BMW Ends IMSA Season with Triumph and Transition at Petit Le Mans

BMW closed out the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a mixture of celebration and sentiment at Highway Atlanta. For Paul Miller Racing it was a giant evening, claiming a commanding GTD PRO class victory and the 2025 IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title. Nevertheless for BMW M Workforce RLL, the evening was bittersweet.

The race marked an emotional finale for BMW M Workforce RLL, which wrapped up its 17-year partnership with BMW M Motorsport. The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 was on target for a robust top-four end till a late puncture dropped it to ninth. The sister #25 automobile, hampered by two drive-through penalties, completed eleventh. Regardless of the outcomes, each vehicles confirmed real tempo, underscoring the competitiveness of the M Hybrid V8 in its last outing with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

After practically 20 years collectively, the collaboration between BMW and RLL has yielded 25 victories, greater than 100 podiums, and a deep legacy of success throughout GT and prototype eras. Beginning in 2026, the manufacturing facility GTP program transitions to BMW M Workforce WRT, signaling a brand new section in BMW’s top-level endurance racing technique.

In distinction to the heartbreak in GTP, Paul Miller Racing’s day was near flawless. Harper, who secured pole place for the second consecutive race, led the cost because the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO dominated from begin to end. With a clear race and faultless execution from the workforce, the trio’s win got here by a snug margin—an exclamation level on a debut IMSA season that noticed the younger pairing of Harper and Hesse arrive within the American endurance scene with speedy affect.

“Petit Le Mans is among the hardest races to win,” stated Hesse. “The truth that we did it on our first try, and took the Endurance Cup title too, is unimaginable.” Harper echoed the sentiment, including, “It was an ideal race. The automobile doesn’t have a scratch on it—remarkable for a ten-hour run at Highway Atlanta.”

BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos praised the workforce’s efficiency whereas reflecting on RLL’s last outing. “Congratulations to Paul Miller Racing, Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Connor De Phillippi on a implausible victory and title win. Sadly, issues didn’t go as we hoped within the GTP class. For 9 hours and fifty minutes we have been on target for second within the standings, however luck wasn’t on our aspect. Nonetheless, I need to sincerely thank BMW M Workforce RLL for his or her dedication and loyalty over so a few years.”

Turner Motorsport rounded out the BMW effort within the GTD class, with Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker taking eighth at school after a clear if uneventful run.

Petit Le Mans usually delivers each glory and heartbreak, and this 12 months was no exception. For BMW, it was an evening that celebrated the following technology of endurance expertise whereas closing the e-book on one in every of its longest and most profitable partnerships in fashionable racing.

2026 will usher in a brand new period with BMW M Workforce WRT main the GTP program—armed with the teachings, spirit, and momentum constructed over practically 20 years with RLL. And for Harper, Hesse, and Paul Miller Racing, their story is simply simply getting began.