[Jason]

BIMMERPOST NEWS

BMW Team RLL Results From Long Beach

21
COMMENTS

Tweet

April 9, 2017

BMW Team RLL finished a season’s-best fourth and seventh in today’s BUBBA burger SportsCar Grand Prix of Long Beach (GBR). The No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM of Bill Auberlen (USA) and Alexander Sims (GBR) finished fourth while the No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM of John Edwards (USA) and Martin Tomczyk (GER) salvaged seventh place after a power loss due to a temporary electrical issue dropped Tomczyk from the lead of the race with only 10 minutes remaining.

For the first 90 minutes of the race BMW Team RLL was in control of the race, executing a strategy that put the team in position for the BMW M6 GTLM program’s first win.

The concrete-walled, unforgiving environs of a temporary street circuit showed its teeth only one minute after the green flag flew to start the 100-minute street fight as one prototype and three of the leading GTLM cars were involved in an incident that created the first caution period of the contest. Bill Auberlen, starting the No. 25 M6 from the fifth position, skillfully dodged the wreckage and moved into second place. John Edwards also gained three positions, moving into fourth.

A second yellow flag for debris on track waved 16 minutes later and the team quickly decided to split strategies, pitting Edwards for fuel, tyres and to hand over to Martin Tomczyk. Auberlen stayed out, conserving his second place position while Tomczyk rejoined the field, still in the fourth spot. Auberlen was called to the pits on lap 25, handing over to Alexander Sims who rejoined the field in the eighth position. As other competitors pitted Tomczyk inherited the lead of the race on lap 29.

The German Motorsport driver took over as the race’s overall leader on lap 34 as the faster prototype cars pitted during the race’s fourth caution period. Tomczyk got the news from the crew that he had enough fuel to reach the checkered flag. Sims circulated further back in the field in the sixth position.

Tomczyk controlled the class lead during two more restarts, but with only 10 minutes remaining a loss of power due to a temporary electrical issue slowed the No. 24 machine. He ultimately finished seventh. Sims took advantage of a last lap incident in turn 11 and squeezed by stopped cars to grab the fourth position. Bret Curtis (USA) and Jens Klingmann (GER) came ninth in the GTD class with the BMW M6 GT3 of team Turner Motorsport.

Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL): “It was a shame to have an electrical issue within sight of the checkered flag. Our strategy was certainly working and Martin was doing a great job, but today was not our day. I’m sure everyone is disappointed, but on the positive side we seem to be on pace with the rest of the field.”

Bill Auberlen (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM, 4th place): “Because of circumstances I was able to gain positions early. I was hoping to be the car that pitted first when our strategy was split, but our teammates got the call and it probably would have won them the race except for their late race electrical issue. We are still a work in progress, but we are certainly making progress. We don’t have that first win, but I sense it isn’t too far away now.”

Alexander Sims (No. 25 BMW M6 GTLM, 4th place): “In the first couple of laps, Bill took advantage of an incident and then ran in second for his entire stint. We pitted, on probably a more conservative strategy quite honestly, and that was what put us behind a bunch of cars. In the middle of my stint I felt that this one had got away from us and then with various incidents and full course yellows we were able to pick up a few spots. We ended up fourth, and for me coming into Long Beach, I learned a lot, got into the groove and did some solid laps. When you run in second, you think you can be on the podium but it wasn’t to be for us today. In the end we still came away with a fairly sensible result.”

John Edwards (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM, 7th place): “We ran a great race. We were on an alternate strategy which paid off with a lot of yellows but unfortunately we had an electrical issue that took us out of contention so it’s pretty heartbreaking.”

Martin Tomczyk (No. 24 BMW M6 GTLM, 7th place): “It looked quite good for us from the beginning of the weekend but unfortunately our luck turned against us in the race. We ran a good strategy, quite a risky strategy, but it worked out due to the yellows that allowed us to save enough fuel to make it to the end. It was quite tough to drive but the performance was good. Unfortunately we had a technical issue with the car that ended our hopes for a podium.”

[aveillez]

Get rid of the M6. It's been a disappointment since day one. Bring the M4 !!

[Eau_Rouge111]

I miss the Z4 race cars...those looked mean and sounded great! M6 is a tank more than it is a race car

[m4282]

Originally Posted by aveillez

Get rid of the M6. It's been a disappointment since day one. Bring the M4 !!

I agree not sure why the m4 isn't used here....

[mookie45]

These M6's have been nothing but problems since day one. So frustrating!

[bradleyland]

Tomczyk was under pressure when the electrical issue hit, but for the first time, the M6 GTLM was able to hold its ground. Such a let down.

[N & M]

This must be frustrating after the success of DTM.

Can't wait for that elusive breakout moment.

[N & M]

Originally Posted by Eau_Rouge111

I miss the Z4 race cars...those looked mean and sounded great! M6 is a tank more than it is a race car

Every time I see Mercedes win there I think... it should have been the BMW guys.

[FrankiE90]

Electrical issue - what in a BMW... race car? Nah..

[TheBingoBalls]

Originally Posted by FrankiE90

Electrical issue - what in a BMW... race car? Nah..

[drjoe66]

Salvaged 7th place.....seriously?

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by N & M

This must be frustrating after the success of DTM.

Can't wait for that elusive breakout moment.

Tomczyk threw some serious shade in the M6 GTLM's direction on FB after the race, but he's since taken it down... No surprise there. IMO, he was perfectly justified. I'm betting he just about ripped the wheel off when he pulled in to the pits.

[N & M]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Tomczyk threw some serious shade in the M6 GTLM's direction on FB after the race, but he's since taken it down... No surprise there. IMO, he was perfectly justified. I'm betting he just about ripped the wheel off when he pulled in to the pits.

I feel for him. They should just be better. It is that simple.

[3M TAPE]

Sad ending..
1st place to 7th place.

[IS3andME]

"For the first 90 minutes of the race BMW Team RLL was in control of the race, executing a strategy that put the team in position for the BMW M6 GTLM program’s first win."

As long as the Corvettes and Ford GTs (and to a lesser extent the Porsche 911 RSRs, and Ferrari 488) are running strong the M6 GTLM will be hard pressed to win against them.

And to those asking why the M4 is not being used, think about that for a sec. Really think about it.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by IS3andME

"For the first 90 minutes of the race BMW Team RLL was in control of the race, executing a strategy that put the team in position for the BMW M6 GTLM program’s first win."

As long as the Corvettes and Ford GTs (and to a lesser extent the Porsche 911 RSRs, and Ferrari 488) are running strong the M6 GTLM will be hard pressed to win against them.

And to those asking why the M4 is not being used, think about that for a sec. Really think about it.

Well, that's kind of the idea, isn't it? Everyone races hard, and on equal footing?

IMO, this is the first time in a long time that BMW have been on-pace. I'm hoping that IMSA leave the GTLM class alone for a bit. I'm also hoping that The B Pillar does the same analysis on this race as he did Sebring. This was a sprint race, so I'm not sure he will. Fingers crossed!

[conradb]

Team Corvette checking in. 8) I was there this whole weekend.

[IS3andME]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

Well, that's kind of the idea, isn't it? Everyone races hard, and on equal footing?

IMO, this is the first time in a long time that BMW have been on-pace. I'm hoping that IMSA leave the GTLM class alone for a bit. I'm also hoping that The B Pillar does the same analysis on this race as he did Sebring. This was a sprint race, so I'm not sure he will. Fingers crossed!

What I am saying is that as long there is the Corvettes, unless BMW consults a Voodoo priest, they will hard pressed. And let's not forget Corvette may be going to a mid engine set up. But, yes, you are correct.

If IMSA leaves GTLM along for a while like you want, get used to the M6s being outclassed. The GTLM class is shaping up to be the new GT1 class. And there is was one the front-mid engined Panoz Esperante GTR-1 that was a fronted engined car that made a dent (a small one).

Ford has the mid engined GT, Ferrari the mid engined 488, Porsche has created the mid engined 911 RSR, all it needs is elongated bodywork and turbos, and it would be the '96 911 GT1 all over again. There is a prototype mid engine Corvette in the works, and chances are that will be raced. So, the handwriting is on the wall that this class will be mid engined, with aero work. And so, where does that leave the heavy ass BMW M6 with the large frontal area?
Possibly GTD.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by IS3andME

What I am saying is that as long there is the Corvettes, unless BMW consults a Voodoo priest, they will hard pressed. And let's not forget Corvette may be going to a mid engine set up. But, yes, you are correct.

If IMSA leaves GTLM along for a while like you want, get used to the M6s being outclassed. The GTLM class is shaping up to be the new GT1 class. And there is was one the front-mid engined Panoz Esperante GTR-1 that was a fronted engined car that made a dent (a small one).

Ford has the mid engined GT, Ferrari the mid engined 488, Porsche has created the mid engined 911 RSR, all it needs is elongated bodywork and turbos, and it would be the '96 911 GT1 all over again. There is a prototype mid engine Corvette in the works, and chances are that will be raced. So, the handwriting is on the wall that this class will be mid engined, with aero work. And so, where does that leave the heavy ass BMW M6 with the large frontal area?
Possibly GTD.

I'm not getting in to this argument again. This is homologation racing with BoP. The fact that the M6 GTLM is front mid-engine does not automatically make it uncompetitive. The M6 GTLM received a mid-range boost bump as part of a BoP adjustment, which is (IMO) why it was more on-pace in this race. I'm doing some statistical analysis to see exactly where the M6 GTLM landed this time around.

The reason Porsche went mid-engine is because hanging the engine off the rear transaxle got in the way of the rear diffuser.

[E9TOU]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

I'm not getting in to this argument again. This is homologation racing with BoP. The fact that the M6 GTLM is front mid-engine does not automatically make it uncompetitive. The M6 GTLM received a mid-range boost bump as part of a BoP adjustment, which is (IMO) why it was more on-pace in this race. I'm doing some statistical analysis to see exactly where the M6 GTLM landed this time around.

The reason Porsche went mid-engine is because hanging the engine off the rear transaxle got in the way of the rear diffuser.

I agree with you about the M6 not being competitive because it's not mid-engined. BoP, in theory will always bring the field back together. However, for this race in particular -- don't you think the M6's were closer to the front because of nature of Long Beach and the tight/short track and the short race time? The M6 had a good strategy call and some good yellow flags that allowed it to get to the top, but I always feel like they are the underdog and the other GTLM cars can more than match its speed.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by E9TOU

I agree with you about the M6 not being competitive because it's not mid-engined. BoP, in theory will always bring the field back together. However, for this race in particular -- don't you think the M6's were closer to the front because of nature of Long Beach and the tight/short track and the short race time? The M6 had a good strategy call and some good yellow flags that allowed it to get to the top, but I always feel like they are the underdog and the other GTLM cars can more than match its speed.

Yeah, the fact that this was a sprint race makes it a much tougher call. Daytona and Sebring are very different races, so my call could absolutely be off. I felt like the M6 GTLM was able to fight off attacks though. At both Daytona and Sebring, the competition were driving around the M6 GTLM like it was traffic. I hope the BoP package actually helped, but I agree it remains to be seen.

[conradb]

Originally Posted by IS3andME

What I am saying is that as long there is the Corvettes, unless BMW consults a Voodoo priest, they will hard pressed. And let's not forget Corvette may be going to a mid engine set up. But, yes, you are correct.

If IMSA leaves GTLM along for a while like you want, get used to the M6s being outclassed. The GTLM class is shaping up to be the new GT1 class. And there is was one the front-mid engined Panoz Esperante GTR-1 that was a fronted engined car that made a dent (a small one).

Ford has the mid engined GT, Ferrari the mid engined 488, Porsche has created the mid engined 911 RSR, all it needs is elongated bodywork and turbos, and it would be the '96 911 GT1 all over again. There is a prototype mid engine Corvette in the works, and chances are that will be raced. So, the handwriting is on the wall that this class will be mid engined, with aero work. And so, where does that leave the heavy ass BMW M6 with the large frontal area?
Possibly GTD.

All these cars are technically mid-engine already. The engines are in between the two axles. This is some sad apologetics. I'm a convert from BMW to Corvette all the way now, and I built my own track Corvette. I was at the LBGP and in the IMSA paddock talking with both teams in their garages. The front-engine design is no detriment to the performance in IMSA. The problem is BMW didn't engineer a very good track car overall with the M6 platform. The LS5.5R engine is a masterpiece of old school tech. It keeps the weight low and compact. BMW has nothing to compete.

More than likely, that prototype mid-engine car testing by GM is a Cadillac and not the C8 Corvette. There is no reason for GM to ditch the front engine layout. It's so much cheaper to manufacture as such, and they haven't nearly reached any roadblock in performance yet; not even close. Look what the Viper ACR achieves with their shoddy build quality. Porsche 918 what? McLaren P1 who?

Sadly, it seems BMW isn't engineering all that great of cars anymore to boot. That's why I switched in 2015. 'Murica!