To make a winning start with a brand-new car and team-mate partnership, everything must go right. But Jorg Muller didn’t especially fancy his chances heading into the 1999 Sebring 12 Hours in the Williams-designed BMW V12 LMR after testing at Homestead was blighted by gearbox problems. “The diff always blew apart!” he says.
Liberal application of lock wire from his Schnitzer mechanics meant the car held together, while the drivers did their bit in what was then the closest Sebring finish, breaking a 29-year record. Muller’s working relationship with JJ Lehto, the driver he picks as his favourite team-mate, couldn’t have had a better opening act.
