First IMSA win for BMW

IMSA

Jun 26

3 GTP classified in the same lap.

After a race filled with twists and turns where only three GTPs finished in the same lap, the BMW M Team RLL has been awarded the victory in the 6-hour race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) at Watkins Glen. Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly crossed the finish line in second place after a dramatic final phase, but a post-race penalty for the first-place Porsche due to a technical violation granted the historic first win for the BMW M Hybrid V8.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #25 BMW M Hybrid V8.

During the first hour of the race, De Phillippi collided with a spinning Cadillac directly in front of him, damaging the front of the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, which had to be replaced. However, he and Yelloly fought back from the back of the GTP field with a strong pace and found themselves in the lead during the final hour of the race. Only in the last minutes, as traffic became heavy with lapped cars, did De Phillippi's lead of approximately seven seconds diminish. Five minutes before the end of the race, he conceded to the charging Porsche. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crew secured their third podium finish of the season.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 still ahead of Porsche #6, 6 laps from the end.

Nick Yelloly (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “I am incredibly happy for the entire team, who have more than earned this victory through their hard work. We have been steadily improving, and the first win was within reach. It wasn't the way we wanted to win, as we prefer to win on the track and celebrate on the podium. However, we gladly accept the victory nonetheless – after all, it is the first for the BMW M Hybrid V8 and also my first in the IMSA series. Therefore, it holds a special significance for all of us.” Source: BMW Group.

The Whelen Engineering team and trio increase their Michelin Endurance Cup lead

The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R placed second and strengthened its IMSA Michelin Endurance Championship points lead Sunday in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen.

The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Series.R added five points to its endurance championship advantage by pacing the field at the halfway point of the race plus four for the P2, and leads the points heading into the season-closing Petit Le Mans in October that is the finale of the four-race endurance set.

Aitken set the fastest lap of the race (1 minute, 33.028 seconds) and the track race record during his stint, which included Laps 122-152 as the leader.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac V-Seires.R..

Pipo Derani: “The car felt good all day. Unfortunately, on the second to last pit stop we had an issue with tire pressure which compromised our pace. And then the GT blocking and I made contact that destroyed the front splitter. By that point we were compromised and didn’t have enough to close on the leader. Overall, a good points day for us – especially in the endurance championship – and we’ll keep fighting.”

Alexander Sims: “I really enjoyed driving the car here and it felt like one of my better races. I understood what the car was doing, so I was happy with it. We were fighting at the front the whole race. There was no luck involved. We were there on pace. Credit to the whole team and Cadillac, and another strong finish. Good day points for the championship, which is all you can ask for.”

Jack Aitken: “I was just happy to experience Watkins Glen for a full stint. I had time to get into it and I was in a great position coming out in the lead under caution. Strategy was perfect, I ran a clean stint and held the gap to the 60. I think it’s a great result and we’re right in there for the championship and collected the endurance points as well.” Source: Cadillac Racing

3 GTP classified in the same lap.

Blomqvist and Braun had their #60 MSR Acura ARX-06 at the front of the field three separate times, as all four competing manufacturers led portions of the endurance contest.

Following the last round of scheduled pit stops, Blomqvist emerged in fourth place, but any final efforts at securing the second victory of the season for Acura and Meyer Shank Racing ended when the caution flag flew with less than five minutes remaining for a GTD crash.

The race ended behind the safety car, with the #60 taking the checkers in fourth place. However, the winning Penske Motorsport entry was found to have a non-compliant skid block in post-race technical inspection, moving the team to ninth and last in GTP; and the #60 MSR Acura to third in the official results.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #60 Meyer Shank Acura..

Colin Braun (#60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06): third in GTP: “In the end, fourth was a good result for us. We needed a good, solid finish and I’m really proud of everyone at MSR, Acura and HPD. I think everyone did a great job. We had good race pace. Everyone is working hard and I’m proud of everyone’s efforts over the entire week. This [six hour] is not an easy race. It’s definitely tough on the crew and the drivers and strategy-wise. Man, there’s so many ways you can build out this race. I feel we were in contention and in position to battle at the front. If we keep it up things will swing our way." Source: Acura

Five GTP cars classified ahead of LMP2s out of 8 at the start

The Porsche Motorsport customer team JDC-Miller MotorSports gave a stellar performance in only its second outing with the distinctive #5 yellow Porsche 963. Thanks to an excellent strategy and the flawless effort from the drivers Mike Rockenfeller and Tijmen van der Helm, the Porsche customer team achieved a commendable fourth place.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #5 Porsche 963.

Mike Rockenfeller (Porsche 963 #5): “We have very little experience with the car and we’re facing intense competition in the GTP class. With this in mind, fifth place is a pretty decent result for us. However, today we didn’t quite have the pace to match our rivals. Especially when accelerating out of corners, our car felt a bit strange. We need to analyse that now. We also need to work on the vehicle’s balance. We’ve learned a lot again. This will allow us to make critical progress in the coming weeks.” Source: Porsche

The #01 Cadillac V-Series.R, which won the last IMSA GTP race with Sebastien Bourdais and Renger van der Zande sharing time in the seat, finished four laps down in fifth place after multiple issues including two on-track incidents that resulted in damage and a penalty for tire requirements.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Watkins Glen 2023. #01 Cadillac V-Series.R.

Renger van der Zande: “I feel disappointed because we had bad luck, and the race just didn't go our way. It was pure survival out there and that’s just not a nice feeling when you're not in a competitive position.”

Sebastien Bourdais: “We had a good start, and the car was strong. We were making some good numbers but halfway through the stint we had contact with the Porsche. That was disappointing and I thought we had gotten away OK but then we got run into by the BMW, which really sabotaged our race because the rear of the car was severely damaged. It was definitely one of those days where what could go wrong did go wrong." Source: Cadillac Racing.