BMW Team RLL Looks To Finish With Another Win
BMW Team RLL will be looking to finish the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at this Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans as strongly as it began – with a victory. Since the win at the Rolex 24 At Daytona in January, the team has added two pole positions (Krohn – CTMP, WRLS) and two runner-up finishes (Edwards/Krohn – CTMP, WRLS) to the tally for the BMW M8 GTE IMSA program, completing its second season of endurance racing.
Two of the drivers that shared the Daytona win – Philipp Eng and Colton Herta – will rejoin the team this weekend for the 10-hour contest at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. Eng will co-drive with John Edwards and Jesse Krohn in the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE. Herta, fresh from his IndyCar victory at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca, will co-drive the No. 25 BMW M8 GTE with Connor De Phillippi and Tom Blomqvist. The No. 25 BMW M8 GTE will race in the traditional BMW Motorsport white livery while the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE will race in a special black livery that debuted at WRLS last month. BMW Team RLL drivers stand sixth (De Phillippi), seventh (Edwards, Krohn) and 10th (Blomqvist) in GTLM driver points standings.
The 2019 Motul Petit Le Mans will take place this Saturday, Oct. 12th. The first three hours of the race will be broadcast on NBC beginning at 12:00 p.m. ET. The final five hours of the event will be broadcast on NBCSN with the NBC Sports app covering the race from 3:00 to 5:30 p.m. ET. Follow us on Twitter @BMWUSARacing for news from the pit box and get live scoring and in-car camera views at IMSA.com.
“We have had some success at Road Atlanta over the years and while this year has had some highs and lows, we hope to end the season the way we started it – with a win,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “The high of the season was obviously our win at the 24 Hours At Daytona and lows being some of those like Long Beach and the mid-season races but we look to end on a high note and bookend the year with wins. The pace of the M8 GTE at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park and WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca was pretty good so I’m hopeful that those performances were a precursor of good things to come at Petit Le Mans.
It’s a tough race. If you talk to most drivers they say it’s really a one lane race track in a lot of areas, especially with all the faster traffic coming by you, so the chance of getting caught out by lapping traffic is pretty high. It’s probably one of the more demanding races on our schedule, like Sebring and Daytona. Everyone is looking forward to going. We’re just hoping we have a trouble-free race and if we are able to pull that off, we should be in the hunt.”
Tom Blomqvist, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: “Last race of the season and I can’t believe it is nearly over! I’m looking forward to this race because it’s a track I’ve tested at and I really like the flow of it. It’s also one of the longer races of the season which brings another element to the table. We know our car should be strong there so without a doubt we’re going with high expectations. We’re aiming to end the season the way the boys started it, with a win!”
Connor DePhillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: “Petit is always a big one during the season. Not only is Road Atlanta one of my favorites tracks, but Petit is also the event that sets the tone for the upcoming 2020 season. I’m looking forward to getting on track with the information we’ve learned from the last few events and expect nothing less than to fight for victory.”
Colton Herta, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: “Super excited to be back with BMW and with the whole RLL Team. The car showed a lot of pace when we tested so I’m expecting a great weekend ahead. This race is an awesome one to close out my season and I am really looking forward to it.”
