motorsportnews Second place in Virginia for M8 GTE
The Motul sponsored Spengler/De Philippi #25 M8 GTE swept to a second place finish in the GTLM Class at VIR, and then a few weeks later they charged to class victory at Atlanta, holding off a Chevrolet Corvette C8.R to clinch the win
BMW Team RLL enjoyed a mixed bag of results at the latest round of the IMSAWeathertech Sportscar Championship in late August at Virginia International Raceway (VIR). Qualifying - The #25 BMW M8 GTE qualified third in the hands of Connor De Phillippi and Bruno Spengler, with the sister #24 car of Edwards/Krohn just a place behind, starting from fourth position.
Race - The race itself, held over 2-hours 40-minutes, was pretty undramatic. Pole position-holder Nick Tandy and Fred Makowiecki led the race comfortably in their Porsche 911 RSR, followed by the Corvette C8.R of Taylor/Garcia and the De Philippi/ Spengler #25 M8 GTE. Unfortunately the #24 M8 GTE piloted by Edwards/ Krohn suffered a mechanical problem early in the race, which was eventually
fixed by their pit crew but it sadly left them 19 laps down and they brought the car home in sixth spot. The race took a dramatic twist with just 18 minutes to go when the Tandy/Makowiecki 911 RSR suffered a bad cut to the left rear tyre, forcing Tandy into the pit to change tyres. He emerged in third position with the De Philippi/Spengler M8 GTE moving up into second. As hard as the BMW drivers tried, they couldn’t pass the Taylor/Garcia Corvette, which had fortuitously taken the lead after the Porsche’s puncture, and they held on to finish as winners of the GTLM Class in their Chevrolet Corvette C8.R. De Philippi/Spengler had to be extremely mindful of the hard charging Tandy in the 911 RSR in the final few laps, which allowed Garcia time to relax in the winning Corvette while the BMW pairing had to then defend their second place from Tandy’s rapid Porsche. At the chequered flag the M8 GTE of De Philippi/Spengler managed to fend off Tandy’s 911 RSR to secure second place on the podium for the BMW team. A disappointed Tandy was disconsolate on finishing third – that’s racing!
BMW’s M8 GTE victorious in Atlanta! BMW Team RLL swept to GTLM Class victory in the 254-lap, 6 Hour TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta in early September, as the BMW M8 GTEs secured a one-three finish for BMW Motorsport. Qualifying – A tough session for the BMW M8 GTEs saw the #25 car of De Philippi/Spengler qualify fifth in class and the #24 car of Edwards/Krohn sixth. Nick Tandy snatched pole in his Porsche 911 RSR, but this time qualifying for the entire six-car class was separated by a miniscule 0.192 seconds, about half the time it takes a human to blink, promising a close race the following day. Race – Tandy had a good start in the 911 RSR, followed by the two Corvettes and the second 911 RSR, but the BMWs kept Tandy in their sights as the race settled down. As the cars made their pit stops the lead changed hands several times over the next five hours, but with 55mins to go the #25 M8 GTE made its move. Spengler pitted early, and after a quick splash and dash and with a new set of tyres safely onboard, De Philippi stormed out of the pits in pursuit of the Porsches and Corvettes. The early stop took the rival teams by surprise as they pitted one lap later, and as they pitted, De Philippi, his tyres now nicely warm, performed a masterclass in overtaking as he swept past the leaders on their outlap. The opposition Porsches and Corvettes, still bringing their tyres up to full operating temperature, couldn’t do anything to stop the BMW as it picked them off one by one to take the lead. De Philippi then opened up a comfortable four second gap on the second placed Corvette C8.R and was
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BMW Car Club Magazine October 2020
cruising to victory until panic ensued – a collision between a Cadillac, Acura and a Ferrari brought out a full-course caution with 12 minutes left on the clock, which bunched everyone back up. When the track was finally cleared and the green flag waved, there was just a two-lap shootout remaining. Thankfully, De Phillippi kept his cool and wasted no time in putting several slower GT Daytona cars between himself and the Milner/Gavin Corvette as a buffer and pulled away to win by 4.383 seconds. Krohn/Edwards gave BMW Team RLL a pair of podium finishes by bringing their #24 BMW M8 GTE home in third place. This win puts De Phillippi and Spengler third in the GTLM Drivers Championship and BMW second in the Manufacturers Championship, just eight points behind Chevrolet.
Bruno Spengler and Connor De Philippi celebrate on the podium after victory in the 6 Hour TireRack.com Grand Prix at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
