Woodcliff Lake, NJ Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – July 15, 2022 . . . Connor De Phillippi qualified the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3 third in the GTD PRO class but following a failure of post-qualifying technical inspection will start at the rear of the 15-car GT class field in tomorrow’s two-hour-and-forty-minute Northeast Grand Prix. De Phillippi posted a 51.227- minute lap around the 1.5-mile, 7-turn Lime Rock Park circuit, only .148 seconds behind the pole-sitting No. 9 Porsche 911 GT3R. The BMW was moved to the rear of the field for failing to meet the minimum ride height. De Phillippi will co-drive with John Edwards tomorrow. The pair stands sixth in GTD PRO class driver point standings with a season’s-best third place finish at Laguna Seca earlier this year.
In the GTD class, Robby Foley posted the fourth fastest time with a 51.490- minute lap. He will co-drive the No. 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M4 GT3 tomorrow with Bill Auberlen. The No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, will start seventh, following Snow’s 51.651-minute qualifying lap. Sellers and Snow lead the GTD class Sprint Cup Championship points standings. Auberlen and Foley stand fourth in Sprint Cup points.
Connor De Phillippi – BMW M Team RLL, No. 25 MOTUL BMW M4 GT3 (P3): “We made a few improvements in the second practice session and squeezed as much as we could from our qualifying package. Success tomorrow will be a result of clever strategy and quick out laps after each pit stop.”
The two-hour-and-forty-minute FCP Euro Northeast Grand Prix takes the green flag at 3:05 p.m. tomorrow and will be broadcast on USA beginning at 5 p.m. ET. IMSA Radio also provides a flag-to-flag broadcast.
BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; a technology office in Silicon Valley and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, X6 and X7 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 350 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers,146 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.
Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Indianapolis, Indiana and co-owned by three-time INDYCAR Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for over three decades. Prior to the start of their 31st season of competition in 2022, the team had compiled 54 victories, 66 poles, 222 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011), claimed two Indianapolis 500 victories (Buddy Rice in 2004, Takuma Sato in 2020) and two Rolex 24 at Daytona victories. In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le Mans Series. The following year the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles – Manufacturer, Team, and Driver – in 2011. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team, and Manufacturer Championship. From 2014 to 2021, BMW Team RLL competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two-car program and brought their total to 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 28 poles and 94 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2022 season. The team earned second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and were the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions. For 2022, BMW M Team RLL will compete in the GTD Pro class while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class of IMSA for 2023.
Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com and www.press.bmwgroup.com/usa.
BMW M Motorsports Northeast Grand Prix IMSA