motorsportnews So near yet so far… BMW Motorsport’s M4 GT3s improve hugely in the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race, but ultimately miss out on a podium finish… The performance of BMW Motorsport’s M4 GT3s improved immensely for the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring race, after their poor showing last time out at the 24H of Daytona, where they were so far off the pace it was embarrassing! The #24 and #25 BMW M Team RLL M4 GT3’s qualified in 7th and 8th places for the race in the GT Pro Class, while the M4 GT3s of Turner Motorsport and Paul Miller Racing qualified in 2nd and 4th in the GTD Class. Race – The race started uneventfully for the #24 M4 GT3 M4 GT3 as they held their qualifying position in the first couple of hours. The #24 M4 GT3 then started to move up through the field into the podium positions and briefly lead the GT Pro class by the halfway mark. From then on it was involved in a thrilling battle for the lead with a Corvette C8.R and Lamborghini Huracan GT3 as the second six hours turned into a proper sprint race. The car ran like clockwork, the team acted cleverly on strategy as drivers Eng, Yelloly and Wittmann faultlessly completed their laps. Then, while lying in second position and with just one hour before the chequered flag, the #24 suffered a gearbox issue and dropped off the podium positions, finally finishing in
The #24 M4 GT3 looked like it was going to clinch a class win before gearbox problems meant the team had to be happy with a 4th place finish
fourth spot. The sister #25 M4 GT3 raced into the top three in the opening stage of the race, showing great promise but suffered a setback after two hours. A power steering issue resulted in a long repair. This dropped the trio of Augusto Farfus (BRA), John Edwards (USA) and Connor De Phillippi (USA) down the field but they continued the race. They brought #25 home in tenth place. The two BMW M teams in the GTD class also had an eventful 12 hours, but
did not end with the results they would have deserved. At Turner Motorsport, Sebring marked the 500th BMW race for Bill Auberlen and, until the eighth hour, it looked that the Californian would be celebrating that milestone. Auberlen, who shared the #96 M4 GT3 with Robby Foley and Michael Dinan, had taken the GTD lead but then got hit at the rear by another competitor and spun into the grass. This dropped the #96 back to eighth in class. But the Turner Motorsport drivers fought their way back and with three and a half hours to go, Auberlen brought the car back in the lead. The #96 M4 GT3 comfortably held on to top spot before losing ground in the final stages due to a team mistake, crossing the line in fourth place in class. The newest BMW Motorsport family member, Paul Miller Racing, experienced bad luck in the race too. In the first three hours, the #1 BMW M4 GT3 was fighting for the lead with the Turner Motorsport M4 GT3 in the GTD class. But then the Paul Miller Racing M4 GT3 was hit by a prototype racer that was avoiding a spinning car. This was a major setback for the #1 car as it was on for a very strong result in its first race. Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers and Erik Johansson (SWE) eventually finished 16th in the GTD class after the team performed miracles in repairing all the damage to get the car back in the race…
The Turner Motorsport M4 GT3 twice led the race and looked on for a class win until a team mistake meant they came home also fourth in class
16 BMW Car Club Magazine April 2022
www.bmwcarclubgb.uk
