AllRacing

How BMW, Rahal Letterman Lanigan took one for the road

Sixteen years ago, BMW Rahal Letterman Racing’s two new M3 GT2s finished 1-2 in class at Road America, the first IMSA victory for BMW and its long-time North American racing partners.

There are still two races left before BMW and Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing go their separate ways at the end of the season, and two more opportunities for them to end this chapter on a high note.

But nothing is certain in motorsport, and if their 1-2 finish at Road America ends up being their last shared victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, it’ll be remembered as emotional victory; from the lows of a frightening pit lane incident and a freefall down the order, to the highs of nailing a strategic gamble and finally getting the win that had eluded the team all season.

“I’m very happy for everybody involved in Team RLL,” said race winner Philipp Eng, who first raced for BMW M Team RLL in 2018, and is the only driver who has been with the team since the launch of the BMW M Hybrid V8 program in 2023. “I think they’ve done a fantastic job all season. Yes, it was not faultless from every side, but I think this is racing, and they are a great team.

“It’s funny – because I actually texted with Bobby [Rahal] yesterday after qualifying, saying, ‘Let’s finish this on a high,’ and here we are. I think I should probably text with him more often!”

Eng and co-driver Dries Vanthoor won the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix, with teammates Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde in second.

“1-2 for the first time this year is a huge motivation for the guys. We’ve had a difficult season until now, to say the least,” said runner-up finisher Wittmann. “We’ve always been up there in qualifying, but in the races, we haven’t been able to deliver.”

Vanthoor, who won the pole for the first four races this season – yet could not convert any of them into a victory – echoed the thoughts of his co-driver.

“It’s a great team result, a great result for BMW as well, winning in the GTD [PRO] class, so that’s a great day.

“As Marco said, I think the luck has not always been on our side this season. For sure, we also did many mistakes ourselves, which we have to look in-house for. But today, it worked out.”

BMW M Team RLL’s impending split has been blamed by some on RLL’s inability to maximize the potential of its two cars and its drivers on numerous occasions.

Indeed, before Sunday’s race, there was an air of pessimism (to go with the wildfire smoke) that the two BMWs would find a way to take their second and third place grid positions and squander the opportunity they were given.

BMW split the strategies of its two cars early on, and when both cars fell to the back of the GTP field after pit stops behind the Safety Car early in the first hour, it looked like a repeat of all the other wasted chances this year: Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach, and Laguna Seca.

There have been times this year when BMW RLL didn’t make the most of their opportunities, but it all came together at Road America. Brandon Badroui/IMSA

But nobody at BMW M Team RLL could be blamed for what unfolded. In a busy pit lane, one of RLL’s mechanics – the one who assists with driver changes – was run over by the No. 60 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06 as he came over the wall.

“It was quite a significant hit,” Vanthoor said. “He has a lot of pain in his leg and his eye, and his head doesn’t look so nice. But what I’ve heard is that he will be fine, so I think that’s most important.”

All this unfolded as Eng was trying to get in the car. “My first question was if our mechanic was okay, which apparently he was,” he said. “Then, to focus again and concentrate, because I was standing right next to the scene, was pretty difficult.

“But I got into a good rhythm, and at the end of the day, the team did a strategic masterclass: Boxed us on the very, very early side of the window, and I told myself I just had to bring it home.”

Both BMWs were the first to come in for their final round of routine pit stops, and before any of the other leaders were able to make their final stops, a collision between the No. 7 Penske Porsche and the No. 10 Wayne Taylor Racing Cadillac brought out a Full Course Yellow at just the right time. They not only cycled to first and second, but got enough relief on their energy levels to bring the car home without needing to make another stop.

Eng, who drove the No. 24 car to the finish, said: “The car was really fast. It was on rails, and we had very good balance. I think we just maximized our package: Dries drove brilliantly in the first stint, and both cars did a faultless job – so here we are. And obviously, I’m very, very happy for everyone involved.”

“The strategy was key in trying to bring us back into the game,” said van der Linde. “That’s what we love about IMSA, is that even when you’re last and second-last, you can always find yourself back at the front with good strategy. Obviously, when you’re at the back, you can afford to take that risk – if you’re at the front, you wouldn’t take that kind of risk. So that was, in hindsight, a blessing in disguise to be last and second-last, and we’ll take that, for sure.”

Vanthoor added on the strategy: “Because you’re then in such a bad position, you can take some risks, and it worked out. And also, at the end, our pace actually improved – we were strong enough to stay there.

“Even though we were not on pole position, we got that to work. So it really shows that you don’t need to be on pole, but that you just have to execute a good race. “And we finally made sure we did that.”