BMW M Team RLL narrowly missed out on another podium in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship despite a strong performance. In the six-hour race at Indianapolis Motor Speedway, Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde staged an impressive comeback in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, climbing from seventh on the grid up to second place. Shortly before the end of the race, however, van der Linde was forced to save fuel, dropping the duo back to sixth.
Their teammates Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were set back early on by a drive-through penalty. In a turbulent race with numerous full course yellow periods, they still managed to collect important championship points by finishing fourth.
There was plenty to celebrate at Paul Miller Racing. Max Hesse and Dan Harper took the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from pole position to the podium in the GTD-PRO class. Harper had been unbeatable in qualifying, securing his first-ever pole award in the GTD-PRO category. On Sunday, Harper and Hesse fought for victory for a long time before eventually celebrating their third podium of the season with a strong third place finish.
Their teammates Neil Verhagen, Madison Snow and Connor De Phillippi also showed strong pace in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO after starting from ninth. At the three-hour mark, they were even leading the GTD-PRO class ahead of the sister car, collecting important Endurance Cup points. After six hours, the local favourites crossed the line in eighth place in class.
Turner Motorsport also delivered a strong performance in the GTD category, moving up from 14th on the grid. Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher and Jake Walker narrowly missed the podium, finishing fourth in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
After the 1-2 finish at Road America, we once again showed strong performance here in Indianapolis with the BMW M Hybrid V8. Unfortunately, the impressive comeback by Marco and Sheldon was not rewarded with the podium they deserved. Congratulations to Paul Miller Racing on a strong weekend, highlighted by the pole position and the podium finish for the #48.
Driver statements.
Dan Harper (#48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, 3rd place GTD-PRO): “It was a fantastic weekend. I’m really happy to be back on the podium after a few tough races. In the Endurance Cup we are right back in the title fight. At the three-hour mark we scored maximum points with both cars – and then added more with third place at the end. That puts us in a strong position for the finale at Petit Le Mans. My personal highlight was my first pole position yesterday. It was an amazing feeling, and I think we really deserved it this season. A few times I came very close, and the team always gave me a car capable of it so it was nice to get that one and now let’s move on to the last round.”
Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL, 4th place): “It was not an easy weekend. Our competition, especially Acura and Cadillac, simply had more pace than we did. Still, we had a solid race. The penalty was unfortunate, but race control had announced they would be very strict – and they were for the whole field. Dries did a great job in qualifying and especially at the end. With fourth place we scored important championship points.”
Sheldon van der Linde (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL, 6th place): “Obviously not the result we hoped for in the end. We had the potential to achieve more. The car was stronger than we expected at the beginning of the weekend, which is very positive. We did many things very well this weekend. It’s encouraging to see that we are improving and moving in the right direction but there are also things we need to review. We will do that as a team to come back stronger for Petit Le Mans which is one of the biggest races of the year and one we would all love to win. Hopefully we can finish the year on a high.”