THE BMW M8 GTE OUT AND
ABOUT IN NORTH AMERICA.
GOOSEBUMPS GUARANTEED: EXPERIENCE THE BMW M8 GTE LIVE.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE IMSA SERIES
RACE CALENDAR.
After the interruption due to the worldwide outbreak of the coronavirus, the IMSA series is set to return to action on the first weekend in July. On America’s national holiday, the series will continue the season with a sprint race at the legendary Daytona International Speedway. A tight schedule with nine further race weekends awaits the teams and drivers between then and 14th November. Autumn in particular will be hardcore. Within the space of five weeks, fans can look forward to four top-class races, including BMW Team RLL’s home race. The season ends with a real classic, the 12-hour race at Sebring. The legendary track on the former airfield in Florida will have already hosted IMSA in July for a sprint race. Also on the calendar is the renowned ‘Petit Le Mans’.
- Daytona.
- Daytona.
- Sebring.
- Road America.
24 Hours of Daytona, 25th/26th January 2020.
Traditionally, the IMSA season kicks off with a highlight in the 24 Hours of Daytona. The Florida track is one of the most iconic tracks in the United States.
Daytona International Speedway.
Daytona International Speedway is infamous primarily due to its banked turns with an incline of up to 31 percent. The race is held on the 5.729-kilometre track version.
The endurance classic on the calendar.
The endurance classic has been held since 1966. The BMW M8 GTE made its race debut here in 2018 and the following year Connor De Phillippi, Augusto Farfus, Colton Herta and Philipp Eng claimed the GT car’s biggest success to date with their win, Farfus, John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert repeated the victory for BMW Team RLL at the start of the 2020 season.
Daytona, 4th July 2020.
On America’s national holiday, the IMSA series is set to return to action in a legendary location. The season will resume at the Daytona International Speedway after the interruption due to the global coronavirus pandemic. This is the same place that Augusto Farfus, John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Chaz Mostert celebrated victory in the 24-hour race at the season opener.
Daytona International Speedway.
Daytona International Speedway is infamous primarily due to its banked turns with an incline of up to 31 percent. The race is held on the 5.729-kilometre track version.
Green light for restart.
After the traditional 24-hour race at the start of the season, Daytona will host an IMSA race for the second time in 2020. The restart on the legendary racetrack will last two hours and 40 minutes.
Sebring, 18th July 2020.
Just two weeks after the restart, the action continues on another legendary racetrack. The venue for the third race of the season is the former airfield in Florida, which is also where the season will draw to a close with the iconic 12-hour race.
Sebring International Raceway.
A total of 17 challenging turns await drivers at the decommissioned airfield in Florida. The track surface poses an additional challenge for the teams with some sections of the 6.019-kilometre track being asphalt, while other sections are concrete.
Maiden podium 2018.
The legendary 12-hour race has been held at the Sebring International Raceway since 1952. Alexander Sims, Connor De Phillippi and Bill Auberlen took the first podium finish with the BMW M8 GTE there in 2018. The third race of the season will last two hours and 40 minutes.
Road America, 2nd August 2020.
The teams and drivers move on to Wisconsin. Around 25 kilometres from the west shore of Lake Michigan is where you will find the Road America racetrack, a track that Bobby Rahal’s team has always had fond memories of.
Road America.
Road America is an ‘old-school’ fast and fluid track for drivers and teams. Covering a distance of 6.437 kilometres, the track at Elkhart Lake is the longest on the whole calendar. Most infamous is the ‘Kink’ – a bend on the back straight that demands a lot of courage from drivers.
Glorious past.
The race at Elkhart Lake is very special for BMW Team RLL as Bill Auberlen and Joey Hand gifted Bobby Rahal’s team its first win with a BMW in 2009. BMW Team RLL topped the podium here again in 2010 and 2012. It’s not without reason that Bobby Rahal has declared Road America his favourite track in North America.
- Virginia International Raceway.
- Watkins Glen.
- Lime Rock Park.
- Mid-Ohio.
Virginia International Raceway, 23rd August 2020.
The Virginia International Raceway is home to the fifth round of the new IMSA calendar. The track, close to the North Carolina border, has been a permanent fixture on the IMSA calendar for many years.
Virginia International Raceway.
Since it opened in 1957, ‘America’s Motorsport Resort’ has really lived up to its reputation as one of the most challenging tracks in North America. Over 5.263 kilometres, fast and fluid sections alternate with slow and technically demanding sectors. The differences in elevation make for an additional challenge.
A win for the history books.
The track is not only very popular with drivers and fans, the circuit has also established itself in the history of BMW M Motorsport. In its maiden season, it was here that the BMW M8 GTE had its first win in 2018.
Six Hours of Watkins Glen, 6th September 2020.
Two weeks after the race in Virgina, BMW Team RLL head to Watkins Glen for a six-hour race.
Watkins Glen International.
Watkins Glen is regarded as one of the most exciting racetracks in the world and has been iconic since its time as a Formula 1 track. The 5.472-kilometre track, with its plethora of fast, fluid series of bends guarantees gripping wheel-to-wheel duels.
The Glen.
Between 1971 and 1980, the USA Grand Prix at Watkins Glen was extremely popular with drivers, teams and fans. The Turner Motorsport team in particular feels really at home at Watkins Glen – the team took a win and a second place here in recent times.
Lime Rock Park, 12th September 2020.
The next race of the 2020 IMSA season will be held at the shortest racetrack on the whole calendar. Lime Rock Park is where the Northeast Grand Prix is held.
Lime Rock Park.
Measuring in at just 2.414 kilometres, the track in the U.S. state of Connecticut is the shortest on the entire calendar. Although the track layout looks simple, drivers say it is one of the trickiest on the whole calendar.
Racing at its best.
Located amid Connecticut’s hilly forests, the race exudes a charm all of its own. Spectators in the natural grandstands lining the track have been giving the Northeast Grand Prix a festival feeling since its inception. A spot at the first turn is particularly sought-after, from where you can see the entire start-finish straight.
Mid-Ohio, 27th September 2020.
Four races in the space of five weeks: the race calendar is jam-packed with racing action for IMSA fans in autumn. First up in this critical phase of the season is BMW Team RLL’s home race on the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course.
The 3.86-kilometre track near Lexington in the U.S. state of Ohio is one of the USA’s iconic racetracks. Slow, medium and fast turns make for wide variety for the drivers and gripping duels for the fans.
Home sweet home.
For BMW Team RLL, the seventh race of the season is its home event. Multitudes of fans at the track give Bobby Rahal’s team an extra motivational boost.
- Petit Le Mans.
- Laguna Seca Raceway.
- Sebring.
Petit Le Mans, 17th October 2020.
In recent years the IMSA series has held its season finale there, this year drivers and teams will enter the finishing straight of the season at ‘Petit Le Mans’. The ten-hour race at Road Atlanta is one of the most prestigious endurance races in North America.
Road Atlanta.
One of the most legendary racetracks is the setting for the season finale with the 4.088-kilometre track being a real corker and very popular with drivers. The fast combination of turns in the first sector of the track in particular guarantees pure racing action.
Entering the winter break on a high.
BMW Team RLL has stood on the podium three times in a row at ‘Petit Le Mans’ in recent years. There was a much-acclaimed victory with the BMW M6 GTLM in 2017, and in 2018 and 2019 the BMW M8 GTE finished third in both years. Will the streak continue in 2020?
Laguna Seca Raceway, 1st November 2020.
After the race in Connecticut it’s on to the west coast of the USA, where one of the most iconic racetracks and a legendary turn await. BMW have enjoyed many successes there in the past.
Laguna Seca Raceway.
The 3.602-kilometre track at the edge of Monterey Bay in northern California is one of the best-known tracks in the USA. Laguna Seca has one turn in particular to thank for its reputation as a legendary track, the world-famous ‘Corkscrew’ – where drivers tackle a blind crest leading straight into a steep downward-plunging chicane.
Successful BMW history.
Back in 1975, Hans-Joachim Stuck won there in the legendary BMW 3.0 CSL, but BMW has also celebrated numerous successes in California more recently. There was a one-two result with the BMW Z4 GTLM in 2015, John Edwards and Martin Tomczyk won in the BMW M6 GTLM in 2015 and Connor De Phillippi and Alexander Sims celebrated victory in the BMW M8 GTE in 2018. Last season Edwards and Jesse Krohn claimed another podium for second place.
12h of Sebring, 14th November 2020.
After the series hosted the third race of the season on the former airfield in July, teams and drivers will return to Florida for the season grand finale.
Sebring International Raceway.
A total of 17 challenging turns await drivers at the decommissioned airfield in Florida. The track surface poses an additional challenge for the teams with some sections of the 6.019-kilometre track being asphalt, while other sections are concrete.
The grand finale.
The 12 Hours of Sebring has always been an absolute classic in international GT racing. This year sees the endurance race gain even more significance. The championship race will be decided here on 14th November.
BMW power in North America.
The BMW M8 GTE has been causing a stir on the USA’s most iconic racetracks and giving fans goose bumps since 2018. The BMW flagship model has already clinched three wins.
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Venue
|
Date
|
|---|---|
|
01 Daytona
|
25th - 26th January 2020
|
|
02 Daytona
|
4th July 2020
|
|
03 Sebring
|
18th July 2020
|
|
04 Road America
|
2nd August 2020
|
|
05 Virginia International Raceway
|
23rd August 2020
|
|
06 Watkins Glen
|
6th September 2020
|
|
07 Lime Rock Park
|
12th September 2020
|
|
08 Mid-Ohio
|
27th September 2020
|
|
09 Petit Le Mans
|
17th October 2020
|
|
10 Laguna Seca
|
1st November 2020
|
|
11 Sebring
|
14th November 2020
|
|
Venue
|
Date
|
Venue
|
Date
|
|---|---|---|---|
|
01 Daytona
|
25th - 26th January 2020
|
07 Lime Rock Park
|
12th September 2020
|
|
02 Daytona
|
4th July 2020
|
08 Mid-Ohio
|
27th September 2020
|
|
03 Sebring
|
18th July 2020
|
09 Petit Le Mans
|
17th October 2020
|
|
04 Road America
|
2nd August 2020
|
10 Laguna Seca
|
1st November 2020
|
|
05 Virginia International Raceway
|
23rd August 2020
|
11 Sebring
|
14th November 2020
|
|
06 Watkins Glen
|
6th September 2020
|
|
|
