The BMW V12 LMR is a Le Mans Prototype built for sports car racing from 1999 to 2000. The car was built through an alliance between BMW Motorsport and Williams F1 , and was the successor to the failed BMW V12 LM of 1998. It is famous for earning BMW its only overall victory to date at the 24 Hours of Le Mans .
31-504: Immediately following the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans in which both BMW V12 LMs had failed to finish due to mechanical difficulties and a slow pace caused by aerodynamic inefficiencies, BMW Motorsport made the decision to radically revamp their sportscar project and quickly replace the V12 LM with a new car for 1999, the V12 LMR. The V12 LMR retained only the basic structures of the V12 LM; all of
62-529: A mere two points. For 2000, BMW's alliance with WilliamsF1 brought the marque into Formula One , with BMW providing the engines for the WilliamsF1 team. It was therefore decided by BMW that the company would concentrate on the worldwide exposure of Formula One for the future and that they would not return to Le Mans to attempt to follow up on their victory. However, in order to not see the V12 LMRs go to waste, it
93-533: A single lap, but not as fuel-efficient. Even with this apparent setback, a V12 LMR was able to take the fourth-fastest lap time over the practice session, behind two Toyota GT-Ones and a Panoz prototype. For the race, only two cars appeared, with the Art Car being dropped from the line-up. In qualifying the two LMRs again showed their speed, taking 3rd and 6th places, again beaten only by the Toyota GT-Ones . During
124-527: The ACO's Le Mans prototype regulations, and reduced drag and obstruction for the air to the rear wing. A total of four new chassis were built by WilliamsF1 in the United Kingdom. Internally, the V12 LMR retained the same BMW S70/3 5990 cc V12 engine as the V12 LM. Responsibility for running the cars was handed over to Schnitzer Motorsport , which ran the team not only at the 24 Hours of Le Mans but also in
155-456: The Daytona 500 , were held February 11 at Daytona International Speedway . Jeff Gordon and Tony Stewart won the pole positions for the races, respectively. Race one: top ten results Race two: top ten results The 1999 Daytona 500 was held February 14 at Daytona International Speedway. Jeff Gordon won the pole. In winning the race as well, he became the first Daytona 500 pole sitter to win
186-662: The Panozes but struggled with the Audis. BMW was forced to settle for 3rd and 4th behind both Audis. For the next two rounds, Audi attempted to perfect their R8 for Le Mans and therefore decided to race their older R8R instead. This allowed BMW to take victory at Charlotte and at the European event at Silverstone . In BMW's home race at the Nürburgring in Germany, the V12 LMR lost to a Panoz for
217-477: The Winston Cup Series and Busch Grand National Series would be broadcast live on FOX/FX and NBC/TBS (later TNT). The Bud Shootout , an exhibition race for drivers who had won a pole position in the previous season or had won the event before, was held on February 7 at Daytona International Speedway . Rusty Wallace drew the pole. Top ten results The Gatorade Twin 125s , a pair of qualifying races for
248-411: The car's bodywork was redone from scratch. The cooling ducts, a major problem on the V12 LM, were moved to the top of the car instead of from the bottom where it had suffered from ambient track heat. Among the more radical design features was the use of a small roll hoop located only behind the driver's seat, instead of a wide roll hoop that covered the entire cockpit. This took advantage of a loophole in
279-749: The cars and concentrating on their new Formula One partnership. BMW took second in the teams' championship behind the dominant Audi. Unlike the V12 LMs, the V12 LMRs were not sold to customers after their retirement. 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans Too Many Requests If you report this error to the Wikimedia System Administrators, please include the details below. Request from 172.68.168.132 via cp1112 cp1112, Varnish XID 392339381 Upstream caches: cp1112 int Error: 429, Too Many Requests at Fri, 29 Nov 2024 05:39:59 GMT 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series The 1999 NASCAR Winston Cup Series
310-477: The end, after a great battle for the lead in the race's closing moments, Jeff would pass brother Ward and hold on for the win. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Ted Musgrave (No. 75), Kyle Petty (No. 44), Robert Pressley (No. 77), Ron Hornaday Jr. (No. 50), Butch Gilliland (No. 38), Dave Marcis (No. 71), Morgan Shepherd (No. 92), Ron Burns (No. 68), Austin Cameron (No. 89) The Cracker Barrel 500
341-526: The first pit stop, Matt Kenseth relieved Labonte and would go on to finish 10th. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Derrike Cope (No. 30), Dave Marcis (No. 71), Rich Bickle (No. 45) The Primestar 500 was held March 28 at Texas Motor Speedway . Kenny Irwin Jr. won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Dick Trickle (No. 91), Stanton Barrett (No. 90), Kyle Petty (No. 44), Dave Marcis (No. 71), Ken Bouchard (No. 84) The Food City 500
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#1732858798943372-576: The lead on the final lap, but Gordon beat Earnhardt to the finish. The race was also marked by a large crash on lap 135 in turn 3 that collected 13 cars and saw Dale Jarrett flip over twice. Failed to qualify: 50 - Dan Pardus * , 59- Mark Gibson , 72- Jim Sauter , 48- Glen Morgan , 81- Morgan Shepherd , 78- Gary Bradberry , 73 - Ken Bouchard , 15 - Jeff Green , 80 - Andy Hillenburg , 84- Stanton Barrett , 47- Billy Standridge , 41 - David Green , 00 - Buckshot Jones * , 91- Steve Grissom , 13 - Dick Trickle , 79-Norm Benning . The Dura Lube/Big K 400
403-427: The new American Le Mans Series for 1999. Debuting at the 12 Hours of Sebring , BMW Motorsport and Schnitzer Motorsport entered a two-car team. The cars were immediately fast, taking the pole position in qualifying. During the race, both cars ran towards the front for the first six hours. V12 LMR chassis #001 had a large accident, damaging the car to the point that it would never race again. The second V12 LMR took
434-443: The overall win. The team went back to Europe with what they had learned at Sebring in order to prepare for Le Mans . In early May, at the initial test session for Le Mans, three V12 LMRs appeared. In the tradition of the famous BMW Art Cars , one of the two undamaged cars featured a paint job created by artist Jenny Holzer . Unlike at Sebring, the V12 LMRs would be facing closed-cockpit prototypes which were theoretically faster over
465-554: The pair of BMWs won again. Over the final four races of the season, the BMWs would take two more victories, losing twice to the American Panoz prototypes. Even with four victories on the season, due to BMW's decision to return to Europe following Sebring and thus miss two ALMS races, BMW failed to take the team's championship, losing to Panoz (which engine was co-develop by Élan and 1999 Winston Cup Series winners Robert Yates Racing ) by
496-423: The pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Boris Said (No. 14), Hut Stricklin (No. 90), Buckshot Jones (No. 00), Butch Gilliland (No. 38) The Pontiac Excitement 400 was held May 15 at Richmond International Raceway . Jeff Gordon won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Buckshot Jones (No. 00), Dave Marcis (No. 71), Hut Stricklin (No. 90) The Winston , NASCAR's all-star race,
527-446: The race since Bill Elliott in 1987. This race is known for Gordon's daring three-wide pass on Rusty Wallace and Mike Skinner. Gordon passed Wallace after ducking to the apron, nearly plowing into the damaged car of Ricky Rudd. Skinner jumped to the outside and they raced three-wide for three laps until Dale Earnhardt gave Gordon the needed push. The race was also known for a determined Dale Earnhardt repeatedly trying to pass Jeff Gordon for
558-483: The race the V12 LMRs ran strong, outlasting a large number of closed cockpit competitors which suffered woes, including Mercedes-Benz , Nissan , Toyota , and Audi . In the second half of the race, BMW's main competitors were a pair of open-cockpit Audi R8Rs and the lone remaining Toyota GT-One . In the closing hours of the race, the #17 BMW V12 LMR driven by JJ Lehto crashed heavily in the Porsche Curves section of
589-556: The race win, although it did beat an Audi R8. Returning to America, with Audi having taken victory at Le Mans, the V12 LMR was now forced to finish the rest of the season fighting the dominant R8. For the next four rounds, BMW could do no better than second against the Audi, which won every round. For Petit Le Mans , BMW decided to bring out chassis #004, the Art Car which had only ever run at Le Mans testing in 1999. The car retained its paint job from Jenny Holzer. The V12 LMRs suffered during
620-413: The race, including one of the cars backflipping and flying into the side barriers, as had a Porsche 911 GT1 in the same place two years before, and the Art Car was the only V12 LMR able to finish, in fifth place. BMW did not win either of the final two North American rounds of the season. It was decided by the team that they would not travel to Australia for the final round of the season, instead retiring
651-402: The time) was involved in a multi-car wreck that occurred just as the rain started pouring, but managed to limp across the start/finish line to take the win. Jeff Gordon was running 2nd before being passed by Jeremy Mayfield after being involved in the same wreck. Gordon still finished 3rd. Prior to the race, Bobby Labonte injured his shoulder in a practice crash. Bobby started the race, but on
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#1732858798943682-510: The track due to a stuck throttle. This left the #15 BMW LMR in the lead, less than a lap ahead of the 2nd place Toyota. The Toyota was catching the BMW in the final hour until it suffered a tire blowout at high speed, allowing the Schnitzer BMW team to solidify their lead. The driving team of Joachim Winkelhock , Pierluigi Martini , and Yannick Dalmas were successful in bringing the V12 LMR home for
713-633: The victory, a single lap ahead of the GT-One. The BMW V12 LMR is estimated to put out about 580 hp, which in the 1999 24 Hours of Le Mans allowed the German prototype to hit 342 km/h (214 mph) on the Mulsanne Straight . Following the success of BMW at Le Mans, the team decided to return to North America to finish the American Le Mans Series season. Making their return at Sears Point ,
744-415: Was decided that BMW would run the full American Le Mans Series season before the cars were retired. Starting the season at Sebring, the BMWs suddenly found themselves facing new competition, with Audi debuting their second-generation R8 Le Mans prototype . The BMWs found themselves qualified in 5th and 6th, behind both the Audis as well as both Panoz LMPs. During the race, the BMWs were able to outlast
775-461: Was held April 11 at Bristol Motor Speedway . Rusty Wallace won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Rich Bickle (No. 45), Stanton Barrett (No. 90), Derrike Cope (No. 30), Carl Long (No. 85) The Goody's Body Pain 500 was held on April 18 at Martinsville Speedway . Tony Stewart won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Dave Marcis (No. 71), Morgan Shepherd (No. 90), Buckshot Jones (No. 00) The DieHard 500
806-421: Was held April 25 at Talladega Superspeedway . Ken Schrader won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Ken Bouchard (No. 84), Dan Pardus (No. 50), Derrike Cope (No. 30), Loy Allen Jr. (No. 90), Dick Trickle (No. 91) The California 500 presented by NAPA was held May 2 at California Speedway . Since qualifying was rained out the lineup was set by owner's points, and Jeff Burton started on
837-414: Was held February 21 at North Carolina Speedway . Ricky Rudd won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Derrike Cope (No. 30), Buckshot Jones (No. 00), Billy Standridge (No. 50), Rich Bickle (No. 45) The Las Vegas 400 was held March 7 at Las Vegas Motor Speedway . Bobby Labonte won the pole. The Burton brothers, Jeff and Ward, both led for a combined 182 of the race's 267 laps. In
868-478: Was held June 6 at Dover Downs International Speedway . Bobby Labonte won the pole. For the second straight year in this race, fuel strategy did not play out in favor of Jeff Gordon , as he would again have to pit for fuel in the race's closing laps, giving the lead away to Bobby Labonte in this race who would lead the final six laps. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Darrell Waltrip (No. 66), Buckshot Jones (No. 00), Hut Stricklin (No. 90) The Kmart 400
899-419: Was held March 14 at Atlanta Motor Speedway . Bobby Labonte won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Robert Pressley (No. 77), Steve Grissom (No. 91), Morgan Shepherd (No. 90), Harris DeVane (No. 08) The TranSouth Financial 400 was held March 21 at Darlington Raceway . Jeff Gordon won the pole. The race was halted on lap 164 due to rain and never resumed. Jeff Burton (the leader at
930-474: Was held May 22 at Lowe's Motor Speedway . Bobby Labonte won the pole. Top ten results The Coca-Cola 600 was held May 30 at Lowe's Motor Speedway . Bobby Labonte won the pole. Top ten results Failed to qualify: Jeff Green (No. 01), Dick Trickle (No. 91), Dave Marcis (No. 71), Derrike Cope (No. 30), Ricky Craven (No. 58), Dan Pardus (No. 50), Morgan Shepherd (No. 05), Randy LaJoie (No. 14), Carl Long (No. 85) The MBNA Platinum 400
961-826: Was the 51st season of professional Stock car racing in the United States, the 28th modern-era Cup series, and the last Cup season of the 1990s and the 20th century. The season began on Sunday, February 7, and ended on Sunday, November 21. Dale Jarrett , representing Robert Yates Racing , was crowned the champion, while the NASCAR Manufacturers' Championship was won by the Ford drivers with 13 wins and 231 points over second-place Chevrolet who had 12 wins and 210 points and third place Pontiac who had 9 wins and 205 points. In December 1999 NASCAR announced that starting in February 2001,