BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 Scores First Podium of 2022 with Third Place GTD PRO Finish at Laguna Seca.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – May 1, 2022 . . . BMW M Team RLL scored the team’s first podium of the 2022 IMSA season, finishing third in the GTD PRO class at this afternoon’s Monterey Sports Car Championship. Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards co-drove the No. 25 MOTUL BMW M Team RLL, completing 107 laps of the classic Laguna Seca circuit in the two-hour-and-forty-minute race. The podium finish was the 95^th since 2009 for BMW M Team RLL.

In the GTD class, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley, also took Turner’s first podium of the season with a third-place finish in the GTD class. Paul Miller Racing drivers Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow finished fourth in the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3. Combined with their win at Long Beach, each BMW team has placed the new BMW M4 GT3 on the IMSA podium.

“We can be very pleased with our effort today and our first podium finish of the season,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “Connor and John put up a good fight. Our strategy and pit stops were right there. I am very proud of the team.”

Connor De Phillippi - BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3 (P3, GTD PRO): “It’s great to have made the podium with the new BMW M4 GT3. The entire team made the best of what we had today so I believe we can be proud of the effort.”

John Edwards - BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3 (P3, GTD PRO): “We were fighting hard today. I certainly think we had second in our sights but could have just as easily missed the podium. It was close. We can be proud of everyone’s effort today.”

Bill Auberlen - Turner Motorsport, No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 (P3, GTD): “We have only been looking at the podium so far this season so to finally to be able to stand on it is very rewarding. We did not quite have the winning setup today, but we definitely showed we have a contender.”

Robby Foley - Turner Motorsport, No. 96 BMW M4 GT3 (P3, GTD): “We led a lot of the race and managed the gap for the first three-quarters. The competition seemed to have a bit more over the long run. We learned a lot today and we should be very happy with our first podium of the season.”

BMW M Team RLL will be back in IMSA action at Watkins Glen International June 23 – 26 for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen. The next IMSA race for the GTD teams will be on May 13 – 15 at Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.

BMW Group in America

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 Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 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 Lanigan Racing

BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Indianapolis, Indiana and co-owned by three-time INDYCAR Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for over three decades. Prior to the start of their 31^st season of competition in 2022, the team had compiled 54 victories, 66 poles, 222 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011), claimed two Indianapolis 500 victories (Buddy Rice in 2004, Takuma Sato in 2020) and two Rolex 24 at Daytona victories. In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le Mans Series. The following year the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles - Manufacturer, Team, and Driver – in 2011. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team, and Manufacturer Championship. From 2014 to 2021, BMW Team RLL competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28

poles and 94 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2022 season. The team earned second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and were the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions. For 2022, BMW M Team RLL will compete in the GTD Pro class while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class of IMSA for 2023.

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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa. 

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