Munich. The BMW teams experienced mixed fortunes at the ninth
round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC),
held at Road America (USA). While BMW Team RLL had a difficult
Sunday in the GTLM class, the Turner Motorsport team celebrated a
commanding win in the GTD class.
The two BMW Team RLL BMW M6 GTLM cars finished sixth and seventh of
the GTLM class respectively. Alexander Sims (GBR) and Bill Auberlen
(USA) started from third on the grid in the number 25 car. Sims
quickly jumped into second and began hounding the leader. The Brit
handed over to Auberlen on lap 25. The experienced BMW driver was
forced to return to the pits with a suspension issue. The crew
effected repairs to the damper, but the number car 25 lost two laps.
Two caution periods in the final hour of the race allowed Sims, who
replaced Auberlen on lap 51, to regain the lead lap and challenge for
a fourth place finish. Contact, however, with a Corvette on the final
lap of the race caused damage which slowed Sims’ progress and he
ultimately finished sixth.
Martin Tomczyk (GER) and John Edwards (USA) set the fifth fastest
time in qualifying with the number 24 sister car but were forced to
start from the rear after a precautionary engine change. Tomczyk,
however, put in a strong catch-up bid and soon worked his way towards
the front. He brought the number 24 BMW M6 GTLM in for a stop on lap
19 and hand over to Edwards. The American improved to second place.
Unfortunately, the last caution period was caused by the number 24 car
when Edwards ran out of fuel at the pit lane entrance as the team
tried to maximise fuel mileage. He was towed back to the paddock and
refuelled but in the closing minutes of the race was unable to make up
the two laps lost.
In the GTD class, Jens Klingmann (GER) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) started
second on the grid in the number 96 Turner Motorsport BMW M6 GT3.
Krohn soon took the lead in the class and pulled away from his rivals.
Klingmann then extended the advantage further to over 16 seconds. The
cautions allowed their competitors to get closer again but Klingmann
managed the lead and crossed the line as the class winner.
Bill Auberlen (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “That race was
quite a roller coaster ride. We were up, then down, then up again, and
on the last lap right back down again.”
Alexander Sims (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM): “The end of the
race was very exciting. The BMW M6 GTLM was working very well and I
was better under braking than the Corvette in a few corners. On the
white flag lap he had a bad run out coming out of the last corner and
I was right behind him. Between turns one and three I felt I was close
enough to make a move, but by the time we entered the corner the gap
disappeared and a disappointing finish is the result.”
John Edwards (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “Considering where
we started the race we knew we would have to get clever with strategy.
We gambled today, but it did not pay off.”
Martin Tomczyk (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM): “After showing
how competitive we were in free practice today’s result was very
disappointing. A miscalculation ended what could have been a good day.”