BMW M Team RLL will arrive at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park (formally named Mosport) for this weekend's sixth round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with the momentum of the team's first victory for the BMW M Hybrid V8 at Watkins Glen International behind them.
Following the race weekend, the team tested at Watkins Glen for an additional two days with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly. All four drivers also spent time in the DiL (Driver in Loop) simulator as Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus, and Nick Yelloly have never turned a wheel at the 2.459-mile, 10-turn circuit that sits some 60 miles northeast of Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
Eng, Farfus, and Yelloly jetted back to Europe to compete in this past weekend's 24 Hours of Spa, at the famous Spa-Francorchamps circuit. Marco Wittmann joined Eng and Yelloly, in the No. 98 ROWE Racing BMW M4 GT3, to score BMW's 25th overall victory at the classic endurance event. The first major Spa 24 victory for the BMW M4 GT3 was the third Spa 24 win for Eng and the first for both Wittmann and Yelloly. Farfus finished sixth, co-driving the No. 46 BMW M WRT BMW M4 GT3 with Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi.
So far this year, the team has scored a win (Watkins Glen) and two runner-up finishes (Sebring and Long Beach) 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 seventh in driver points, with a season's-best fourth-place finish (Long Beach) in the No. 24 car.
Reflecting on the Watkins Glen victory Bobby Rahal, Team Principal said, 'Obviously, we are pleased by IMSA's technical group decision. There is nothing like winning, but I was most happy with the pace of the BMW M Hybrid V8 throughout the Watkins Glen race. My thanks to everyone at BMW who have worked so diligently on both sides of the Atlantic over a very intense period of time on the new-era GTP program. Our guys were in Munich starting last July, assisting with the car builds. We received the cars in September and began testing in October. Five races into the season we are winners.'
Nick Yelloly, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: 'We will certainly try to keep our roll going after a strong race at Watkins Glen. Mosport is a circuit that only Connor has been to before so it will be a challenge for three of the four of us. From what I can tell, if the car was good at Watkins Glen, it should be in the window at Mosport. I am looking forward to exploring what looks to be a very exciting circuit.'
Philipp Eng, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: 'This weekend will be my first time in Canada and at Mosport. We have had a very good preparation on the simulator following Watkins Glen. The track is fast and relatively short, so we should be able to complete many laps in free practice and get the 24 car up to speed. The win at Watkins Glen was very important for the entire GTP project so we will work hard to keep that momentum.'
Augusto Farfus, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: 'Mosport is one of those fast old school circuits. I have never been there, but I am a fan of old school and fast. Philipp and I will have to work quickly to get our car in the window. Based on the success the No. 25 car had at Watkins Glen and the knowledge the team gained perhaps we can have two BMWs on the podium at Mosport.'
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 and Long Beach, as well as a well-earned second place at Watkins Glen after battling from three laps down. Turner Motorsport brings the GTD class No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW for Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher and the No. 97 McIntosh BMW GTD Pro entry for Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull. Foley and Gallagher stand fifth 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 six of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship happens July 9 at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, with the Chevrolet Grand Prix. The two-hour-and-forty-minute race will be televised live on NBC beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET.
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.
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.
Photo credit: BMW
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The victory was the team's 23rd victory and 99th podium finish since 2009 so there is a bit of an extra push to register podium number 100 at Mosport. Racing in the GT category prior to this season, the team has one win (2017) and three runner-up finishes (2015, 2017, and 2019) at Mosport.
Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: 'Mosport is one of the most challenging and high commitment tracks on our calendar. We have some good momentum coming off of Watkins Glen and we will continue to focus on making additional performance steps throughout the weekend. I'm very excited to drive this track for the first time in a prototype!'
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