On the same day that the BMW M4 GT3 EVO claimed victory at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (GER), the car also celebrated its first win in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. BMW M works drivers Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER) triumphed in the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from Paul Miller Racing in the GTD PRO class at the Six Hours of the Glen. For the duo, it was their first victory in North America. Meanwhile, BMW M Team RLL faced a challenging race with the BMW M Hybrid V8 at Watkins Glen (USA).
From the start of the race weekend, it was clear that the BMW M Hybrid V8 would struggle compared to some competitors. The pace conditions were not ideal. Additionally, neither car crew drove a flawless race from starting positions six and seven. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Marco Wittmann (GER), retired after an accident involving Wittmann. The #24 car, piloted by Philipp Eng (AUT) and Dries Vanthoor (BEL), managed to stay with the leading group in a race with numerous yellow flags but could not finish higher than eighth in a strategic poker at the end.
In contrast, there was immense celebration for Harper, Hesse, and Paul Miller Racing. The team and drivers started from second in their class and made a remarkable comeback after an early setback. Harper incurred a 60-second stop-and-go penalty for crossing the red pit-exit light after a pit stop, dropping the duo to last place. However, numerous yellow flags and a perfect strategy returned the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO to the front. Paul Miller Racing was even on course for a one-two finish, but a late-race technical penalty for low tyre pressure dropped the #1 car, driven by Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen, and Connor De Phillippi (all USA), from second to eighth. In the GTD class, Turner Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA), was also on course for a podium finish but fell to eighth due to incidents in the final stage of the race.
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport: “This was a race with mixed emotions for us at BMW M Motorsport. I am absolutely thrilled about the first victory of our BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the IMSA series! Paul Miller Racing has shown strong performances throughout the season and was often close to victory. Now it finally happened! Congratulations to Dan Harper and Max Hesse on their first win in North America! It’s unfortunate that the sister car and the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO from Turner Motorsport couldn’t make it to the podium despite also having strong races. Overall, our GT3 programme in the U.S. is in excellent shape. Our BMW M Hybrid V8 had to fight with blunt weapons at Watkins Glen. BMW M Team RLL and our drivers gave it their all, but unfortunately, we didn’t have the flawless race we needed to make the most of the circumstances. Now we are determined to return to our former strength at the next GTP class race in Road America.”
Philipp Eng (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL, 8th place): “Unfortunately, it was a frustrating race. From the start of the weekend, we knew we were going into the race with difficult conditions compared to some competitors. We simply didn’t have the necessary pace. On top of that, we didn’t have a perfect race. Especially in the final stint, there might have been some opportunities through strategy, but we didn’t make the optimal decisions.”
Dan Harper (#48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, 1st place GTD PRO): “We kept a cool head in a hot race. Unfortunately, I made a mistake at the pit exit early on, which earned us the penalty. I’m very glad we were able to make up for it during the race. Max did the hard work in the middle of the race to bring us back to the front. The team had a perfect strategy and fantastic pit stops. I asked the team to let me drive the final stint to make up for my earlier mistake. Luckily, we managed to do that together, and we were able to celebrate our first win of the season. We’ve had good pace in almost every race so far, and now we’ve finally been rewarded with the right result. Hopefully, this is the start of a strong second half of the season.”
Max Hesse (#48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, Paul Miller Racing, 1st place GTD PRO): “It was an incredibly good weekend for us at Watkins Glen. The team told us beforehand that they’ve often been strong here in the past, so we were really looking forward to it, but the race was anything but easy. With second place in qualifying by Dan and a good start, things initially went great, but then the rain came, and we got the 60-second penalty, which dropped us to last place. We were frustrated because we thought we had thrown away a top result but there were many yellow flags, and our car was very strong on restarts. I gradually worked my way back to first place, and Dan did an amazing job in the final stint. I’m very proud and happy for the team. Unfortunately, the #1 car had the penalty at the end. The team deserved a one-two finish. After five races, we are now third in the championship and have two podiums. Things are going well for us here in North America.”
