THE BMW M8 GTE OUT AND ABOUT IN NORTH AMERICA.
THE BMW M8 GTE OUT AND ABOUT IN NORTH AMERICA.
Top-notch cars – top-class racetracks.
GOOSEBUMPS GUARANTEED: EXPERIENCE THE BMW M8 GTE LIVE.
AN OVERVIEW OF THE IMSA SERIES
RACE CALENDAR.
Classics, legendary events and a stressful summer.
The IMSA series remains loyal to its tried and tested concept once again in 2020. The race calendar includes the same destinations as last year, with races being held at some of the most iconic racetracks in North America. The 2020 season consists of a total of twelve race weekends, with BMW Team RLL competing with two BMW M8 GTEs at eleven of these events. The Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 will also contest eleven race events. The real classic, the 24 Hours of Daytona, traditionally marks the start of the calendar. Other highlights include the 12 Hours of Sebring and Petit Le Mans at the end of the year. Things really get going in the IMSA series in June and July; with the events at Watkins Glen, Mosport and Lime Rock Park, three races take place within three weeks, demanding everything from the teams and drivers.
- Daytona.
- Sebring.
- Long Beach.
- Mid-Ohio.
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.
12 Hours of Sebring, 21st March 2020.
After the Daytona opener, the season continues with the next classic, the 12 Hours of Sebring, held on a former airfield.
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 12-hour race has been held at the Sebring International Raceway since 1952. Alexander Sims, Connor De Phillippi and Bill Auberlen took the BMW M8 GTE’s first podium here in 2018.
Long Beach, 18th April 2020.
From east coast to west coast - the spectacular streets of Long Beach host the third race of the season.
Long Beach Street Circuit.
The spectacular street circuit amid the magnificent backdrop of Long Beach measures exactly 3.167 kilometres, making it one of the shortest tracks on the race calendar. The many bumps in particular make the track extremely challenging and are unforgiving of even the most minor errors.
The sprint through the streets of Long Beach.
After the two endurance races at Daytona and Sebring comes the shortest race of the whole season with Long Beach. Drivers battle for the win on the streets of Long Beach over 100 minutes.
Mid-Ohio, 3rd May 2020.
The fourth race of the season leads to Ohio, where the Mid-Ohio Sports Car Course, one of the oldest racetracks, awaits the IMSA drivers, and where BMW Team RLL has its home race.
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 fourth race of the season is its home event. Multitudes of fans at the track give Bobby Rahal’s team an extra motivational boost.
- Watkins Glen.
- Canadian Tire Motorsport.
- Lime Rock Park.
- Road America.
Six Hours of Watkins Glen, 28th June 2020.
Following the GTLM class not being represented at round five of the IMSA series season in Detroit, a real marathon now awaits BMW Team RLL. Three races within three weeks begin with the six-hour race of Watkins Glen.
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.
Canadian Tire Motorsport, 5th July 2020.
No time to breathe! Just one week after the race at Watkins Glen, the teams and drivers head to Bowmanville, where the only Canadian stop of the IMSA season awaits, and the second half of the season gets underway.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park.
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is one of the old-school North American racetracks. The 3.957-kilometre high-speed track is unforgiving of the smallest of mistakes and demands everything of the drivers – particularly courage.
Canadian stopover.
The Canadian Tire Motorsport Park is famous mainly thanks to Formula 1. The track – also known as Mosport to many – hosted the Canadian Grand Prix from 1967 to 1977.
Lime Rock Park, 18th July 2020.
Just two weeks after the Canadian stopover comes the next highlight on the IMSA calendar. Lime Rock Park is the setting for the Northeast Grand Prix.
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.
Road America, 2nd August 2020.
For the teams and drivers it’s on to Wisconsin. Around 25 kilometres away from the west shore of Lake Michigan lies the racetrack Road America, of which Bobby Rahal’s team has always had fond memories.
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.
- Laguna Seca Raceway.
- Petit Le Mans.
Virginia International Raceway, 23rd August 2020.
With just two races of the season left after this one at the Virginia International Raceway, the IMSA series is entering the finishing straight. 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.
Laguna Seca Raceway, 13th September 2020.
For the penultimate race of the IMSA season, the drivers and teams return to California where one of the most well-known racetracks and a legendary turn await.
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 hunting ground.
After the BMW M8 GTE’s maiden win in 2018, BMW Team RLL celebrated its second success in a row here. The previous season, John Edwards and Jesse Krohn finished second to secure another podium.
Petit Le Mans, 10th October 2020.
Traditionally, the North American GT and sports car season ends with the ten-hour endurance race in Georgia. ‘Petit Le Mans’ at Road Atlanta is one of the most prestigious endurance races in North America and is the perfect setting for the season finale.
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 finished on the podium at the season finale every one of the past three years. The team took a much-acclaimed win with the BMW M6 GTLM in 2017, and finished third with the BMW M8 GTE in both 2018 and 2019.
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.
