BMW Team RLL Recharged And Ready For Road America

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 29, 2020 . . . BMW Team RLL is planning a renewed attack on the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar GTLM class championship beginning at this weekend's IMSA Championship SportsCar Weekend at Road America, in Elkhart Lake, Wis. The race will see the BMW M8 GTE on its best footing since the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January – a race won by BMW Team RLL for the second consecutive year.

BMW Team RLL has scored three wins and five additional podium finishes at Road America since the program's inception 12 years ago, including the team's very first victory in 2009.

After two disappointing finishes in the most recent events, BMW stands third in the GTLM class Manufacturer points standings. John Edwards and Jesse Krohn stand third in GTLM Driver points and Connor De Phillippi and Bruno Spengler stand sixth.

'We have always done pretty well at Road America and have always had reasonably competitive showings, having won there before,' commented Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. 'The track, with its long, fast corners, is definitely more in our wheelhouse than ones with tight corners. The layout of the track suits the BMW M8 well. We've got our fingers crossed and will do everything we can as a team and I know BMW will as well, to have a great race.'

In the GTD class, Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley will team up in the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. The duo scored their best finish of the season - third - in the most recent Round Three race at Sebring International Raceway two weeks ago.

The two-hour-and-forty-minute race at Road America will take the green flag at 11:05 p.m. CT on Sunday, Aug. 2 and be broadcast live on NBC beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. Follow us on Twitter @BMWUSARacing for news from the pit box and get live scoring and in-car camera views at IMSA.com.

Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: 'Road America is a great track to show the strengths of our BMW M8 GTE. While it will be a new track for Bruno (Spengler), I have full confidence that he will be up to speed despite the limited practice time.'

Bruno Spengler, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: 'I am really looking forward to my first time at Road America. I have driven the track on iRacing and liked it. Free practice is extremely limited with our new schedule, so my first focus is to get up to speed quickly.'

John Edwards, Driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE: 'Road America is one of my favorite events of the year. The track is a classic and features the fastest corner we see all year, the famous kink. With the long straights and hard brake zones, there is always a chance to pass which makes for a tough battle in GTLM! I'm looking forward to it.'

Jesse Krohn, driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE: 'Clearly the last two races have not shown our potential. We have made some improvements and, hopefully, the Road America podium will be our first step back towards the championship.'

Photo credit: BMW
posted on conceptcarz.com