BMW Team RLL returned to the podium in the fourth race of this season’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road America. After a chaotic conclusion to the 2:40-hour race, John Edwards and Jesse Krohn came home third in the GTLM class in the #24 MOTUL BMW M8 GTE.
Connor de Phillippi and Bruno Spengler finished sixth in the second BMW Team RLL car, after suffering a mechanical issue shortly before the end of the race. A heavy shower with 40 minutes to go caused the race to be suspended. When the race was given the green flag with roughly seven minutes remaining, Edwards, who had switched to wet tyres on his BMW M8 GTE just in time, led the GTLM field. As the rain intensified, he was initially able to defend his lead. However, the aquaplaning was so bad on the final lap that Edwards, like a number of other drivers, skidded off the track. Whilst this did result in the loss of first place, the American was able to rescue third place and came home behind the two Corvettes to claim the third spot on the podium.
In the GTD class, Bill Auberlen and Robby Foley were on course for a podium finish in the #96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3 before the race was interrupted due to heavy rain. As Auberlen was not on wet tyres at that point, he had to come in for a pit stop, which saw him drop back to seventh place. Auberlen and Foley also raced together for Turner Motorsport in the Michelin Pilot Challenge. They finished fifth in the #95 BMW M4 GT4, making them the best-placed BMW team.
“Although we scored a podium finish, it’s a disappointing day for me after spinning out of the lead. Conditions were very sketchy and, unfortunately, I aquaplaned and was unable to save the car from going off. The team made a great call to go to wet tyres on my final stop as the rain was imminent. The result does not reflect what they deserved. Still, we ended up with respectable points.”
“We had a great chance to win today, but unfortunately we had a failure. The team did a great job and we deserved a better result. We’ll hope for better luck next time.”
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