BMW M Hybrid V8 finishes fifth and seventh in Detroit IMSA round

BMW M Team RLL ends podium streak with 5th and 7th places in Detroit's IMSA sprint. Both GTD PRO entries face setbacks despite strong qualifying.

After a strong start to the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, BMW M Team RLL hit a rough patch in Detroit. For the first time this season, both BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes missed the podium in a sprint race, with fifth and seventh-place finishes on the narrow city circuit.

Qualifying had looked promising. Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor secured third and fourth on the grid, respectively, hinting at another solid result. But the 100-minute race quickly proved otherwise. In a tightly packed field filled with contact and limited overtaking opportunities, progress was hard to come by. Vanthoor, who dropped two positions at the start, handed the #24 car over to Philipp Eng. A slightly later pit stop put Eng back on track ahead of van der Linde’s co-driver Marco Wittmann. Although Wittmann initially finished sixth, a post-race penalty for overtaking under yellow flags pushed the #25 entry down to seventh.

The GTD PRO class brought its own frustrations for Paul Miller Racing. After starting third and fourth, hopes were high. But the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen suffered technical issues and dropped out of contention, finishing 11th in class. The #48 duo of Dan Harper and Max Hesse spent much of the race in podium contention until a collision and a drive-through penalty dropped them back to seventh.

BMW M Motorsport Head Andreas Roos acknowledged the disappointment: “Things looked promising after qualifying in both classes, but we couldn't hold on in a tough race with lots of contact.” He confirmed the team would analyze what went wrong with the #1 car and shift focus to the next round at Watkins Glen—a venue where the BMW M Hybrid V8 has performed well in the past.

Drivers Vanthoor and van der Linde both pointed to race strategy as a key area for improvement. With four consecutive pole positions and two straight podiums now in the rear-view mirror, the team is looking to regroup and start a new run of success at Watkins Glen.