Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 3, 2022 . . . The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3, driven by Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards, finished fifth in today’s Chevrolet Grand Prix, the sixth round of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. The team looked to the two-hour-and-forty-minute race, at the Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada, to bounce back from the disappointment of having the win at Watkins Glen taken away due to a drive time penalty, but any hope of getting back to the GTD PRO class podium was eliminated after the right rear wheel and tire fell off the car on lap five. Edwards, who had started from the third position, got the car back to the pits, but with almost one lap lost the team’s day was over. The remaining 106 laps of the race were uneventful ones as Edwards recovered to run as high as fourth before pitting for De Phillippi on lap 60.De Phillippi got back on the tail end of the lead lap, but ultimately took the checkered flag in the fifth position. Connor De Phillippi, Driver No. 25 BMW M Team RLL (P5) – “Track position is super important here, but we were quickly on the back foot only minutes into the race. The M4 was very good and we maximized the performance we had.” John Edwards, Driver No. 25 BMW M Team RLL (P5) – “It was a tough day. We need to investigate why the wheel came off. It did not appear to have been left loose. The team did a great job to get us back on the lead lap with our strategy, but it was not our day.” In the GTD class, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, of Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley, finished fourth. The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, raced to a fifth-place finish. The results keep the two BMW Customer Racing teams at the top of the Sprint Cup points (unofficially). Turner Motorsport drivers Vin Barletta and Robby Foley raced the No. 96 BMW M4 GT4 to an 8th place finish in Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Canadian Tire Motorsport Park 120. The No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 finished 10th. The No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern was damaged in the day’s earlier qualifying session and was unable to make the race. The second half of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship continues on Saturday, July 16th at the FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix, at Lime Rock Park, in Lakeville, Conn. The two-hour-and-forty-minute race takes the green flag at 3:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on USA beginning at 5 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio also provides a flag-to-flag broadcast. BMW Group in AmericaBMW 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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