BMW M Hybrid V8 secures pole position and podium finish once more at Laguna Seca, according to IMSA.
In a thrilling race at the historic Laguna Seca circuit, BMW Team RLL secured their second consecutive podium finish with Dries Vanthoor and Philipp Eng taking third place in the GTP class. The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 car battled for victory until the end, with Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann finishing in fourth place in the sister #25 car, marking their best result of the season so far.
Vanthoor, who claimed the fourth consecutive pole position in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, maintained the lead at the start of the race and held a several-second advantage for the first 50 minutes. However, lapped traffic allowed the chasing cars to close the gap, leading to a tense battle for the top three.
Vanthoor expressed that P3 was almost the maximum they could have achieved and that they still have work to do to win a race. Eng concurred, stating that they had the pace and the package but didn't quite manage to win the race.
BMW M Team RLL showed a strong performance at Laguna Seca, with both #24 and #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 cars delivering a solid performance throughout the race. The team's improved performance was confirmed by Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, who praised the collective effort of the team.
In the GTD class, Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher (both USA) finished ninth in the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO car, while Madison Snow and Neil Verhagen were tenth in the GTD-Pro class in the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO car. Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER) took fifth place in the GTD-Pro class in the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO car.
Despite the strong showing at Laguna Seca, BMW Team RLL is currently trailing Porsche Penske Motorsport in the GTP championship, with the leading positions held by Mathieu Jaminet and Matt Campbell in the #6 car and Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr in the #7 car.
For the most detailed and up-to-date driver rankings, fans are encouraged to refer to the official IMSA website or the latest race results pages. The next race in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship will take place at Road America on 18-20 June.
Dries Vanthoor and Philipp Eng, despite having the pace and the package to potentially win, acknowledged that their third-place finish in the racing event at Laguna Seca was almost the limit of their capabilities in the ongoing battle against the top positions. In other sports, Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, competing in the GTD class, managed to secure a ninth-place finish, while Daniel Harper and Max Hesse clinched fifth place in the GTD-Pro class.
