BMW Team RLL once again secured a strong result at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca (USA). John Edwards (USA) and Jesse Krohn (FIN), who started from the pole position, drove their black #24 BMW M8 GTE to second place in the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Their team-mates, Tom Blomqvist (GBR) and Connor De Phillippi (USA), came fifth in the GTLM class with their #25 BMW M8 GTE. Victory was secured by the #66 Ford. In the GTD class, Turner Motorsport’s Bill Auberlen (USA), who contested his 425th race in a BMW, and Robby Foley (USA) finished seventh, driving the #96 BMW M6 GT3.
The final round of the 2019 season, the classic Petit Le Mans, will take place on 12th October.
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL): “Jesse did a very good job after he experienced a momentary shut-off. It allowed the Ford to get passed but he recovered and got the job done. Although we had a good pace, the Ford was just better today. You usually get the breaks in traffic when you are leading your class and you don’t when you are second or third. Now, it’s on to Petit Le Mans and work begins to finish the season just as we started it, with a victory.”
John Edwards (#24 BMW M8 GTE, 2nd place): “It feels great to be back on the podium and be back in contention, especially after the previous races where we struggled with our pace. We regrouped, made the necessary changes to the cars and they paid off. Last year, our sister car won here on a great fuel strategy so it is satisfying to be able to compete with the same pace as the other teams.”
Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M8 GTE, 2nd place): “Good day overall. Slight hiccup during my stint when I lost all power and that ultimately cost us the lead and may have cost us the win. It’s tough to know here because traffic plays such a big part but if you are the first car going through the traffic you most likely gain so losing that lead early-on was a bad blow for us. Overall, the team executed very well, the car was working pretty well and we came away with P2. Considering the issue we had, we can be very happy with our result.”
Tom Blomqvist (#25 BMW M8 GTE, 5th place): “Very close at the end and to come so close to the podium and not get the result is a bit disappointing. The guys did a great job this weekend but the Corvettes just managed to get by at the end. Connor did a very commendable job keeping them at bay as long as he did and that helped John and the entire team.”
Connor De Phillippi (#25 BMW M8 GTE, 5th place): “It was a difficult race with tyre degradation issues at the end. I was just trying to hold off the Corvettes at the end but I just could not keep them behind me long enough. We were able to hold them off enough to give the #24 car a good gap and keep it on the podium however. I am very happy with our effort and now we will try to get both cars on the podium at Petit Le Mans.”
