BMW M Team RLL will start tomorrow’s IMSA MOTUL Course de Monterey from the seventh and eighth GTP class positions. With a qualifying time of 1:15.648 minutes around the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit, Connor De Phillippi will start the No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8 seventh. He will co-drive with Nick Yelloly, the duo looking for a third consecutive podium finish. Philipp Eng qualified the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the eighth position after a 1:15.747-minute lap. He will co-drive with Augusto Farfus. Both BMWs qualified within one-second of the pole-sitting Porsche 963.
In the thirteen years (2009-2022) that BMW M Team RLL raced BMWs in IMSA’s GT classes, the team has finished on the podium eleven times. BMW M Team RLL has scored three GT class victories (2015, 2017, and 2018), five second-place finishes (2010, 2011, 2014, 2015, and 2019), and three third-place finishes (2012, 2013, and 2022) at the 2.238-mile, 11-turn Laguna Seca circuit.
This year, the team has made the switch to the GTP class with the BMW M Hybrid V8 and has scored two runner-up finishes (Sebring and Long Beach) in the first three events. That effort has BMW standing second in GTP class manufacturer points. By benefit of two second-place finishes with the No. 25 car, drivers Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly stand fourth in GTP driver points, only one point from third. Augusto Farfus and Philipp Eng stand seventh 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 (P7): “We were still learning a lot after FP2 and into qualifying. We tried a few new items on our set-up sheet which improved our overall balance. I think we made the most of what we had in qualifying and with a few more tweaks we’ll be able to fight for another podium tomorrow.”
Madison Snow qualified the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 in the fifth GT Daytona starting position. Snow and co-drive Bryan Sellers currently lead the class championship after wins at both Sebring and Long Beach. The No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher will start from the seventh spot and the No. 97 McIntosh BMW M4 GT4 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull will roll off from P12.
Source. BMW
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