure to provide plenty of thrills and intrigue for hard-core and rookie fans alike.

The race will feature the GT2 and GT1 classes on track with the sleek, high-powered LMP 1 and LMP2 prototype class.

“These cars are on the leading edge of automotive technology,” he said. “They have to be seen in person to be truly appreciated.

“You will see about 30 multi-million dollar cars on the track at one time. The speed of these cars is tremendous. I guarantee a great time for everyone that comes out.”

Gates open at 7 a.m. for each day of the Time Warner Cable Road Race Showcase. For more information, call 1-800-365-7223, or visit www.roadamerica.com.