Long Beach. After finishing second in the GTP class at the Twelve Hours of Sebring (USA), BMW M Team RLL again enjoyed podium celebrations at Long Beach (USA). Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR) repeated their Sebring success, finishing second again in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the first sprint race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series). Their team-mates Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Philipp Eng (AUT) crossed the line in fourth in the #24 car, completing the team’s season-best effort in only their third race with the all-new BMW M Hybrid V8.
The temporary Long Beach street circuit hosted the shortest race of the season, with a duration of 100 minutes. While De Phillippi knew the circuit already from past experience, Yelloly, Farfus and Eng raced there for the first time.
The race’s first hour was only slowed by one caution period, following an incident on the opening lap, and lasting for the first ten minutes of the race. Both BMW M Hybrid V8 machines had a turn in the lead before pitting. Yelloly stopped the #25 car on lap 33 to hand off to De Phillippi. Two laps later, Farfus pitted the #24 car and Eng took over in the cockpit. A rare error when fighting for second place sent De Phillippi into a runoff area on lap 58 and back to fourth, but he climbed back to third, setting the race’s fast lap (1:11.503 minutes), and ultimately propelling himself and the BMW M Hybrid V8 to second, in the final minutes. Eng improved to fourth, and those were their positions when the race ended under caution.
In the GTD class, BMW M Motorsport team Paul Miller Racing secured their second consecutive win with the #1 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow (both USA). Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (both USA) finished eighth in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3. The #97 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull (both USA) finished 11th.
Quotes after the Long Beach race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Thank you to the entire team for the great performance today! Congratulations to BMW M Team RLL, to BMW M Motorsport, and to our drivers. After our first podium at Sebring, here we are again on the podium with Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly, including the fastest lap of the race by Connor. I’m also proud of the result by Augusto Farfus and Philipp Eng with a strong fourth place finish. The fastest race lap showed the great effort by the entire team over the last few weeks and the progress that has been made. At Long Beach, we were able to fight for the win. That shows how good our cars are. I would also like to congratulate Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers and Paul Miller Racing for their victory in the GTD class today. Thank you everyone for these great results.”
Bobby Rahal (BMW M Team RLL Team Principal): “To be honest we really did not know what to expect from the first sprint race for the GTP cars. Right from the start of the weekend, the BMW M Hybrid V8s looked good. We gave a good run for the win, but we can be very proud of our effort today.”
Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place GTP class): “I put myself in a less than ideal situation when I ran long trying to pass the Porsche. Luckily, I found the TC-off button and spun the car around. There was still 30 minutes remaining, so I put my head down. The car was fantastic at the end and to see how competitive we were was great.”
Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place GTP class): “A second second-in-a-row finish is probably more than I could have hoped for, but we had high expectations. Yes, it was my first time at Long Beach and my first podium here, so I am delighted.”
Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th place GTP class): “The team made another good step forward following Sebring. Congrats to the number 25 guys. Long Beach was a great experience. Hopefully, next time, will be time for the 24 car.”
Augusto Farfus (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th place GTP class ): “We can leave Long Beach with a smile. I really enjoyed my first visit to this circuit, and I am sure Philipp did as well. We had a seamless day and, as a team, BMW M Team RLL is really making progress.”
Madison Snow (#1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, 1st place GTD class): “We certainly felt a lot of pressure to win this race again. The race really came to us after the pit stop. I moved from third to second during my stint. The Paul Miller boys had a great stop and we jumped ahead of the Aston Martin. Bryan held him off as they both reentered the race and continued to hold him off until the checkered flag.”