BMW M Team RLL Ready for Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – June 22, 2022 . . . BMW M Team RLL will be back in action for a fast stretch of three races in four weeks beginning with this weekend’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, at Watkins Glen International. The race is the fifth round of the championship and the third endurance race of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech Championship season.

The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 will be driven by Connor De Phillippi, John Edwards, and Augusto Farfus. De Phillippi and Edwards co-drove to a third-place finish in the last round at Laguna Seca Raceway to score RLL’s first podium for the all-new BMW M4 GT3. Farfus continues as the third driver in the No. 25 machine this season.

BMW M Team RLL has had success in previous visits to the venerable 3.4-mile, 11-turn natural terrain road course. Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims shared the 2017 GTLM class victory at Watkins Glen in the No. 25 BMW M6. Last year’s six-hour event saw BMW M Team RLL score a double-BMW M8 podium finish with Edwards, Farfus and Jesse Krohn second and De Phillippi, Philip Eng, and Bruno Spengler finishing third. Two additional third place finishes were scored by Auberlen and Dirk Werner in 2015 and 2016.

Connor De Phillippi (No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3): “Watkins Glen is always a highlight on the calendar and typically a very strong track layout for our race cars in the past. It will be my first time behind the wheel of our M4 GT3 at this track but I’m very confident we will have a competitive package to fight for the win. Our customer teams have displayed excellent performance since our last IMSA event and now it’s time to go for a double class victory!”

John Edwards ( No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3): “Watkins Glen is fast, flowing, and has some big elevation changes. It’s my favorite track in the country! We got our first M4 podium in our last event at Laguna Seca, so it's time to go get out first win!”

Augusto Farfus ( No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3): “It’s always a pleasure to be back with RLL. Last year we got a podium at The Glen. This year the M4 GT3 has been doing super well and expectations are high. Watkins Glen is not an easy track and getting up to speed and finding the right setup will be crucial. I’m confident of a good result for us.”

The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen takes the green flag at 10:40 a.m. Sunday, June 26^th. The entire race and will be streamed live on Peacock. A three-hour condensed program will be broadcast on USA Network from 2:00 – 5:00 p.m. IMSA Radio also provides a flag-to-flag broadcast.

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; a technology office in Silicon Valley 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 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 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 Indianapolis, Indiana 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 over three decades. Prior to the start of their 31st season of competition in 2022, the team had compiled 54 victories, 66 poles, 222 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011), claimed two Indianapolis 500 victories (Buddy Rice in 2004, Takuma Sato in 2020) and two Rolex 24 at Daytona victories. 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. From 2014 to 2021, BMW Team RLL competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28

poles and 94 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2022 season. The team earned

second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and were the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions. For 2022, BMW M Team RLL will compete in the GTD Pro class while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated LMDh class of IMSA for 2023.

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

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