BMW Team RLL Qualifies Sixth and Seventh at Road America; Krohn – P6, Sims – P7

Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – Aug. 4, 2018… Demonstrating renewed performance this weekend, BMW Team RLL was unable to improve on its first and fourth place morning practice times and will start the IMSA Continental Tire Road Race Showcase from the sixth and seventh GTLM class positions following today’s 15-minute GTLM class qualifying session.

Jesse Krohn qualified the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE sixth with a time of 2:03.331 minutes on his fifth lap of the classic 4.048-mile, 14-turn Road America circuit. With a 2:03.645 minute time set on his third lap, Alexander Sims qualified the No. 25 BMW M8 GTE seventh. The pole position was won by the No. 66 Ford GT and the entire GTLM field was separated by only 1.194 seconds. Krohn will share the No. 24 M8 with John Edwards and Sims will co-drive the No. 25 M8 with Connor De Phillippi.

Bobby Rahal, Team Principal said, “Obviously we would like to be a little closer to the front, but as these races have proven, it doesn’t really matter where you start. The race tends to take on a different shape than qualifying because of the high speed nature of Road America. So far so good, but we need to make the cars a little better. We’ll debrief shortly to figure out what it is we need.”

Jesse Krohn, driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE (P6): “This afternoon we didn’t have the pace we had earlier. Our competitors found more speed that we couldn’t match. We look closely at the data and make improvements for the race tomorrow.”

Alexander Sims, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE (P7): “The car felt fairly sensible, but for some reason the lap time didn’t come. We were just lacking performance versus this morning’s practice. I’m not sure if other’s improved or if we went backward. After a review of the data I’m sure we’ll find the answers.”

The Continental Tire Road Race Showcase will take the green flag at 1:35 p.m. CT tomorrow and be broadcast on FOX Sports 1 from 2:30 – 5:30 p.m. ET. Follow BMW Team RLL on Twitter at @BMWUSARacing for updates all weekend.

BMW Group in America
BMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 346 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 127 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing
BMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co- owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for almost three decades. Prior to the start of their 27th season of competition in 2018, the team had compiled 42 victories, 53 poles, 162 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) and claimed an Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American Le Mans Series. The following year the team won both the Manufacturer and Team Championships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles – Manufacturer, Team and Driver – in 2011. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a
two car program and has brought their total to 17 wins, 23 poles and 68 podium finishes as well as a second place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.