BMW M Hybrid V8 Secures BMW 1-2 At Road America Race Triumph

The BMW M Hybrid V8 stamped its authority at Road America as BMW M Team RLL delivered a polished one-two, with Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor guiding the #24 to the flag ahead of Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde in the #25. From the moment the lights went out, both prototypes showed front-row pace, then overcame mid-race turbulence to control the closing stint with clinical precision.

Photo from BMWGroup PressClub Global

Qualifying set the tone with strong lap times, but the race demanded resilience. A pit-lane incident involving another prototype delayed both cars and briefly shuffled them to the tail of the GTP pack, with an RLL mechanic thankfully only lightly hurt. The pit wall responded with a bold call, pulling both cars into an early final fuel window to position them for the next full-course yellow. When the race bunched up, the strategy clicked into place. With clean out-laps, tidy traffic management and ironclad tyre discipline, Eng and Wittmann cycled to the front and never let the lead slip.

Photo from BMWGroup PressClub Global

What stood out was the car’s all-around balance. The M Hybrid V8 carried speed through the high-load sweepers, remained stable over Road America’s bumps and kerbs, and found traction when it mattered most while carving past lapped traffic. The pair of RLL machines managed energy, brakes and aero wake with composure, turning a risky call into a textbook execution over the final hour. After a run of poles and podiums earlier in the season, this was the breakthrough that the programme’s form had promised.

BMW’s day went from strong to superb in GTD PRO, where Paul Miller Racing’s #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Neil Verhagen and Madison Snow, converted pace into a well-earned class win. Their campaign has been building momentum, and the Road America result underlines the GT3 package’s consistency under pressure. The sister BMW of Dan Harper and Max Hesse battled through a scrappy, safety-car-punctuated contest to seventh, while Turner Motorsport’s #96 narrowly missed the GTD podium in fourth after a punchy stint cycle and robust traffic handling.

Across both classes, the common thread was execution. Sharp pit work after early drama, confident calls from the stand and cars that responded to every tweak made the difference. With two rounds left on the calendar, BMW M Team RLL can bank not only silverware but also a data set full of positives on tyre life, fuel strategy and race-pace durability. If Road America is any indication, the M Hybrid V8 has found the sweet spot between outright pace and control, and that makes it a formidable proposition for the run-in.

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