Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards will co-drive the GT Pro class No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 in the 100-minute Long Beach Grand Prix race on April 9th, the shortest IMSA race of the season. BMW M Team RLL will also focus on a single entry for the remainder of 2022.
BMW M Team RLL has tallied eight podium finishes, including three victories (2011, 2013, and 2015) at Long Beach. The event was canceled in 2020 and the team did not enter the race last season as it focused only on the Michelin Endurance Cup races.
“We will be a one-car team at Long Beach, which is new for us as we’ve always been a two-car team with BMW M Motorsport,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “Nevertheless, we feel pretty good about our potential performance at Long Beach. At Sebring we were more competitive than we had been at Daytona, and I think some of the issues that we suffered from at Daytona were solved and the pace was good. Going into Long Beach we have to feel optimistic. The Corvettes certainly had the answer to anybody’s challenge in the race, but I think the M4 certainly is suited better maybe than the M8 or M6 there, which were quite big cars. I think the M4 is going to be a lot more suitable for the Long Beach track. I have to say I am optimistic but of course this race is always about grid and track position, number one, but it’s also about staying out of trouble and not hitting walls. There’s not much margin for error at Long Beach so a lot goes into a strong run, but we’ve had good performances, both in qualifying and the race, over the years and I don’t see any reason we can’t have the same again.”
Connor De Phillippi (BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3): – “After two years of not racing at my home race, I’m excited to be back on a street course with our new M4 GT3. With the improvements over our previous generation car, I’m optimistic that we can have a very competitive weekend and finally get our season off to the start we‘ve wanted!”
John Edwards (BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3): – “We are coming up on the sprint races that take up the bulk of our season, starting with the shortest race of the season in Long Beach! The race was canceled in 2020 and we didn’t participate in 2021 so I am thrilled to finally be heading back to the only street course we get to race. Racing between the walls puts extra pressure on us and it always makes for a really intense race, so I am looking forward to it.”
Two BMW Customer Racing teams will line up in the GTD class. The New Jersey-based Paul Miller Racing joined Turner Motorsport at Sebring and both teams wasted no time in showing what the all-new BMW M4 GT3 is capable of. Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers will co-drive the No. 1 Paul Miller machine. Bill Auberlen, who will be inducted into the Long Beach Motorsport Walk of Fame prior to the weekend, will co-drive the No. 96 Turner Motorsport M4 GT3 with Robby Foley.
Source. BMW
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