BMW Team RLL targets first BMW M6 GTLM win in Long Beach

BMW Team RLL goes to the American west coast after completing the two endurance classics in Daytona (US) and Sebring (US), hoping for a win. They will be there at Long Beach for the next round of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC). The race begins April 16.

In the history of BMW Team RLL, Long Beach has witnessed many of their successes. Since their first race participation in 2009, BMW has always completed the track and always finished with a podium place. Led by Bobby Rahal, the team championed here three times: with the BMW M3 GT2 in 2011 and with the BMW Z4 GTLM in 2013 and 2015.

The Long Beach street course is 1.968 miles and 100 minutes long. Compared to Sebring and Daytona, this is a very short race for the team.  This year, BMW Team RLL hopes to get the very first win for the new BMW M6 GTLM. So far, the BMW M6 GTLM has showed great potential in its races. Last January, it raced for the first time at the Rolex 24 race in Daytona. One car didn’t finish the race due to some issues, while the other one finished at 5th place. Last March, it participated at the 12 Hours of Sebring race and scored class pole with Bill Auberlen (US) driving it. The car also did the fastest lap, bagged the second place with drivers Bruno Spengler (CA) and Dirk Werner (DE), and finished sixth with Lucas Luhr (DE), John Edwards (US) and Kuno Wittmer (CA) behind the wheel. Right now, BMW has scored enough points to place third in the GTLM manufacturer points ranking. The team is looking to continue the good momentum and score a pole again, similar to the past BMW races in Long Beach.

Team Principal of the BMW Team RLL Bobby Rahal says that the team is definitely very competitive. If he sees anything that could get in the way of winning, that would be the size of the car and the way it takes the street circuit that’s mostly very tight. To overcome this, they plan to use the reliability, pace, and performance of the car with strategies in place.