BMW M Team RLL Ready for Road America; BMW M Hybrid V8 Aiming For Third Consecutive GTP Podium.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Aug. 1, 2023 . . . In the four weeks following the round six race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, where BMW M Team RLL scored the team’s 100^th podium, both of the BMW M Hybrid V8 racing cars have been very busy testing for this weekend’s event at Road America. The venerable circuit, in Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin was the scene of the team’s very first win for BMW in 2009 and the engineers have been focused on taking advantage of the track’s recent resurfacing to score another win in IMSA’s new GTP era. Following Watkins Glen International, Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (nee Mosport), BMW M Team RLL is aiming for a third consecutive podium at the classic North American circuit.

Between 2009 and 2022, BMW M Team RLL posted three wins (2009, 2010, 2019), three seconds (2009, 2011, 2014), and two thirds (2011, 2016) from three pole positions (2009, 2011, 2014) at the 4.0-mile, 14-turn circuit with multiple versions of BMW’s GT racing cars.

In recent weeks, all four season-long drivers; Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly, Augusto Farfus, and Philipp Eng participated in a two-day test at Road America where both cars accumulated more than 1,491 total miles. Just last week the team spent two-days at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway in preparation for the Sept. 17^th race on the road course with drivers De Phillippi, Colton Herta, and Jesse Krohn. The second day of the test ended with the No. 25 and No. 24 BMWs at the top of the timing sheets.

So far this year, the team has scored a win (Watkins Glen), two runner-up finishes (Sebring and Long Beach), and a third place (CTMP) with the No. 25 car of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly (co-driven at Sebring with Sheldon van der Linde.) De Phillippi and Yelloly stand second in GTP driver point standings and BMW stands second in GTP class manufacturer points. Augusto Farfus and Philipp Eng stand eighth in driver points, with a season’s-best fourth-place finish (Long Beach) in the No. 24 car.

Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “Road America is one of the greatest circuits the US has to offer. With a fresh layer of pavement, it has added an even greater fun factor in our BMW M Hybrid V8. Our two-day tests, several weeks ago, went very well and it was great for all of us to gain experience at such a dynamic track that requires the car to do everything well. We feel well prepared, and I know we expect to fight for the top spot-on Sunday."

Nick Yelloly, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “I’m really looking forward to going to race at Road America. We had a positive test there a couple of weeks ago. It has been nice to be able to learn a track before actually racing there for the first time, which is a rarity for my first season in IMSA. So, I’m feeling pretty well prepared. My team-mate Connor had a good test in Indy in the last couple of days while I had been at the Nürburgring for the GT World Challenge. So, it’s another iconic track in the United States to try to conquer and I’m ready for it.”

Philipp Eng, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “We´ve had a very productive Road America test. It is a fantastic track, just how I like it – no runoff and old school. Can´t wait to be back there for race week and fight for a victory!”

Augusto Farfus, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “We have high expectations for our performance for Road America – especially since we have tested there recently. The track is a North American mixture of Spa and the Nordschleife, so I am very much looking forward to it.”

In the GT Daytona class, BMW will have three BMW M4 GT3 entries. Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow continue to lead the GTD class points with the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. The pair has wins at Sebring, Long Beach, and CTMP as well as a well-earned second place at Watkins Glen after battling from three laps down. Turner Motorsport brings two GTD class entries, the No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW for Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher and the No. 97 McIntosh for Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull. Foley and Gallagher stand sixth in GTD driver points. Auberlen and Hull drive in the GTD PRO class in Michelin Endurance Cup events and GTD class in the Sprint events.

Round seven of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship gets underway with practice and qualifying Aug. 4 and 5 July 9 at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The two-hour-and-forty-minute IMSA Sports Car Weekend race will be televised live on USA network beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET on Aug. 6.

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 as well as the BMW XM. 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, 104 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 Zionsville, 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 32nd season of competition in 2023 and their 15th with BMW, the team had compiled 54 victories, 67 poles, 225 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. In 2022, BMW M Team RLL competed in the GTD PRO class in

IMSA while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class in IMSA for 2023. In total, the team has earned 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 30 poles and 96 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2023 season. BMW M Team RLL highlights also include second place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and being named the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions.

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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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