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Tom Milner, owner of BMW Team PTG, announced today the addition of two more BMW M3s to the team for the rest of the 2003 SCCA Pro Racing Speed World Challenge GT championship. This makes a total of four BMW Team PTG M3s that will compete in the series.
Legendary international racer Hans Stuck will take over the seat of a brand-new M3, and Justin Marks will drive the fourth all-new BMW M3, beginning at the season's second event at Mosport International Raceway in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, on May 18.
Stuck drove a brilliant race to finish fourth in a McMillin Motorsports BMW M3 at the season opener in Sebring, Fla. The car was campaigned by BMW Team PTG at this event while the team continued the construction of the new cars.
Justin Marks, at 21, is already experienced in racing World Challenge cars, having competed in the series for three years. The California State University student joins PTG veterans Stuck, Bill Auberlen and Boris Said for the first time.
Marks, of San Francisco, has competed in 21 Speed Touring Car and GT races since 2000. He has two top-five finishes and 11 top-10s, with his best result a third in GT at Laguna Seca Raceway in 2002. Marks is a Skip Barber Racing School alumnus and has raced NASCAR Mini Super Trucks, Late Model stock cars and in SCCA Club Racing.
"Obviously, it's great that Hans is back with the team for the season," said Milner. "He did an outstanding job at Sebring, finishing fourth after starting in the pit lane. At the same time, weıre happy to have a new young driver on the team who has experience in the Speed GT series. He knows most of the race tracks already and he's done pretty well in some of the races."
"It's like a wish and a dream come true," said Stuck, who lives in Austria. "I had three very nice seasons with Tom and everybody knows I like very much to race in the States and to be over here as much as possible. Racing in the States is different than racing in Europe."
"I think it's really a fantastic opportunity for me to be able to compete for Tom Milner and BMW Team PTG and to race with Hans, Boris and Bill," said Marks. "They all represent unparalleled success in sports-car racing. It's really exciting to be a part of such a first-class effort and I look forward to developing as a driver in this environment."
"Justin is clearly determined to prove his abilities inside the race car and also to demonstrate his professionalism outside the car," added Tom Salkowsky, Motorsports Manager for BMW of North America, LLC. "We feel this is an opportunity for him to learn not only from very experienced BMW drivers, but also from a top motorsports organization like PTG.
"As for Hans," continued Salkowsky, "it is always rewarding to have a driver like Hans Stuck representing BMW. Not only does he bring years of experience and passion to the entire team, but he is willing to share his knowledge and strategies with everyone within the organization."
The Mosport SCCA Pro Racing World Challenge GT race is set to start at 10:45 a.m. ET on Sunday, May 18, and is scheduled for broadcast on Speed Channel at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday, May 24.
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