2024 年 3 月 17 日
性能强劲，但缺乏必要的比赛运气——这就是 BMW M Team RLL 赛百灵 12 小时耐力赛（美国）的总结。在 IMSA WeatherTech 跑车锦标赛（IMSA 系列）赛季的第二场比赛中，25 号 BMW M Hybrid V8 在一场激动人心的比赛中以第四名的成绩冲过终点线。
赛百灵。性能强劲，但缺乏必要的比赛运气——这就是 BMW M Team RLL 赛百灵 12 小时耐力赛（美国）的总结。在 IMSA WeatherTech 跑车锦标赛（IMSA 系列）赛季的第二场比赛中，25 号 BMW M Hybrid V8 在一场激动人心的比赛中以第四名的成绩冲过终点线。编号为 24 的姊妹车获得第六名。在 GTD-PRO 组别中，Paul Miller Racing 驾驶 1 号 BMW M4 GT3 险些登上领奖台，最终获得第四名。Turner Motorsport 驾驶 96 号 BMW M4 GT3 在 GTD 组别中获得第六名。
在一场平衡的顶级 GTP 组别比赛中，驾驶 25 号 BMW M Hybrid V8 的 Connor De Phillippi（美国）、Nick Yelloly（英国）和 Maxime Martin（比利时）在整个比赛过程中始终保持领先地位。他们甚至有时领先比赛。然而，在众多黄色阶段的最后阶段之后，他们在最后冲刺中错失了登上领奖台的机会。驾驶 24 号 BMW M Hybrid V8 的 Jesse Krohn（芬兰）、Philipp Eng（奥地利）和 Augusto Farfus（巴西）不幸遭遇缓慢爆胎和尾翼损坏。尽管如此，他们还是以第六名的成绩获得了重要的积分，甚至在落后一圈的情况下奋起反击。
在 GTD 组别中，BMW M Motorsport 车队也缺乏必要的赛车运气来庆祝登上领奖台。麦迪逊·斯诺 (Madison Snow)、布莱恩·塞勒斯 (Bryan Sellers) 和尼尔·维尔哈根 (Neil Verhagen)（均来自美国）驾驶 1 号 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 在 GTD-PRO 组别中获得第四名。在 GTD 类别中，Robby Foley、Patrick Gallagher 和 Jake Walker（均来自美国）获得第六名。比赛期间，两辆车都在各自组别中名列前茅。
赛后评论：
Andreas Roos（BMW M 赛车运动部负责人）： “赛百灵 12 小时耐力赛直到最后都令人兴奋。地点是在最后一个小时才决定的。我们的 BMW M Hybrid V8 在比赛中表现出了良好的速度。最后，我们在最后一个黄色阶段的时间安排上有点不走运，因为它让一些竞争对手重新回到领先地位的争夺中。不幸的是，最终还不足以登上领奖台，但很高兴看到我们自代托纳以来的努力得到了回报，我们能够显着提高赛车的性能和可靠性。为此，我感谢 BMW M Motorsport 和 BMW M Team RLL 的所有人。在 GTD 组别中，BMW M4 GT3 已经证明了它可以在这里争夺胜利。总的来说，我们在所有课程中都证明了性能基本上是正确的。如果有更多的比赛运气，我们希望能将其转化为登上领奖台的位置。”
Bobby Rahal（BMW M Team RLL 车队领队）： “去年我们非常幸运，获得了第二名。这次我们的赛车更强了，但运气稍差，我们获得了第四和第六名。没关系，但还没有达到我们想要的目标。车队的进站表现很好，赛车也很可靠，但当然，我们仍然可以进一步改进，以迎接下一场比赛。”
Maxime Martin（#25 BMW M Hybrid V8，第 4 名）： “我们表现出了良好的潜力，但遗憾的是未能登上领奖台。我们的比赛干净利落，作为第一支没有登上领奖台的车队当然很烦人。我第一次参加顶级赛百灵比赛是一次很棒的经历。能够在这样的比赛中争取总冠军的感觉很好。虽然赛道很艰难，但我玩得很开心。”
Jesse Krohn（#24 BMW M Hybrid V8，第六名）： “我们仍然不知道我们的车出了什么问题。这对所有车手来说都感觉很奇怪，我们无法达到我们需要的单圈时间。我先有这个问题，然后菲利普和奥古斯托也出现了问题。我们现在需要对此进行精确分析。尽管如此，我认为我们确实限制了损害。我们得到了重要的观点。情况可能会更糟。”
Sebring 12 Hours: BMW M Team RLL narrowly misses the podium.
17.03.2024
Strong performance, but lacking the necessary racing luck – that’s how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) can be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line in fourth place after a race that was exciting until the end.
Sebring. Strong performance, but lacking the necessary racing luck – that’s how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) can be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line in fourth place after a race that was exciting until the end. The sister car with number 24 finished sixth. In the GTD-PRO class, Paul Miller Racing narrowly missed the podium with the #1 BMW M4 GT3, finishing in fourth place. Turner Motorsport took sixth place in the GTD class with the #96 BMW M4 GT3.
In a balanced race in the top GTP class, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race distance. They even led the race at times. However, after the last of numerous yellow phases, they just missed out on a podium finish in the final sprint. Jesse Krohn (FIN), Philipp Eng (AUT), and Augusto Farfus (BRA) in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were unlucky with a slow puncture and a damaged rear wing. Nevertheless, they scored important points by finishing sixth and even fought their way back from a lap down.
In the GTD categories, the BMW M Motorsport teams also lacked the necessary racing luck to celebrate on the podium. In the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Neil Verhagen (all USA) finished fourth in the GTD-PRO class. In the GTD category, Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA) took sixth place. During the race, both cars had led their classes.
Comments after the race:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “The 12 Hours of Sebring were exciting until the end. The places were only decided in the last hour. Our BMW M Hybrid V8 showed during the race that its pace is good. In the end, we were a bit unlucky with the timing of one of the last yellow phases, as it allowed some competitors to come back into the fight for the lead. Unfortunately, it wasn’t enough for a podium in the end, but it’s good to see that our hard work since Daytona has paid off and we were able to significantly improve both the performance and the reliability of the cars. For that, I thank everyone at BMW M Motorsport and the BMW M Team RLL. In the GTD categories, the BMW M4 GT3 has shown that it can compete for the win here. Overall, we have proven in all classes that the performance is fundamentally right. With a bit more racing luck, we hope to convert that into podium places.”
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal BMW M Team RLL): “Last year we were very lucky and finished second. This time our cars were much stronger, but with a bit less luck, we finished fourth and sixth. That’s okay, but not yet where we want to be. The team’s pit stops were good, the cars were reliable, but of course, we can still improve a bit more with a view to the next races.”
Maxime Martin (#25 BMW M Hybrid V8, 4th place): “We showed good potential, but unfortunately didn’t quite make it to the podium. We had a clean race, and it’s of course annoying to be the first crew not on the podium. My first Sebring race in the top category was a great experience. It feels good to be able to fight for the overall win in such a race. The track is tough, but I had a lot of fun.”
Jesse Krohn (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, 6th place): “We still don’t know what was wrong with our car. It felt strange for all drivers, and we couldn’t drive the lap times we needed. I had it first, then the problem also occurred with Philipp and Augusto. We now need to analyse this precisely. Nevertheless, I think we did damage limitation. We got important points. It could have been much worse.”
