Munich. BMW Team RLL is preparing for the next round of the
2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC), held at
Virginia International Raceway (USA) this weekend. The Michelin GT
Challenge will feature a GT only race for the second time in the
season, placing a spotlight on BMW Team RLL’s GTLM class points
chase.
The driver pairing of the #25 BMW M6 GTLM, Bill Auberlen (USA) and
Alexander Sims (GBR), currently stand third in the Driver points, only
one point from second and nine points from first. Their team-mates in
the #24 car, John Edwards (USA) and Martin Tomczyk (GER), stand
seventh, while BMW is third in the Manufacturer points.
A run of six podium finishes by the team, including two wins by
Auberlen and Sims, in four consecutive races ended with sixth and
eighth place finishes at the last race, held at Road America in
Elkhart Lake (USA). With only three races remaining this season, the
two-hour-and-forty-minute race at VIR takes on increased significance
for the championship campaign. The Michelin GT Challenge at VIR takes
the green flag at 1:35 p.m. local time on Sunday, 27th August.
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL): “We
haven’t won at VIR but we have certainly run competitively. Traffic
plays a huge role in the race and there are long straights so
acceleration out of the corner and top speed is pretty critical at
VIR. We feel pretty good about our chances. It’s just a matter of
putting good laps together in qualifying and staying out of trouble so
we can be in the hunt. We look forward to it and hopefully we can
overcome the disappointment at Elkhart Lake and bring home another win
for BMW.”
Bill Auberlen (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “VIR is an
amazing track that should suit the BMW M6 GTLM. It’s almost a four-way
tie for first in the championship with three races to go. We need
perfection from here to the season’s end.”
Alexander Sims (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “Virginia should
be good fun and hopefully our BMW will work well there. It’s a bit
slower than some of the other circuits we’ve been strong at so we’ll
have to be at the top of our game to take it to our competitors. I go
there feeling optimistic we can get a bit of momentum back to our
championship challenge.”
John Edwards (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “VIR is one of the
best circuits in the US, and it’s a GT only battle which means the
competition will be as fierce as ever in GTLM. Usually we can try to
use prototype traffic to our advantage, but with no prototypes on
track we will be fighting for every last thousandth of a second. I’m
excited to get back to racing!”
Martin Tomczyk (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “VIR definitely
has a great layout. Unfortunately, I did not have the chance to go
testing at the track. After the very disappointing weekend in Road
America I am looking forward to fighting for the podium again. We are
motivated for the last third of the season.”