Friday, February 26, 2010

BELL MICRO PRODUCTS JOINS BMW RAHAL LETTERMAN RACING TEAM SPONSOR LINEUP FOR 2010 AMERICAN LE MANS SERIES SEASON

Robin Osborne

HILLIARD, Ohio, February 26, 2010– The American Le Mans Series GT2 class is expected to be one of the most competitive in all of road racing in 2010, but the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team has gained an advantage on the field in computing power as San Jose-based Bell Microproducts Inc. [NASDAQ:BELM] has joined the team as a sponsor.

“We are pleased to again be associated with the Rahal Letterman Racing team,” noted Don Bell, president and CEO for Bell Micro. “The professionalism and competitiveness exhibited by the team is exceptional on and off the track. BMW and Rahal Letterman Racing are true winners and we are looking forward to a great season together.”

Bell Micro is an international, value-added distributor of a wide range of high-tech products, solutions and services, including storage systems, servers, software, computer components and peripherals, as well as maintenance and professional services. The company is an industry-recognized specialist in storage products and one of the world's largest storage-centric value-added distributors.

From design to deployment, its products are available at any level of integration, from components to subsystem assemblies and fully-integrated, tested and certified system solutions. The company is no stranger to American sports-car racing, nor is it to the Hilliard-based Rahal Letterman Racing team, as Bell Micro was a sponsor partner of the RLR ALMS GT2 team in 2007.

“We are extremely pleased to resume our partnership with Bell Micro on the BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team,” said team co-owner Bobby Rahal. “The company has a passion for auto racing and any time that you can have an industry leader like Bell Micro in your stable, it does nothing but help the program. We welcome Bell Micro to the #90 BMW M3 and hope to carry their colors to the top of the podium again in 2010!”

The team is currently preparing for the 2010 ALMS Winter Test session, which takes place in Sebring February 2223. The BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team has already been on track at Sebring in 2010, having completed a 12hour endurance test on the Florida circuit in January. The 12 Hours of Sebring, which is the opening race of the 2010 ALMS campaign, will take place on March 20, and can be seen live on SPEED beginning at 10:30 a.m. Eastern Time.

About Bell Microproducts Inc.

Bell Microproducts (NASDAQ: BELM), is an international, value-added distributor of a wide range of high-tech products, solutions and services including, storage systems, servers, software, computer components, and peripherals, as well as maintenance and professional services. An industry-recognized specialist in storage products, the company is one of the world's largest storage-centric value-added distributors.

Bell Microproducts is uniquely qualified with deep technical and application expertise to service a broad range of information technology needs. From design to deployment, its products are available at any level of integration, from components to subsystem assemblies and fully integrated, tested and certified system solutions. More information can be found in the company's SEC filings, or by visiting the Bell Microproducts web site at www.bellmicro.com.

About BMW Rahal Letterman Racing:

BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and the Rolls-Royce brand of Motor Cars; DesignworksUSA, a strategic design consultancy in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is part of BMW Group’s global manufacturing network and is the exclusive manufacturing plant for all X5 Sports Activity Vehicles and X6 Sports Activity Coupes. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 338 BMW passenger car centers, 335 BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 142 BMW motorcycle retailers, 90 MINI passenger car dealers, and 31 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Rahal Letterman Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time Indy Car Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal and CBS LATE SHOW host David Letterman, has been competing for more than a decade compiling 20 victories, 30 poles and one series championship (Bobby Rahal in 1992 in CART) and an Indianapolis 500 championship (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2008 Rahal Letterman Racing again won Rookie-of-the-Year honors at the Indianapolis 500 and partnered with Andersen Racing to run two entries in the Indy Pro Series. In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the BMW M3 as BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team in the American Le Mans Series, winning two races and finishing third in the championship.

Media Contact:
For Bell Micro: For Rahal Letterman Racing: For BMW North America
Dena Grigas Eric Mauk Matt Russell
Lages & Associates Rahal Letterman Racing BMW North America
(949) 4538080 (614) 2641254 (201) 3073755
dena@lages.com emauk@rahal.com Matthew.Russell@bmwna.com

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