BMW M Team RLL scored their fifth GTP podium finish at the Battle of the Bricks after an eventful sprint race as the two Porsche Penske cars finished in first and second places.
The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 qualified in seventh position in the hands of Nick Yelloly, before him and his teammate Connor De Phillippi climbed up to become podium finishers, a sharp contrast to the fate of their #24 sibling GTP.
At the green flag, the GTP field started in tangled fashion as Philip Eng in the #24 triggered the #01 Cadillac V Series.R of Sebastien Boardais into a spin.
Yelloly was aware, like many of the starting drivers, about the GTPs all entering Turn 1, although made it through with little to no damage incurred before engaging in traffic management over the other prototypes and GTs.
He said: “We knew it was going to be about keeping it clean today which we were able to do throughout the whole race.
“Turn 1 was also always going to be a tricky task. We also managed to make it through the first corner and then it was about keeping it clean through traffic.
“All credit to the team for a great strategy. Great driving by Connor as always, and yeah, I’m super happy to keep this podium roll going.
“That’s five this year in GTP so it’s something that we, as a team, can be very pleased about.”
Philippi added: “We really extracted everything we had in our package today.
“From the strategy side to car preparation side, I think we really executed. I’m really proud of everybody on the team.
“Nick drove a brilliant first stint that got us a great track position. The team had spot-on strategy and I just had to wheel it to the finish.”
Towards the final half-hour remaining, it was clear that the leading Porsches were unchallenged in race pace, and so it was third place which was up for contention.
The #31 Whelen Engineering Cadillac promptly fought with the Porsches for the lead before they sped away, building a gap.
They encountered struggles in their final and thus prolonged pit stop, enabling the #25 BMW to take third place to the chequered flag.
Furthermore, the #25 sits fourth in the championship title fight on 2422 points, although just 38 points covers them to the leading #31 Cadillac on 2460 points.
