BMW M Team RLL executed a perfect strategy at Road America to secure their second 1-2 finish in GTP. Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor won the Motul SportsCar Grand Prix with the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, followed by Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde in the #25.

The key to success came from the decision to pit with one hour remaining in the race. A caution period seven minutes later flipped the positions in favor of the BMWs, who capitalized to move to the front of the field. Nick Yelloly and Renger van der Zande completed the podium with the #93 Meyer Shank Racing Acura ARX-06.

Photo By IMSA

Van der Zande applies pressure until the end

The Dutch Acura driver kept the pressure on the BMWs until the final minutes of the race. Van der Zande closed to within one second of the leaders with five minutes remaining but couldn't complete the pass in Road America's final corners.

The victory marks the first win of the season for BMW M Team RLL, who hadn't won since Indianapolis in September 2024. The team had accumulated four consecutive poles (Daytona, Sebring, Long Beach, Laguna Seca) but only podiums at Long Beach and Laguna Seca prior to this weekend. Their best previous results were third-place finishes for the Vanthoor/Eng duo in the #24 car.

The Road America triumph gains greater significance as it comes in one of the final three races before BMW M Team RLL's dissolution. The German manufacturer will end its 17-year partnership with the American team after the 2025 season.

Photo By IMSA

Verhagen and Snow win in GTD PRO

BMW extended its success to GTD PRO where Neil Verhagen and Madison Snow took the #1 Paul Miller Racing M4 GT3 EVO to victory. The #64 Multimatic Motorsports Ford Mustang GT3 finished second, while the #81 DragonSpeed Ferrari 296 GT3 completed the class podium.

In LMP2, Dane Cameron and PJ Hyett claimed their second consecutive win with AO Racing's #99 "Spike" ORECA LMP2 07. The pair beat Connor De Phillippi and Jeremy Clarke in the #43 Inter Europol Competition entry, with Mikkel Jensen and Steven Thomas finishing third in the #11 TDS Racing car.

Koch decides GTD in final minutes

The GTD class saw its most intense moment in the final seven minutes when Kenton Koch passed Alec Udell in Turn 6. Koch and Onofrio Triarsi took the #021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari 296 GT3 to victory, relegating the #78 Forte Racing Lamborghini Huracan GT3 Evo2 to second.

The #36 DXDT Racing Corvette Z06 GT3.R, driven by Udell and Robert Wickens, lost positions in the closing minutes to finish eighth. The car features a specially adapted Bosch electronic braking system for Wickens.

VIRginia International Raceway hosts GT classes on August 25

The IMSA calendar continues with the Michelin GT Challenge at VIRginia International Raceway on August 25, an event exclusively for GT categories. All four WeatherTech Championship classes will return to action for the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on September 21 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Photo By IMSA

Only two races remain for BMW-RLL

BMW and RLL will contest just two more races before their final separation: Indianapolis Motor Speedway (September 21) and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta (October 11). Team WRT, operator of BMW's WEC Hypercar program, appears as the leading candidate to take over the M Hybrid V8 program from 2026, despite the Belgian team not yet matching RLL's GTP results.

The BMW-RLL partnership produced championships with the E92 M3 GT2 (2010-2011), victories with the Z4 GTE (2013-2015), and peaked with the M8 GTE: consecutive GTLM wins at the 24 Hours of Daytona (2019-2020). Their combined record includes 26 wins and multiple IMSA championships, making this separation the end of an era.

Photo By IMSA