BMW M Motorsport, Team RLL soak up Watkins Glen win

Connor De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly didn’t get to celebrate their apparent victory for the BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 in the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen, but should the penalty for the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 survive the protest from PPM, the victory is BMW’s first win in the new era of GTP, and the first win for a BMW prototype since 1999.

Also notable is the fact that in five races, all four marques participating in the GTP category in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship have achieved a victory, with only Cadillac winning more than one so far.

More IMSA!

Porsche Penske to protest Watkins Glen penalty

Martin uses Saturday Porsche Deluxe Carrera Cup race to finish what he started on Friday

UPDATE: RLL BMW wins Watkins Glen Six Hour after Porsche penalized post-race

“I am incredibly happy for the entire team, who have more than earned this victory through their hard work,” said Nick Yelloly. “We have been steadily improving, and the first win was within reach. It wasn’t the way we wanted to win, as we prefer to win on the track and celebrate on the podium. However, we gladly accept the victory nonetheless – after all, it is the first for the BMW M Hybrid V8 and also my first in the IMSA series. Therefore, it holds a special significance for all of us.”

Both BMWs had shown good speed throughout the weekend, and would have likely started near the front had qualifying not been rained out with the field gridded on points. While the chances for the No. 24 ended at the start with Augusto Farfus spinning and hitting the barrier, the No. 25 battled all race long and got out front with a solid late-race strategy. If De Phillippi had some better breaks in traffic, they might have been celebrating victory on the podium instead of hours later.

BMW has acknowledged it got a late start in building its M Hybrid V8 LMDh car, and it showed in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. But by Sebring the cars were solid, and the No. 25 garnered a second-place finish when the top three went out in a big late-race crash. At Long Beach they were competing on outright pace, and at Watkins Glen the on-track victory could easily have been theirs.

“Wow! The first victory for the BMW M Hybrid V8 – a historic day for BMW M Motorsport and a significant milestone for our LMDh project!” said Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport. “While we would have preferred to win on the track, this success is the result of long, hard work and the well-deserved reward for the fantastic performances of everyone involved in this program. I am particularly delighted that our pace was consistently strong throughout the weekend, and we set the top times. We have been improving from race to race, and we have earned our first victory in the GTP class. I am incredibly proud of our entire crew.”

The outcome isn’t definite yet, as Porsche Penske Motorsport is protesting the penalty levied against the No. 6 963 for a skid plank being out of specification that moved them from first to last in class.

Story originally appeared on Racer