BMW M Team WRT takes Petit Le Mans podium as Paul Miller Racing wins IMSA GTD PRO title
BMW M Team WRT closed its debut IMSA season with second place at Petit Le Mans, while Paul Miller Racing's Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen won the GTD PRO title.
- 2nd
- 1 second
- 47 points
- 1 victory and 4 additional podium finishes
What Happened
The ten-hour Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta closed BMW M Motorsport's IMSA season. In the GTP class, the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde and Robin Frijns started from third position and quickly joined the leading group, recovering from a spin by Frijns. Van der Linde then battled Laurens Vanthoor's Porsche directly for the victory but could not make the decisive move in the final laps, leaving the BMW narrowly short of a second consecutive win.
The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Kevin Magnussen also ran strongly but was forced to retire after an accident, from which Magnussen emerged uninjured. Across its debut IMSA season, BMW M Team WRT celebrated one victory, in Indianapolis, plus two second places and two third places. Team principal Vincent Vosse said the team gave everything and had no regrets about the final race.
At Paul Miller Racing, Connor De Phillippi, Neil Verhagen and Dan Harper finished third in their class in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO at Petit Le Mans, a result that secured the GTD PRO title for regular drivers De Phillippi and Verhagen. It was the first overall championship win for Paul Miller Racing since it moved up from the GTD class three years ago. Turner Motorsport suffered an early technical defect in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO shared by Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher and Francis Selldorff, ending the team's GTD title chances.
- Victory in the GTP class at Indianapolis
- Second place at Road Atlanta
- Second place at Detroit
- Third place at Daytona
- Third place at Laguna Seca
47points
Neil Verhagen said the team arrived at Road Atlanta 47 points behind in GTD PRO before winning the title.
“Petit Le Mans was a spectacular race with highs and lows. On the GTP side, we're super happy with second place for car number 24. We fought for victory right up to the final lap and ended the season on a high. Unfortunately, car number 25 had a heavy accident, but thankfully Kevin Magnussen was unharmed. I'm absolutely delighted about the GTD PRO title for Paul Miller Racing and our two drivers, Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen.”
“I'm almost speechless. We came here 47 points behind and knew we'd need a little miracle to win the title – and we did it. We had a fantastic weekend and also the bit of luck that we'd been missing in some other races. I can't thank everyone involved enough for their efforts.”
Why this matters
The result caps BMW M Motorsport's first IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with BMW M Team WRT, which took one win and four more podiums, and adds a GTD PRO championship won in a BMW M4 GT3 EVO. It matters for the drivers and teams involved, and for BMW's factory programme, which team principal Vincent Vosse said will be analysed closely to be as strong in every race next season.
Terms in This Story
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship
- A North American sports car racing series in which different classes of prototype and GT cars race together.
- GTP
- The top prototype class in IMSA sports car racing, contested by purpose-built hybrid racing cars.
- GTD PRO
- A production-based GT racing class in IMSA for professional driver line-ups.
- DNF
- Did Not Finish, motorsport shorthand for a car that retires from a race before the end.
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