Sebring. Strong efficiency, however missing the required racing luck – that is how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) could be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA collection) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the end line in fourth place after a race that was thrilling till the top. The sister automotive with quantity 24 completed sixth. In the GTD-PRO class, Paul Miller Racing narrowly missed the rostrum with the #1 BMW M4 GT3, ending in fourth place. Turner Motorsport took sixth place within the GTD class with the #96 BMW M4 GT3.
In a balanced race within the high GTP class, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), and Maxime Martin (BEL) within the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 stayed on the entrance of the pack all through the race distance. They even led the race at occasions. However, after the final of quite a few yellow phases, they simply missed out on a podium end within the remaining dash. Jesse Krohn (FIN), Philipp Eng (AUT), and Augusto Farfus (BRA) within the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 had been unfortunate with a gradual puncture and a broken rear wing. Nevertheless, they scored vital factors by ending sixth and even fought their means again from a lap down.
In the GTD classes, the BMW M Motorsport groups additionally lacked the required racing luck to have fun on the rostrum. In the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Neil Verhagen (all USA) completed fourth within the GTD-PRO class. In the GTD class, Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA) took sixth place. During the race, each vehicles had led their courses.
Comments after the race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “The 12 Hours of Sebring were exciting until the end. The places were only decided in the last hour. Our BMW M Hybrid V8 showed during the race that its pace is good. In the end, we were a bit unlucky with the timing of one of the last yellow phases, as it allowed some competitors to come back into the fight for the lead. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for a podium in the end, but it’s good to see that our hard work since Daytona has paid off and we were able to significantly improve both the performance and the reliability of the cars. For that, I thank everyone at BMW M Motorsport and the BMW M Team RLL. In the GTD categories, the BMW M4 GT3 has shown that it can compete for the win here. Overall, we have proven in all classes that the performance is fundamentally right. With a bit more racing luck, we hope to convert that into podium places.”
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal BMW M Team RLL): “Last year we were very lucky and finished second. This time our cars were much stronger, but with a bit less luck, we finished fourth and sixth. That’s okay, but not yet where we want to be. The team’s pit stops were good, the cars were reliable, but of course, we can still improve a bit more with a view to the next races.”
Maxime Martin (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th place): “We showed good potential, but unfortunately didn’t quite make it to the podium. We had a clean race, and it’s of course annoying to be the first crew not on the podium. My first Sebring race in the top category was a great experience. It feels good to be able to fight for the overall win in such a race. The track is tough, but I had a lot of fun.”
Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, sixth place): “We still don’t know what was wrong with our car. It felt strange for all drivers, and we couldn’t drive the lap times we needed. I had it first, then the problem also occurred with Philipp and Augusto. We now need to analyse this precisely. Nevertheless, I think we did damage limitation. We got important points. It could have been much worse.”