IMSA

BMW's fourth pole position in IMSA this 2025

Team M Team RLL aims to stop Porsche hegemony in 2025

Photos : IMSA
2025/05/10
Laguna Seca

Belgian driver Dries Vanthoor secured his fourth consecutive pole position of the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8, setting a time of 1:12.854 (110.588 mph) that recalls Ricky Taylor's streak in 2011 when he achieved six consecutive poles in the GRAND-AM championship.

Photo By IMSA

However, the most concerning statistic for BMW is that none of the previous three poles (Daytona, Sebring and Long Beach) have translated into victory. On each occasion, the duo of Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy in the No. 7 Porsche 963 from Porsche Penske Motorsport has taken the top step of the podium, establishing a perfect season start not seen since 2017 when the Taylor brothers achieved five consecutive wins for Wayne Taylor Racing.

The pole is fantastic, but after three unsuccessful attempts we want to convert it into victory. The team has worked intensely since Long Beach to improve our race strategies and execution. We don't want any more questions about when we're going to win

From Long Beach to Laguna Seca: history repeats itself

The previous race at the Long Beach street circuit followed a script BMW hopes not to repeat in Monterey. After securing pole position, the No. 24 BMW was overtaken by the Porsches during an early and perfectly executed pit stop, finishing third while the Porsche 963s claimed the top two positions.

In that 100-minute event, the No. 7 Porsche 963 of Nasr and Tandy demonstrated its superiority by leading 70 of the 75 laps, setting its fastest lap on lap 64 with a time of 1:12.708, just 4 thousandths faster than the No. 6 of Campbell and Jaminet, which now starts second at Laguna Seca.

Photo By IMSA

BMW M Team acknowledges past mistakes

For BMW M Team RLL, this fourth opportunity represents a unique chance to break Porsche Penske Motorsport's streak and begin converting their undeniable single-lap speed into concrete results that will allow them to advance in the championship.

Starting grid for the TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship

Pos	No.	Drivers	Car	Class	Team	Time
1	24	D. Vanthoor / P. Eng	BMW M Hybrid V8	GTP	BMW M Team RLL	1:12.854
2	6	M. Campbell / M. Jaminet	Porsche 963	GTP	Porsche Penske Motorsport	1:12.859
3	7	N. Tandy / F. Nasr	Porsche 963	GTP	Porsche Penske Motorsport	1:12.932
4	10	F. Albuquerque / R. Taylor	Cadillac V-Series.R	GTP	Wayne Taylor Racing	1:13.032
5	60	C. Braun / T. Blomqvist	Acura ARX-06	GTP	Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	1:13.058
6	25	S. van der Linde / M. Wittmann	BMW M Hybrid V8	GTP	BMW M Team RLL	1:13.091
7	40	L. Deletraz / J. Taylor	Cadillac V-Series.R	GTP	Wayne Taylor Racing	1:13.368
8	93	N. Yelloly / R. van der Zande	Acura ARX-06	GTP	Acura Meyer Shank Racing w/Curb Agajanian	1:13.535
9	31	F. Vesti / J. Aitken	Cadillac V-Series.R	GTP	Cadillac Whelen	1:13.544
10	85	G. Bruni / T. van der Helm	Porsche 963	GTP	JDC Miller MotorSports	1:13.651
11	23	R. De Angelis / R. Gunn	Aston Martin Valkyrie	GTP	ASTON MARTIN THOR Team	1:13.718
12	81	G. Altoè / A. Costa	Ferrari 296 GT3	GTDPRO	DragonSpeed	1:20.608
13	48	D. Harper / M. Hesse	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	GTDPRO	Paul Miller Racing	1:20.644
14	3	A. Sims / A. Garcia	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	GTDPRO	Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	1:20.673
15	77	K. Bachler / L. Heinrich	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	GTDPRO	AO Racing	1:20.765
16	4	N. Catsburg / T. Milner	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	GTDPRO	Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports	1:20.883
17	9	M. Mapelli / A. Caldarelli	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	GTDPRO	Pfaff Motorsports	1:20.899
18	65	F. Vervisch / C. Mies	Ford Mustang GT3	GTDPRO	Ford Multimatic Motorsports	1:21.242
19	14	M. Kirchhöfer / A. Telitz	Lexus RC F GT3	GTDPRO	Vasser Sullivan Racing	1:21.291
20	1	N. Verhagen / M. Snow	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	GTDPRO	Paul Miller Racing	1:21.316
21	64	S. Priaulx / M. Rockenfeller	Ford Mustang GT3	GTDPRO	Ford Multimatic Motorsports	1:21.469
22	32	K. Koch / S. Lucas	Mercedes-AMG GT3	GTD	Korthoff Competition Motors	1:20.810
23	36	A. Udell / R. Wickens	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	GTD	DXDT Racing	1:20.819
24	023	R. Agostini / O. Triarsi	Ferrari 296 GT3	GTD	Triarsi Competizione	1:21.010
25	57	P. Ellis / R. Ward	Mercedes-AMG GT3	GTD	Winward Racing	1:21.130
26	45	T. Hindman / D. Formal	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	GTD	Wayne Taylor Racing	1:21.196
27	12	P. Thompson / J. Hawksworth	Lexus RC F GT3	GTD	Vasser Sullivan Racing	1:21.315
28	34	D. Serra / M. Franco	Ferrari 296 GT3	GTD	Conquest Racing	1:21.490
29	96	R. Foley / P. Gallagher	BMW M4 GT3 EVO	GTD	Turner Motorsport	1:21.495
30	78	M. Farnbacher / M. Goikhberg	Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2	GTD	Forte Racing	1:21.768
31	120	E. Skeer / A. Adelson	Porsche 911 GT3 R (992)	GTD	Wright Motorsports	1:21.918
32	66	R. Megennis / J. Altzman	Ford Mustang GT3	GTD	Gradient Racing	1:22.194
33	70	F. Schandorff / B. Iribe	Ferrari 296 GT3	GTD	Inception Racing	1:22.219
34	021	S. McAleer / S. Monk	Ferrari 296 GT3	GTD	Triarsi Competizione	1:23.368
35	13	M. Bell / O. Fidani	Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.R	GTD	AWA	1:23.653
36	27	D. Turner / C. Stevenson	Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo	GTD	Heart of Racing Team

The TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship race will take place this Sunday for 2 hours and 40 minutes, with live coverage on NBC from 3 to 6 p.m. ET. For international fans, IMSA's official YouTube channel will provide full coverage of the event.