IMSA: BMW M Team WRT concludes debut season with podium – Paul Miller Racing wins GTD PRO title.

Road Atlanta. The Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (USA) marked a successful conclusion to a strong season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA Series) for BMW M Motorsport. With the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT secured second place in the ten-hour race, narrowly missing out on a second consecutive victory. There were huge celebrations at Paul Miller Racing: Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen (both USA) clinched the GTD PRO class title with the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

In the GTP class, Dries Vanthoor (BEL), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), and Robin Frijns (NED) started the race from third position and quickly established themselves among the leading group. Even a spin by Frijns did not set the trio back. In the end, van der Linde battled directly with Laurens Vanthoor (BEL, Porsche) for the victory, but was unable to make the decisive move in the final laps. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Philipp Eng (AUT), Marco Wittmann (GER), and Kevin Magnussen (DEN), also delivered a strong performance but was forced to retire after an accident, from which Magnussen emerged uninjured. In its debut IMSA Season, BMW M Team WRT celebrated a victory in Indianapolis (USA), two second places in Road Atlanta and Detroit (USA), as well as two third places in Daytona and Laguna Seca (both USA).

The celebrations were even greater at Paul Miller Racing. Connor De Phillippi, Neil Verhagen (both USA), and Dan Harper (GBR) finished third in their class in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO at Petit Le Mans. Thanks to this podium, regular drivers De Phillippi and Verhagen secured the GTD PRO class title. It was the first overall championship win for Paul Miller Racing since moving up from the GTD class three years ago. Turner Motorsport, however, suffered great misfortune. In the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, who shared the cockpit in Road Atlanta with Francis Selldorff (all USA), had good title chances in the GTD class before the race. But an early technical defect dashed all hopes for the team.

Comments after the race:

Franciscus van Meel (CEO BMW M GmbH): “A great race, great results, great fans, great cars – what an event! The fact that we’re almost disappointed with a second place at the end shows how strong we were with the BMW M Hybrid V8 towards the end of this season. And then the title win for Paul Miller Racing with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO – incredible! Congratulations and thanks to everyone involved.”

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “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. Congratulations on a fantastic season! Sadly, Turner Motorsport missed out on the GTD title after an unfortunate technical issue, but they also had a great season. Overall, I’m very satisfied with our performances in the 2026 IMSA Series. Many thanks to everyone involved!”

Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “That was a strong final race of the season for our number 24. Of course, with just one second behind, you think about missing out on the possible win a bit, but we gave it everything and have no regrets. Unfortunately, car number 25 had the accident; otherwise, a strong result would have been possible there as well. The most important thing is that Kevin Magnussen was not injured. Our first IMSA season is now over, and we will analyse closely how we can manage to be as strong in every race next season, as we were recently in Indianapolis and here.”

Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, 2nd place): “These have been a few strong weeks for the team and for me personally, with the win in Indianapolis, the podiums at the FIA WEC in Fuji, and now here. On the one hand, I’m happy, but on the other, I’m annoyed to have narrowly missed out on victory in this big race. Congratulations to my brother Laurens on the win.”

Kevin Magnussen (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team WRT, DNF): “This was not the race we had hoped for, but I’m really happy for the crew of car number 24. Overall, the IMSA programme is showing a strong upward trend. Building this team was a huge challenge, and I’m pleased to see that all the hard work is increasingly paying off.”

Neil Verhagen (#1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, GTD PRO Champion): “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.”

Connor De Phillippi (#1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, GTD PRO Champion): “IMSA GTD PRO Champions – wow! What a season with ups and downs. It started great with the triumph at Daytona – and after that, we never gave up, always fought, scraped together every possible point, and delivered another great race here at the end that brought us the title. Many thanks to my co-driver Neil Verhagen and the entire team. This is one of the greatest achievements of my career.”

Robby Foley (#96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Turner Motorsport, DNF): “A really unfortunate end to what was actually a very strong season. That’s what I want to focus on. We had a great year. Many thanks to everyone at Turner Motorsport and BMW M Motorsport who put us in a position to fight for the GTD title in the final race. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough. That’s a real shame, but we’ll be back next year.”