BMW M Team RLL Looking To Make History at Indy.

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Sept. 12, 2023 . . . BMW M Team RLL and its BMW M Hybrid V8 racing cars will look to make history and return to the GTP class podium at this weekend’s TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway road course. The two-hour-and-forty-minute race, the first IMSA event at the Speedway since 2014, is the penultimate round of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

Recently, the team participated in a two-day test at the Speedway with drivers Connor De Phillippi, Colton Herta, and Jesse Krohn. The second day of the test ended with the No. 25 and No. 24 BMWs at the top of the timing sheets. Eng, Farfus, and Yelloly completed DiL (Driver In Loop) tests for Indy to continue the development of the team’s race performance.

BMW Team RLL team members do have history at The Brickyard. Of course, RLL Team Principal Bobby Rahal won the 1986 Indy 500. De Phillippi and Farfus (along with Nicky Catsburg) won 8 Hour Intercontinental GT Challenge race at Indy in 2020, driving a Walkenhorst Motorsport BMW M6 GT3. Nick Yelloly (co-driving with David Pittard and Marco Wittmann) finished second in the team’s sister BMW.

“Indy is an iconic place,” said Bobby. “We tested there recently, and it went very well. As is every IMSA race we go to it will be a tough fight. If we have the pace at Indy as we did at another fast circuit like Watkins Glen, I have every reason to believe we’ll have a good weekend.”

So far this year the team has scored a win (Watkins Glen), two runner-up finishes (Sebring and Long Beach), and a third place (CTMP) with the No. 25 car of Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly (co-driven at Sebring with Sheldon van der Linde.) De Phillippi and Yelloly stand third in GTP driver point standings. Augusto Farfus and Philipp Eng stand eighth in driver points, with a season’s-best fourth-place finish (Long Beach) in the No. 24 car.

Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “The Speedway is always a special place to race and I’m aiming to continue the success I’ve been fortunate to have there. Last month, we had a productive test and the BMW M Hybrid V8 has been testing in Europe which has been valuable. I’m excited to be back on track after the summer break to continue chasing race wins.”

Nick Yelloly, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “I was not there for the GTP test, but I understand it went very well. I hope we can hit the ground running and get another good result for BMW.”

Philipp Eng, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “I’m very excited to finally get the chance to race in Indianapolis. Indy is often referred to as the ‘World Center of Racing’ and an incredibly iconic track. I can’t wait to turn my first laps in the BMW M Hybrid V8 there and hopefully secure a podium with my teammate Augusto. I believe we’ve deserved it. We’ve been on an upward trajectory in the past few races, but unfortunately, we had a bit of bad luck at Road America. A podium for us or the sister car would be a boost for all of us. However, I’m feeling positive. I’ve heard that the test in Indy went very well. I’m looking forward to my next race with BMW M Team RLL and hoping for a strong result.”

Augusto Farfus, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “The team showed good pace in the test which gives us hope for a strong weekend. I did race the Indy road course in 2020 with Connor (De Phillippi) and Nicky Catsburg to a win in the 8-hour GT Challenge win. It will be good to be back at Indy.”

In the GT Daytona class BMW will have three BMW M4 GT3 entries. With five victories so far this season Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow continue to lead the GTD class points with the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3. Turner Motorsport brings two GTD class entries, the No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW for Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher and the No. 97 McIntosh for Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull. Foley and Gallagher stand fifth in GTD driver points. Auberlen and Hull drive in the GTD PRO class in Michelin Endurance Cup events and GTD class in the Sprint events.

The two-hour-and-forty-minute TireRack.com Battle On The Bricks race will be televised live on NBC beginning at 1:00 p.m. ET on Sept. 17^th.

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 as well as the BMW XM. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 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 Zionsville, 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 32nd season of competition in 2023 and their 15th with BMW, the team had compiled 54 victories, 67 poles, 225 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. In 2022, BMW M Team RLL competed in the GTD PRO class in

IMSA while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class in IMSA for 2023. In total, the team has earned 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 30 poles and 96 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2023 season. BMW M Team RLL highlights also include second place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and being named the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions.

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