BMW M Hybrid V8 Breaks Its Duck With Victory At Indianapolis

The wait is finally over for the BMW M Hybrid V8. At the penultimate round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, BMW M Team WRT scored its first outright victory in North America, winning the 2-hour 40-minute Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis. Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde shared the #24 car. For van der Linde, it was a maiden IMSA win, and for the squad it marked a breakthrough after a debut GTP season of near misses.

The groundwork was laid in qualifying, where Vanthoor put the car third on the grid. The decisive move came late. Van der Linde lined up Earl Bamber a handful of laps from the flag and made the pass stick, then managed the gap cleanly to the chequered flag. It was the team’s fourth podium of its first GTP campaign and the first time it had reached the top step. Vanthoor had tasted IMSA victory once before, taking Road America in 2025 with BMW M Team RLL alongside Philipp Eng.

The sister #25 entry had a far rougher afternoon. Eng and Marco Wittmann finished tenth after Wittmann made contact with an Aston Martin while attempting a pass, drawing a drive-through penalty. The German took full responsibility afterwards and offered an apology to the rival team. It was a blunt reminder of how quickly a strong weekend can unravel in sports car racing.

There was more silverware in the GTD class. Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher put the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO on top for Turner Motorsport, ending a victory drought stretching back more than two years. Foley held station at the front after the restart and built a cushion he never surrendered. Paul Miller Racing was not so fortunate. The #1 M4 GT3 EVO ran in contention for a GTD PRO podium before repeated contact in the closing stages pushed Neil Verhagen and Connor De Phillippi down to sixth and off the road entirely at one point.

That result cost the pair their lead in the GTD PRO standings, though the title is far from settled. Both Turner Motorsport and Paul Miller Racing head to the season finale with a shot at the crown, and Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta in two weeks will decide it. BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos called the GTP win overdue and admitted to a sense of relief as much as celebration. After a year of building the programme from scratch, WRT has something tangible to show for it.