Following a second place overall, and GTP class finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring on March 18th, BMW M Team RLL has now prepared both BMW M Hybrid V8 racing cars for the shortest race of the 2023 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar season. The April 15th, 100-minute Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach will be held on the 1.968-mile, 11-turn temporary circuit that sets a concrete-lined stage for an always challenging event.

This season’s race will be especially challenging for three of the four BMW M Team RLL drivers. Both No. 24 drivers, Philipp Eng and Augusto Farfus, as well as No. 25 driver Nick Yelloly will be making their very first Long Beach start. Only Yelloly’s co-driver Connor De Phillippi has experience at Long Beach.

With the Rolex 24 At Daytona and Twelve Hours of Sebring complete, the team has continued to analyze and understand how to better the performance of the new BMW M Hybrid V8. DiL (driver-in-the-loop) simulator work was recently completed with all four drivers with a focus on qualifying performance because of the unique nature of the Long Beach circuit and short duration of the race.

Last week, IMSA made changes to the GTP class Balance of Performance (BoP) resulting in a four-kilogram (8.8 lb.) reduction in the weight of the BMW M Hybrid V8 as well as a 2 kW (2.6 horsepower) power increase at peak levels and 2 Megajoules (0.56 kWh) of additional maximum stint energy.

“Long Beach is always a great event and we’ve had very good success there in past seasons with BMW,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “This year, with the BMW M Hybrid V8, it’s an entirely different animal. But as always, at a tight street circuit, where it’s tough to pass, a good qualifying effort is paramount.”

Connor De Phillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “Long Beach is always a special event for us. It’s the shortest race of the year, our only street course, and the strategic possibilities are endless. On top of that, we have a nice wave of momentum from our Sebring podium and the entire team is making a big push to bring a lot of improvements from every department. We don’t have prototype experience there but I’m confident we can learn from last year and fight for another podium.”

Nick Yelloly, driver No. 25 BMW M Hybrid V8: “I am really looking forward to racing at Long Beach. It will be my first time there, as with most of the tracks in the US. After having watched it for many years on TV, to be finally driving is a dream come true, as I love street circuits. We will be looking to continue to make progress as we did in Sebring with our BMW V8 Hybrid and hopefully be at the sharp end of the field."

Philipp Eng, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “I am very much looking forward to racing at Long Beach, which is a new track for me. I have done a million laps around there on the simulator, so I can’t wait to race there in real life. We took some major steps in Sebring and our whole team is working very diligently so we keep improving.”

Augusto Farfus, driver No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8: “Long Beach will be a challenge for both me and Philipp. I believe we may be the only pair to have never driven this circuit. It is certainly a race I have been looking forward to and looks to be a very exciting event. I have been watching many videos. We will push hard to get up to speed. The team made some good improvements to our BMW at Sebring, and we will look to continue to close the gap to our competition.”

The GT Daytona class will see three BMW M4 GT3 entries. Coming off this year’s Sebring 12 Hour victory, the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW of Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow, returns to Long Beach as defending race winners and 2022 GTD Sprint Cup Champions. Turner Motorsport has two entries, the No. 96 LIQUI-MOLY BMW of Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher and the No. 97 McIntosh BMW of Bill Auberlen and Chandler Hull. Foley and Gallagher, and Michael Dinan finished second at Sebring. Auberlen and Hull have moved to the GTD class from GTD PRO for the Sprint Cup races.

Practice and qualifying for the Long Beach Grand Prix will be held on Friday, April 14. The Acura Long Beach Grand Prix is scheduled to take the green flag at 2:05 p.m. local time. The race will be streamed live on Peacock Plus and broadcast on USA at 5:00 p.m. ET.

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 as well as the BMW XM. 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, 104 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 Zionsville, 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 32nd season of competition in 2023 and their 15th with BMW, the team had compiled 54 victories, 67 poles, 225 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. In 2022, BMW M Team RLL competed in the GTD PRO class in IMSA while simultaneously ramping up for a two-car program in the much-anticipated GTP class in IMSA for 2023. In total, the team has earned 22 wins – including the 2019 and 2020 Rolex 24 at Daytona endurance races, 30 poles and 96 podium finishes prior to the start of the 2023 season. BMW M Team RLL highlights also include second-place finishes in the Manufacturer, Team, and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017 and being named the 2020 Michelin North American Endurance Champions.

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