BMW Media Site #56: Joey Hand. Profile, Career, Interview. Contact: Thomas  Plucinsky thomas.plucinsky@bmwna.com   Matthew  Russell (201) 307-3783 (office) Matthew.Russell@bmwna.com   Bill  Cobb billcobbcommunications@yahoo.com     #56: Joey Hand. Profile, Career, Interview. Born: 10th February 1979 in Sacramento (US)Residence: Sacramento (US)Marital status: Married, two childrenWebsite:  www.joeyhandracing.comProfile.BMW and Joey Hand have a partnership of many years’ standing. He took his place on the starting grid in the ALMS with BMW Team PTG back in 2006, and has been driving for BMW Team RLL since 2009. 2011 was the most successful season of his career: Hand didn’t just win the ALMS GT driver title with Dirk Müller, but also won the Daytona 24 Hours in a BMW Riley from Chip Ganassi Racing. Hand and Müller won again in Sebring in 2012. They weren’t able to defend their title, however, as Hand was racing for BMW Team RMG in the DTM at the same time, meaning that he couldn’t take part in all of the ALMS events.Hand will also be driving in two series once again in 2013. He will attempt to close the gap to the front-runners in the DTM with BMW Team RBM in order to bring the run of success he’s been having in the US with him over to Europe. The 34-year-old will only be able to take part in five races in the ALMS season because of his commitments in the DTM. Nevertheless, Hand has almost always been successful when he’s swung into action behind the wheel of a BMW M3 GT. May he continue to do the same in the new BMW Z4 GTE.Career.From 1995 - Karting1998 - 4th place Formula Mazda Pro Series1999 - 1st place Formula Mazda Prio Series2000 - Winner Team USA Scholarship2001 - 3rd place Toyota Atlantic Championship2002 - Toyota Atlantic ChampionshipWinner Gilles Villeneuve Award2003 - 7th place Toyota Atlantic Championship2004 - 8th place GRAND-AM GT Series2005 - 5th place GRAND-AM GT Series2006 - 6th place GT2 class American Le Mans Series2009 - American Le Mans Series2010 - 7th place GT class American Le Mans Series2011 - 1st place GT class American Le Mans Series1st place 24h race Daytona1st place GT class 12h race Sebring2012 - 7th place American Le Mans Series1st place GT class 12h race Sebring20th place DTMInterview.Joey, in 2013 you’re racing in both the DTM and the ALMS. How will you manage this workload?Joey Hand: “Travelling has never yet been a problem for me. Furthermore, I’ve got used to driving in many races in different cars in the space of a year. As always, I love driving in the ALMS to an unbelievable extent. I enjoy every minute on the racetrack and in the company of my colleagues from BMW Team RLL. We’ve become a family over the years. I’m still learning things in the ALMS that also help me in the DTM. I’m looking forward to my second season there because I’m able to take everything I learned in my debut season into my second year. That means I’ll be much better at finding my feet right from the start this time around.”What are you expecting from the new BMW Z4 GTE?Hand: “To be honest, I don’t know what to expect exactly, because I’ve never driven a BMW Z4 in any configuration before this season. But it definitely looks very fast. I’ve found through experience cars that look fast usually are.”How do the fans in North America and Europe differ?Hand: “The fans in Europe are more intensively involved with you and the sport. They know you, and have already read up about you beforehand. I’ve even met people who have autographed cards from me from ages ago. They just do their homework. The fans in North America are much more relaxed with us drivers. You’ll meet more fans there who belong to auto clubs and who drive a BMW M themselves. They’re real BMW enthusiasts – in contrast, many fans in Europe are more excited about the race itself than they are for a particular brand.”