BMW Team RLL IMSA Motul Petit Le Mans Qualifying

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Oct. 16, 2020 . . . BMW Team RLL will start this Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans from the second and third positions after an excellent effort this afternoon by Connor De Phillippi and John Edwards. De Phillippi set the teams quick time in the No. 25 MOTUL BMW M8 GTE to line-up second with a 1:15.434-minute lap around the 2.54-mile, 14-turn Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. He will co-drive with Bruno Spengler and Colton Herta tomorrow. Edwards, co-driving this weekend with Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus in the No. 24 MOTUL BMW M8 GTE, set the third fastest GLTM time with a 1:15.615-minute lap. The pole went to the No. 3 Corvette C8.R with a 1:15.163-minute time.

BMW Team RLL has scored consecutive podium finishes at Road America (P3), Virginia International Raceway (P2), Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta (P1, P3), Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course (P2), and with P2 and P3 at Charlotte last Saturday night. BMW remains in a strong second in GTLM class manufacturer points standings. No. 25 MOTUL BMW M8 GTE co-drivers Connor De Phillippi and Bruno Spengler stand third in driver points with teammates John Edwards and Jesse Krohn, co-drivers of the No. 24 MOTUL BMW M8 GTE, stand fourth.

Robby Foley qualified the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 in the fifth GTD class starting spot with a 1:19.657-minute lap, only .366 seconds from the class polesitting Acura. Foley, Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern will be looking to defend their 2019 Petit Le Mans win tomorrow.

Tomorrow’s Motul Petit Le Mans at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta is scheduled to take the green flag at 12:40 p.m. and will feature a live broadcast on NBCSN in two segments; 12:30 – 6:30 p.m. and 9:30 – 11:00 p.m. Follow us on Twitter @BMWUSARacing for news from the pit box and get live scoring and in-car camera views at IMSA.com.

Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE (P2): “Overall I feel we maximized what we had for qualifying and now our focus is to ensure we have a consistent car for a race stint. My thanks to the team for working hard overnight to get the No. 25 M8 back where it needed to be.”

John Edwards, driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE (P3): “I did not quite put it all together today, but I’m happy that the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE is towards the front of the GTLM grid. We saw at the six-hour race that our pace over a stint was good, so I believe we will have a good shot at the win tomorrow.”

BMW Group in America

BMW 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;

technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, 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 349 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 117 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 Racing

BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio 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 almost three decades. Prior to the start of their 29^th season of competition in 2020, the team had compiled 51 victories, 62 poles, 189 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) and claimed an Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). 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. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and has brought their total to 21 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 At Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 79 podium finishes as well as a second place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.

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Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.