Sebring. Strong performance, but lacking the necessary racing luck – that’s how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) can be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line in fourth place after a race that was exciting until the end. The sister car with number 24 finished sixth. In the GTD-PRO class, Paul Miller Racing narrowly missed the podium with the #1 BMW M4 GT3, finishing in fourth place. Turner Motorsport took sixth place in the GTD class with the #96 BMW M4 GT3.
In a balanced race in the top GTP class, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race distance. They even led the race at times. However, after the last of numerous yellow phases, they just missed out on a podium finish in the final sprint. Jesse Krohn (FIN), Philipp Eng (AUT), and Augusto Farfus (BRA) in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were unlucky with a slow puncture and a damaged rear wing. Nevertheless, they scored important points by finishing sixth and even fought their way back from a lap down.
In the GTD categories, the BMW M Motorsport teams also lacked the necessary racing luck to celebrate on the podium. In the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Neil Verhagen (all USA) finished fourth in the GTD-PRO class. In the GTD category, Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA) took sixth place. During the race, both cars had led their classes.
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, 6th 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.”