The result allowed the team to complete its first season in IMSA with a win and four podiums additional. Meanwhile, Paul Miller Racing held one of the major accomplishments of the year for BMW M Motorsport to win the drivers ' championship of the category GTD PRO with Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen at the wheel of the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 1.
BMW M Team WRT fight for the victory at Petit Le Mans
The career of ten hours began with the BMW M Hybrid V8 number 24 from the third position of the grill. Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde and Robin Frijns were maintained during much of the competition within the group of head, even after Frijns were to be spun off during the test.
In the final part, Sheldon van der Linde was involved in a direct fight for the victory with Laurens Vanthoor at the wheel of a Porsche. The pilot, south african maintained the pressure until the final laps, but there was no opportunity for the overtaking ultimate.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 number 24 crossed the line in second position, thus closing the first season of the BMW M Team WRT in IMSA with an outstanding result in one of the major endurance races in the calendar.
“Of course, being only a second, you think that we lost the win, but we gave it our all and we do not regret,” said Vincent Vosse, team principal BMW M Team WRT, after the race.
The second prototype of the BMW M Team WRT, the BMW M Hybrid V8 # 25 of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann and Kevin Magnussen, was unable to complete the test. An accident forced the team to retire the car, although Kevin Magnussen came out unscathed from the incident.
A debut season with five podiums
The result at Road Atlanta allowed the BMW M Team WRT complete a debut season with a win and four podiums additional.
The team got their first win of the year in Indianapolis, while he also earned second place at Road Atlanta and Detroit, plus third places at the 24 Hours of Daytona, and Laguna Seca.
For Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport, the performance shown in the last race confirmed the evolution of the program during the season.
“In the category GTP, we are very happy with the second place car number 24. We fight for the victory until the last lap and closed the season on a high,” said Roos.
The Petit Le Mans, also served as a point of reference for the development of the program of BMW M Motorsport in the united States. Vincent Vosse stressed that the objective will be to analyze what you have learned during this first campaign to seek a more consistent performance in every race of the next season.
Paul Miller Racing conquest the title GTD PRO
The celebrations were still higher in the category GTD PRO, where Paul Miller Racing won the championship with the BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 1.
Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen came to the Petit Le Mans with 47 points of disadvantage with respect to leadership, so they needed a favorable outcome to reverse the situation. Along with Dan Harper, both drivers finished third in its category at Road Atlanta, the result enough to secure the title.
For Paul Miller Racing, the championship represents his first overall title since their promotion from the category GTD three years ago.
“We came here with 47 points of disadvantage and we knew that we would need a small miracle to win the title, and what we got,” said Neil Verhagen. “We had a fantastic weekend and also lucky that we had missed in other racing”.
Connor De Phillippi also highlighted the evolution of the team during the season and made the effort to stay in contention for the championship until the last race.
“It started great with the win at Daytona, and after that, we never give up, always fight, we get to the last point, and, finally, we reached another huge career that gave us the title,” said the american pilot.
Turner Motorsport is without the title GTD
The day had a different outcome for Turner Motorsport. The BMW M4 GT3 EVO number 96, driven by Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher and Francis Selldorff, came to Road Atlanta with a chance to win the championship GTD.
However, a technical problem in the early stages of the race forced the team to abandon and finished with your choice of title.
Robby Foley stressed the season performed by Turner Motorsport in spite of the outcome in Petit Le Mans, and noted that the team will search for the championship in the next campaign.
With the second place in the BMW M Hybrid V8 number 24 and the championship GTD PRO managed by Paul Miller Racing, BMW M Motorsport will put an end to his season 2026 in IMSA. The result at Road Atlanta leaves in addition to a first reference for the BMW M Team WRT for your next season at the u.s. championships.
Source: BMW Group