Long Beach. After finishing second in the GTP class at the
Twelve Hours of Sebring (USA), BMW M Team RLL again enjoyed podium
celebrations at Long Beach (USA). Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick
Yelloly (GBR) repeated their Sebring success, finishing second again
in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 in the first sprint race of the 2023 IMSA
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series). Their team-mates
Augusto Farfus (BRA) and Philipp Eng (AUT) crossed the line in
fourth in the #24 car, completing the team’s season-best effort in
only their third race with the all-new BMW M Hybrid V8.
The temporary Long Beach street circuit hosted the shortest race of
the season, with a duration of 100 minutes. While De Phillippi knew
the circuit already from past experience, Yelloly, Farfus and Eng
raced there for the first time.
The race’s first hour was only slowed by one caution period,
following an incident on the opening lap, and lasting for the first
ten minutes of the race. Both BMW M Hybrid V8 machines had a turn in
the lead before pitting. Yelloly stopped the #25 car on lap 33 to hand
off to De Phillippi. Two laps later, Farfus pitted the #24 car and Eng
took over in the cockpit. A rare error when fighting for second place
sent De Phillippi into a runoff area on lap 58 and back to fourth, but
he climbed back to third, setting the race’s fast lap (1:11.503
minutes), and ultimately propelling himself and the BMW M Hybrid V8 to
second, in the final minutes. Eng improved to fourth, and those were
their positions when the race ended under caution.
In the GTD class, BMW M Motorsport team Paul Miller Racing secured
their second consecutive win with the #1 BMW M4 GT3 driven by Bryan
Sellers and Madison Snow (both USA). Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher
(both USA) finished eighth in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3.
The #97 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 of Bill Auberlen and Chandler
Hull (both USA) finished 11th.
Quotes after the Long Beach race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Thank you
to the entire team for the great performance today! Congratulations to
BMW M Team RLL, to BMW M Motorsport, and to our drivers. After our
first podium at Sebring, here we are again on the podium with Connor
De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly, including the fastest lap of the race
by Connor. I’m also proud of the result by Augusto Farfus and Philipp
Eng with a strong fourth place finish. The fastest race lap showed the
great effort by the entire team over the last few weeks and the
progress that has been made. At Long Beach, we were able to fight for
the win. That shows how good our cars are. I would also like to
congratulate Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers and Paul Miller Racing for
their victory in the GTD class today. Thank you everyone for these
great results.”
Bobby Rahal (BMW M Team RLL Team Principal): “To be
honest we really did not know what to expect from the first sprint
race for the GTP cars. Right from the start of the weekend, the BMW M
Hybrid V8s looked good. We gave a good run for the win, but we can be
very proud of our effort today.”
Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place GTP
class): “I put myself in a less than ideal situation when I
ran long trying to pass the Porsche. Luckily, I found the TC-off
button and spun the car around. There was still 30 minutes remaining,
so I put my head down. The car was fantastic at the end and to see how
competitive we were was great.”
Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place GTP
class): “A second second-in-a-row finish is probably more
than I could have hoped for, but we had high expectations. Yes, it was
my first time at Long Beach and my first podium here, so I am delighted.”
Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th place GTP class):
“The team made another good step forward following Sebring.
Congrats to the number 25 guys. Long Beach was a great experience.
Hopefully, next time, will be time for the 24 car.”
Augusto Farfus (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8,
4th place GTP class
): “We can leave Long Beach with a smile. I really
enjoyed my first visit to this circuit, and I am sure Philipp did as
well. We had a seamless day and, as a team, BMW M Team RLL is really
making progress.”
Madison Snow (#1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, 1st place GTD
class): “We certainly felt a lot of pressure to win this
race again. The race really came to us after the pit stop. I moved
from third to second during my stint. The Paul Miller boys had a great
stop and we jumped ahead of the Aston Martin. Bryan held him off as
they both reentered the race and continued to hold him off until the
checkered flag.”
