BMW M Team RLL Loses Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen After Drive Time Violation; Turner Finishes Third in GTD.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – June 26, 2022 . . . The No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3, driven by Connor De Phillippi, John Edwards, and Augusto Farfus, seemingly won today’s Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen, the fifth round of the 2022 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. After an audit of drive time, it was found that the third driver, John Edwards, did not meet the (adjusted) one-hour-and-17-minute minimum and the car was moved to the rear of the field.

De Phillippi started the race from the pole and raced through five caution periods in the first two hours of the race before handing off to Farfus on lap 60. Farfus drove a flawless middle two hours of the race, handing off to Edwards on lap 117 – just under two hours remaining in the race.

What started as a six-hour endurance race ended as a 21-minute sprint after racing was halted with just under one-and-one-half hours remaining due to weather approaching and lightening in the area. While the clock continued to run, the cars stopped with the No. 25 car and Edwards in sixth, having pitted only 14 laps before the red. After the weather abated and the race clock was reset to 35 minutes, the cars got back on track behind the pace car. The green flag waved with 21 minutes remaining. Edwards focused forward.

From fifth place, Edwards raced the cherry red BMW M4 GT3 to the top of a fine BMW M Team RLL Watkins Glen weekend sundae only to have it taken away when the minimum drive time was adjusted down for the red flag.

Brandon Fry, RLL Technical Director said, “The red flag and one-hour race stoppage came with one hour-and-thirty-minutes remaining in the race. John had entered the car some time before that, on lap 117, some four-hours-and seven-minutes into the six-hour race. If not for the red flag, he was well within the one-hour-and-thirty-minute minimum drive time. The reduction of the minimum drive time to one-hour-and-17-minutes meant John would not meet the requirement. Our race strategy was solid and a proven winner. The reduction of minimum drive time occurred after our strategy was in place with no ability to adapt or alter John’s time in the car. Yes, we are disappointed, but we are now focused on securing our first BMW M4 GT3 win at CTMP. ”

In the GTD class, the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3, of Bill Auberlen, Michael Dinan, and Robby Foley,  finished fourth, but was promoted to third post-race due to another drive time violation by the GTD class winner. A last lap pit stop ultimately dropped the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 to an 11^th place finish.

Following two days of preparation at Watkins Glen the team heads across the border to Canadian Tire Motorsport Park for the next round. Much like Watkins Glen, CTMP is an old-school circuit that requires a driver’s total commitment. Newly resurfaced and not having raced there for two years during Covid, practice sessions will be paramount to collecting the data necessary for a fast BMW set-up.

BMW M Team RLL has collected seven podium finishes in past seasons at CTMP, including a victory in 2017. John Edwards has scored three of those podium finishes, scoring third-place finishes with three different co-drivers in three consecutive years; 2010 – 2012.

Saturday’s IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Tiago Downs 120 saw the No. 95 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT4 of Bill Auberlen and Dillon Machavern take the victory. It was the third IMPC win for Machavern, the 19^th for Auberlen. Teammates Van Barletta and Robby Foley finished ninth in the No. 96 Turner BMW M4 GT4. The No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4 finished 23^rd after two punctures set back the team’s effort.

The Chevrolet Grand Prix will be held next weekend at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, in Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada. The two-hour-and-forty-minute race takes the green flag at 3:05 p.m. Sunday, July 3^rd and will be broadcast on NBC, and streamed live on Peacock. 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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