Indianapolis. On the penultimate race weekend of the season in
the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) at
Indianapolis (USA), there was plenty of reason to celebrate for the
BMW M Motorsport teams. Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly
(GBR) secured a spot on the podium by finishing third in the 2-hour
and 40-minute race in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 of BMW M Team RLL. It
marked the duo’s fifth podium finish in the debut season of the GTP
class. In the GTD category, Paul Miller Racing drivers Madison Snow
and Bryan Sellers (both USA) clinched the GTD title prematurely with
a third-place finish in the #1 BMW M4 GT3, simultaneously defending
the Sprint Cup championship they had won in 2022
.
While De Phillippi and Yelloly fought their way to the podium from
the seventh starting position during the course of 113 laps on the
legendary Indianapolis Motor Speedway, their teammates in the #24 BMW
M Hybrid V8 had a stroke of bad luck. After just nine laps, Philipp
Eng (AUT) had to pit due to technical issues. It wasn’t until two
further stops that the electric problems of the LMDh car could be
solved, allowing Eng and Augusto Farfus (BRA) to continue the race
with a significant deficit. They were ultimately classified as tenth
in the GTP class. In the overall standings of the IMSA series, De
Phillippi and Yelloly are currently in fourth place with 2422 points
each, just 38 points behind the leaders, ahead of the season finale on
14th October in Road Atlanta (USA).
In the GTD category, Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers secured the title
win one race before the end of the season. The third-place finish on
the Indianapolis podium was enough for the Paul Miller Racing drivers
to become champions in both the GTD overall standings and the Sprint
Cup, which they had won in 2022. On their way to the title, Snow and
Sellers celebrated five class victories in the #1 BMW M4 GT3, more
than any other team in the GTD class before. At Road Atlanta’s Petit
Le Mans in October, they now have the chance to win the Endurance Cup
title as well. At Indianapolis, the two BMW M4 GT3s from Turner
Motorsport finished fifth and seventh in the GTD category.
Reactions after the race:
Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 3rd
place): “We really extracted everything we had in our
package today. From the strategy side to car preparation side, I think
we really executed. I’m really proud of everybody on the team. Nick
drove a brilliant first stint that got us a great track position. The
team had spot-on strategy and I just had to wheel it to the finish.”
Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 3rd place):
“We knew it was going to be about keeping it clean today
which we were able to do throughout the whole race. Turn one was also
always going to be a tricky task. We also managed to make it through
the first corner and then it was about keeping it clean through
traffic. All credit to the team for a great strategy. Great driving by
Connor as always, and yeah, I’m super happy to keep this podium roll
going. That’s five this year in GTP so it’s something that we, as a
team, can be very pleased about.”
Madison Snow (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing,
3rd place GTD class):
“It’s nice to wrap up the championship here at Indy. Petit Le Mans is
a very, very long race, and it’s a lot of stress off our shoulders,
knowing that at Petit, we can just enjoy racing. That’s due to all the
hard work Paul Miller Racing put in going into this weekend knowing
that if we perform the absolute best we did this weekend, we will be
able to relax the next weekend. Indy has been awesome.”
Bryan Sellers (#1 BMW M4 GT3, Paul Miller Racing,
3rd place GTD class):
“We led quite a bit of the race, but didn’t have quite enough for the
#57 or the #78. As soon as those guys started mixing it up, our goal
was just to beat the #27, watch the points situation, and let the race
win go – which is difficult to do. But in the end, we were able to
achieve our goal.”
