Road America: Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 clinches IMSA Sprint Cup Championship.

Road America. In their very first season with BMW and the BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing clinched the IMSA Sprint Cup Championship, with one sprint race remaining, after a fourth place GTD class finish at Road America (USA). The #1 BMW M4 GT3 of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow (both USA) has two GTD sprint race victories (Long Beach and Lime Rock Park / USA) this season and with the Road America result, the Paul Miller Racing drivers now have 2343 points in the standings and can’t be caught in the remaining sprint race at VIRginia International Raceway (USA) at the end of August. It is the first title win for the new BMW M4 GT3. 

 
BMW M Team RLL endured another tough day to finish fifth in the GTD PRO class in the two-hour-and-forty-minute race. The dry-wet-dry race went wrong for the #25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3 on the very first lap as John Edwards (USA), starting from his fourth-place qualifying position, radioed in that there was an electronics issue and that he would have to slow to a stop to attempt to recycle the computer. Problems continued to plague the car through Connor De Phillippi’s (USA) stints with the car ultimately taking the checkered flag in fifth.
 
While Paul Miller Racing finished fourth to clinch the IMSA Sprint Cup Championship, Turner Motorsport experienced some bad luck in the GTD class. Robby Foley (USA) started the race from pole position in the #96 BMW M4 GT3. He led for the entire first stint, handing off to Bill Auberlen (USA) after 40 minutes into the contest, during the race’s first caution period. Unfortunately, in the final stages of the race Auberlen, racing second and in a sure podium position, was bumped into a spin in turn five and dropped to 10th. He eventually crossed the line in that position.

Reactions after the race:

Bryan Sellers (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing): “Today may not have been our best race, but we had one goal and that was to win the Sprint Cup title. After missing the Rolex 24 at Daytona, that was the only championship we could win, and we did it with one sprint race to go. We can now race with our heads held higher and focus on getting another win for the BMW M4 GT3. We are very pleased with our partnership with BMW and look forward to what the future holds.”

Connor De Phillippi (#25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team RLL): “We just can’t seem to catch a break lately. I feel bad for the guys. Hopefully, we’ve got all the bad luck out of the way and can get a good result at VIR.”

John Edwards (#25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team RLL): “Today was another tough one. A technical issue meant an early trip to the pits. Then an ABS issue caused me to go off the track and damage the underside. Everyone on this team works their butts off, but all-in-all, a forgettable day.”