IMSA News: Rahal team savors 1-2 BMW M Team finish at Indy
What a day for BMW M Team RLL, what a week for the LMDh program of BMW M Motorsport!
Just a few days after the first podium finish for the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship, the LMDh car has scored an impressive 1-2 in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. At the 6-hour race at Indianapolis (USA), Philipp Eng (AUT) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 triumphed over their teammates Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR). It was the first 1-2 finish since joining the GTP class and the first success of the current season .
At their home event – with the company headquarters just a few kilometers from the racetrack – BMW M Team RLL achieved a major breakthrough after a challenging season so far. The two car crews braved the difficult conditions, especially at the start of the “Battle on the Bricks” with rain and then a drying track, made no mistakes, and made the right strategic decisions.
It was the #24 crew that was the first in the top field to switch to slicks, thereby making an important move towards the lead. In the final laps, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s kept their competitors at bay even in dense lapping traffic and decided first place between themselves. Eng and Krohn celebrated not only their first win but also their first podium finish in the top class of the IMSA series. The only other win in the GTP category had been claimed by De Phillippi and Yelloly at Watkins Glen (USA) in the 2023 season.
In the GTD class, Turner Motorsport was able to celebrate another podium. Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA) drove the #96 BMW M4 GT3 to second place. In the GTD PRO category, Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Neil Verhagen (all USA) in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 from Paul Miller Racing crossed the finish line in eighth place.
Comments after the race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “This has been an incredibly successful week for our LMDh programme with the first podium in the FIA WEC and the first one-two finish in the IMSA series. Congratulations to BMW M Team RLL, which, despite the difficult season so far, has continued to push together with our BMW M Motorsport engineers, making this great success possible. I am very pleased that we have now managed to convert the potential that our BMW M Hybrid V8 has shown frequently this season into corresponding top results twice in a row. This is the deserved reward and a great motivation for everyone involved in our LMDh project. Congratulations also to Turner Motorsport for another podium in the GTD class, where the team is having an outstanding season with the BMW M4 GT3.”
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal BMW M Team RLL): “This is a great day for us. I’m happy for everyone on our team, but even more for our joint project with BMW M Motorsport. We’ve had good and bad days this season, kept fighting, and never gave up. Now we have rewarded ourselves with this one-two result – right here, on one of the best racetracks in the world. I am incredibly happy.”
Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “I am almost speechless. I am extremely happy for everyone at BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL. Everyone has more than earned this success. For me personally, this win is very emotional because I have experienced hard times here in North America when the hoped-for results just didn’t come. Today was our day. Now it’s time to celebrate.”
Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “This is my eleventh year with BMW M Motorsport, and now I stand here, at one of the most legendary places in motorsport, having won a race in the top class. That is incredible. I am very grateful for the journey I have been allowed to take all this time. I have now won in every race car that BMW M Motorsport has put me in.”
Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “What a fantastic team result! I am incredibly happy for the team, which after a good season in 2023 with a win and five podiums had to go through hard times this year. To be able to reward them with this one-two result is great. I am also happy for Philipp and Jesse, who really deserved their first win.”
Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “A phenomenal weekend for the entire team. We all did a great job together, and everyone contributed their part to this success. The first one-two for the BMW M Hybrid V8 is fantastic, even though I would have liked a different order, of course. But as long as one of our cars is at the very front, everything is great!”
