Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – April 8, 2022 . . . At the temporary Long Beach street circuit, where a good starting position is a major key to success because of limited passing opportunities, the three BMW M4 GT3 racing cars entered in tomorrow’s 100-minute IMSA Long Beach Grand Prix race made the most of today’s 15-minute qualifying session by recording front row starting positions in GTD Pro and GTD classes. Connor De Phillippi qualified the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 second in the GTD Pro class with a lap time of 1:18.115 minutes. He will co-drive with John Edwards. In the GTD class, it was Madison Snow, driving the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, scoring the GTD class pole with a 1:18.487-minute lap. He will co-drive with Bryan Sellers tomorrow. Madison’s effort means the very first pole position for the new BMW M4 GT3 in IMSA competition. Only .112 seconds slower than Snow, Robby Foley qualified the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 in the second GTD class starting position with a time of 1:18.599 minutes. He will co-drive with Bill Auberlen tomorrow. Yesterday, Auberlen was inducted into the Long Beach Motorsports Walk of Famealong with Alex Zanardi. Joining the 33 previous inductees of racing’s who’s-who, Auberlen entertained the crowd with stories from his distinguished career before giving heartfelt thanks to his family and teammates. “Out of all my racing highlights to be there (pointing to his medallion on the sidewalk) is pretty amazing,” Auberlen stated. “But, I am only one-percent of this. 99 percent of my success is due to the unsung heroes that have been with me throughout my career.” Connor De Phillippi (BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3) (P2 GTD Pro): “The car was perfect in qualifying. I am happy with my lap and feel like I did not leave anything on the table afterwards. The team did a great job after how the day started and we ended up on the front row. We have a great race car and you will see our best tomorrow.” Madison Snow (Paul Miller Racing, No. 1 BMW M4 GT3) (P1 GTD): “Being able to get the first pole in IMSA competition for the new M4 GT3 is a very prestigious thing. I was able to get the pole here last year, but being in the BMW, I was very nervous going into qualifying because I still have little experience in the car. The M4 was good at Sebring and we learned a lot but there is a lot to still be learned. We were making fairly big adjustments in practice to figure out what works and we ended up definitely nailing it for qualifying.” The one-hour-and-forty-minute street race will take the green flag at 2:05 p.m. PT and coverage on USA Network will begin at 5:00 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio also provides a flag-to-flag broadcast. 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. 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, 105 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 Indianapolis, 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 31st season of competition in 2022, the team had compiled 54 victories, 66 poles, 222 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 and brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 94 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2022 season. The team earned second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and were the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions. For 2022, BMW M Team RLL will compete in the GTD Pro class while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated LMDh class of IMSA for 2023. 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.
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