BMW M8 GTE Masters Debut Race In Daytona
January 29, 2018 by BMW![BMW M8 GTE Masters Debut Race In Daytona](images/articleimages/bmw-m8-gte-daytona-2017-01-400.jpg)
Trending News• Hyundai Wins Two Favorite Vehicle Awards From Midwest Automotive Media Association
• Wrap it Up! The All-new, All-Electric 2024 Jeep® Wagoneer S Launch Edition Takes Center Stage on Stellantis NA Headquarters in Michigan
• Dark Horse R drivers set for 2025 Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational
• Nissan sunsets R35 generation GT-R with T-spec Takumi and Skyline limited editions
• Genesis reveals U.S. pricing for first-ever 2025 GV80 Coupe
Difficult race for Turner – Strong US debut for the BMW M4 GT4. BMW was also represented in the GTD class. The number 96 BMW M6 GT3, driven by Martin Tomczyk (GER), Jens Klingmann (GER), Mark Kvamme (USA), Don Yount (USA) and Cameron Lawrence (USA), completed a total of 733 laps. After several unscheduled pit stops, the Turner Motorsport had to make do with 14th position in class. The BMW drivers in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge (CTSC) also kicked off their 2018 season in Daytona – and they did so in style. The new BMW M4 GT4 enjoyed an outstanding race debut. The number 82 car finished runner-up in the BMW Endurance Challenge. James Clay and Tyler Cook (both USA) fought back brilliantly for BimmerWorld Racing from 19th place on the grid to climb into second place over the final few laps. The second BMW M4 GT4 in the race also made good progress through the field. Toby Grahovec, Jason Hart and Mike Vess (all USA) from Classic BMW team started the race from 34th place, but then produced a fantastic performance to finish fourth, only narrowly missing out on another podium for BMW. In the Street Tuner class, BimmerWorld Racing's Devin Jones and Nick Galante (both USA) converted pole position to a dominant class victory in their BMW 328i. Further reactions to the Rolex 24 at Daytona. Bobby Rahal (BMW Team RLL, Team Principal): 'It's been a tough weekend for everybody at BMW Team RLL running a new car for the first time. I'm very proud of the job the whole team has done during the past months – working flat out to prepare the two BMW M8 GTEs for this race. You always have concerns regarding reliability in such a situation but I have to say, that both cars have run very well from that standpoint. To make it to the end in a 24-hour race with a new car is pretty good, I think.' John Edwards (#24 BMW M8 GTE, seventh place): 'At the Roar and during the race weekend we didn't have the necessary pace for the known reasons. Having said that it's good that we managed to score some points for the championship. Our car made it to the finish without major problems. That's at least a small win this weekend.' Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M8 GTE, seventh place): 'For me personally it has been a great weekend. My first race weekend with BMW Team RLL went very well, although there weren't many opportunities for me to test the car. The hours I had in the car during this race were important for me in terms of getting familiar with it. So all in all the Daytona 24 Hours have been a big step for me getting perfectly prepared for the whole season.' Nick Catsburg (#24 BMW M8 GTE, seventh place): 'It was great to be part of the race debut of the BMW M8 GTE. For sure it was unfortunate that we were not able to fight for better positions. Nevertheless we gave everything. The car was pretty reliable. We had some tyre damage but we saw that very often in this race. I am impressed how stable the BMW M8 GTE was here. Our time will come.' Augusto Farfus (#24 BMW M8 GTE, seventh place): 'I think it is a great achievement to have completed the first tough 24-hour race for the new BMW M8 GTE without any significant technical problems. Due to the car's BoP we were not where we wanted to be, but we showed great team spirit and fought to the very end. A big thank you to the entire team. Now I am looking forward to the next stop of my tour around the world at Bathurst.' Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M8 GTE, ninth place): 'The BMW M8 GTE has very good balance and is a really good car to drive. I think that it is much faster than we were able to show here at Daytona but overall we can be proud of our work. We were able to gather a lot of valuable data for the remaining season.' Alexander Sims (#25 BMW M8 GTE, ninth place): 'It was good to see that the BMW M8 GTE has a lot of potential. We now need to extract that as we're obviously not happy with this result. But it's been a really good car to drive through the race. I think the team did a very good job and we have learned a lot.' Philipp Eng (#25 BMW M8 GTE, ninth place): 'This was my second start at Daytona – and I enjoy this race a lot. It's a different way of racing compared to Europe. The atmosphere is a bit more relaxed. I really like it. We had a great car in terms of balance and driveability. I enjoyed every single lap despite the fact that we weren't there in terms of performance for known reasons.' Bill Auberlen (#25 BMW M8 GTE, ninth place): 'I had my big moment on Saturday evening when my right front tyre exploded at 170 mph. I was very lucky that the car stayed off the wall and I could avoid a crash. Although we couldn't fight for top positions here at Daytona my general impression is that the BMW M8 GTE is the best GT car I've ever driven. I hope we'll be able to show that great potential soon.'
posted on conceptcarz.com
Related Posts
Related Vehicles
Recent Posts
- Hyundai Wins Two Favorite Vehicle Awards From Midwest Automotive Media Association
- Wrap it Up! The All-new, All-Electric 2024 Jeep® Wagoneer S Launch Edition Takes Center Stage on Stellantis NA Headquarters in Michigan
- Dark Horse R drivers set for 2025 Mustang Challenge Le Mans Invitational
- Nissan sunsets R35 generation GT-R with T-spec Takumi and Skyline limited editions
- Genesis reveals U.S. pricing for first-ever 2025 GV80 Coupe