Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – August 5, 2023 . . . The two BMW M Hybrid V8 cars will take the green flag for tomorrow’s two-hour-and-forty-minute IMSA race at Road America from the fifth and eighth starting positions. Connor De Phillippi, driving the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8, set the fifth quickest time in today’s 20-minute qualifying session -1:48.219-minutes around the 4.048-mile, 14-turn circuit. De Phillippi and co-driver Nick Yelloly currently stand second in the GTP class driver points standing, only 10 points behind the class leaders. With a 1:48-835-minute lap Philipp Eng will start the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 from the eighth position. He will co-drive tomorrow with Augusto Farfus. So far this year the team has scored a win (Watkins Glen), two runner-up finishes (Sebring and Long Beach), and a third place (CTMP) with the No. 25 car of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly (co-driven at Sebring with Sheldon van der Linde). Augusto Farfus and Philipp Eng stand eighth in driver points, with a season’s-best fourth-place finish (Long Beach) in the No. 24 car. Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 (P5): “We made a reasonable small step following practice, but not enough to be with the leaders. Hopefully, we can find a bit more pace for the race, run cleanly, and score some points.” Philipp Eng, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 (P8): “It was not an ideal session for us. On my fastest lap I found traffic. I think we needed to make more of a step following practice, but I do think we have a good car for the race, and I look forward to tomorrow.” In the GT Daytona class, BMW has three BMW M4 GT3 entries. Madison Snow qualified on the GTD class pole with a 2:03.291-minute lap in the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Snow and Bryan Sellers continue to lead the GTD class points. The pair has wins at Sebring, Long Beach, and CTMP as well as a well-earned second place at Watkins Glen after battling from three laps down. Turner Motorsport brings two GTD class entries. The No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW, of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, will start tomorrow’s race from the seventh position. The No. 97 McIntosh BMW, of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull, will roll off from eighth. The two-hour-and-forty-minute IMSA Sports Car Weekend race will be televised tomorrow live on USA network beginning at 11:00 a.m. ET. 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. Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingBMW’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. Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BMWUSARacing and https://twitter.com/BMWMotorsportInstagram: www.instagram.com/bmwmotorsportFacebook: www.facebook.com/BMWMotorsport/
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