Munich. Paul Miller Racing rounded off the season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Sprint Cup with third position at the VIRginia International Raceway (USA), claiming the title win in the GTD class with another podium finish. Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers (both USA) did well in their debut season with the BMW M4 GT3 from the word go, proving the point with two class wins and three more podium finishes. BMW M Team RLL endured some bad luck during the final pit stop in Virginia, finishing fifth in the GTD PRO category. Turner Motorsport secured seventh position in the GTD class.
The penultimate race of the IMSA season, which was also the Sprint Cup finale, became a fuel lottery after a full-course yellow at the halfway point of the race. Paul Miller Racing was in the best position of the three BMW M Motorsport teams, securing the third spot on the GTD podium thanks to a great late performance from Sellers, who overtook two cars during the final minutes. Robby Foley and Bill Auberlen (both USA) chose to make an early first stop and had to come in for more fuel just before the end, along with the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. They crossed the finish line seventh in the GTD category.
Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards (both USA) went for a very late first pit stop in the #25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3, strategically leaving themselves with room to manoeuvre during the final stage. However a problem during the final pit stop cost the duo from the BMW M Team RLL a lot of time and they fell back some distance. Fifth place in the GTD-PRO class was the best they could do.
The IMSA season ends on 1st October with Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (USA).
Reactions after the race:
Connor De Phillippi (#25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team RLL): “The start of the race was relatively clean and uneventful. I began to struggle with the balance, but it seemed to improve as the laps progressed. John got in and had a great first stint, so things were looking good. We seemed to lose the balance again, so the day did not end as well as it began.”
John Edwards (#25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3, BMW M Team RLL): “Ultimately, we did not have enough pace over an entire stint. In certain phases, we were running competitively. We may not have had enough to win, but it looked like a podium was possible. The wheel nut issue during my last stop ended any hope of that.”
Madison Snow (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing): “It’s good to be back on the podium. It’s good for the team morale, but also always fun for Bryan and I to get some trophies and spray some champagne. I think the race was going a little bit better than where we ended up finishing before the yellow flag came out. The crew did a great job.”
Bryan Sellers (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing): “On a day where you feel like you hit everything right and you should have maybe won, but you don’t, that’s always tough. At the same time though, you have to look at the big picture. We got a podium. We got the Sprint Cup championship for ourselves and for BMW M Motorsport. And we had a good race! Just super proud of everyone for that, the guys just continue to give and give and give and I’m glad that we could bring home a podium for them.”