BMW M Motorsport ended the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season with a mix of celebration and frustration at Petit Le Mans. The 10-hour finale at Road Atlanta brought a standout win for Paul Miller Racing’s #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the GTD PRO class — but also a painful late setback for BMW M Team RLL in its final race with the M Hybrid V8.
Paul Miller Racing Takes Command
Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Connor De Phillippi were untouchable in the #48 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. Harper started from pole for the second year in a row, and the car led most of the race, rarely looking under threat. The team sealed the GTD PRO win with a comfortable margin and, in doing so, secured the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup title for Harper and Hesse — both in their first full IMSA season.
It was a rougher day for the sister #1 car, which dropped back early due to a technical problem and finished ninth. Turner Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4 GT3, driven by Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker, came home eighth in GTD.
The BMW victory capped off a tight fight in the GTD PRO ranks. Behind the #48, the Corvette Racing/Pratt & Miller Z06 GT3.R entries filled out the podium. Nicky Catsburg, Tommy Milner, and Nico Varrone finished second, while Alexander Sims, Antonio Garcia, and Daniel Juncadella took third — enough to clinch the season title for Sims and Garcia.
A Hard Goodbye for BMW M Team RLL
For BMW M Team RLL, the race marked the end of a long partnership with BMW M Motorsport. After 17 years, 25 wins, and more than 100 podiums, the collaboration closed with one more hard-fought race that didn’t go the team’s way. The #24 BMW M Hybrid V8, shared by Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor, and Kevin Magnussen, was running fourth when a right-rear puncture struck with just ten minutes left. The unscheduled pit stop dropped them to ninth at the finish. The #25 car, driven by Sheldon van der Linde, Marco Wittmann, and Robin Frijns, placed eleventh after two drive-through penalties cost them track position.
From 2026, BMW M Team WRT will take over the brand’s GTP program, building on its success with the M4 GT3 in GT racing.
Cadillac Wins the Race, Porsche Takes the Titles
At the front of the field, the #31 Action Express Racing Cadillac V-Series.R took overall honors after 10 hours of racing, finishing 5.1 seconds ahead of the #23 Heart of Racing Aston Martin Valkyrie LMH driven by Ross Gunn, Roman De Angelis, and Alex Riberas.
Third place went to the #6 Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 LMDh of Mathieu Jaminet, Matt Campbell, and Laurens Vanthoor — enough to secure the IMSA SportsCar Championship drivers’ title for Campbell and Jaminet. Porsche also locked down the manufacturers’, teams’, and Endurance Cup titles in the GTP category, the latter with Nick Tandy and Felipe Nasr in the sister #7 car.
Petit Le Mans closed one chapter and opened another for BMW in North American endurance racing. The M4 GT3 EVO ended its season on top, while the M Hybrid V8 said goodbye with unfinished business. With BMW M Team WRT set to lead the next phase of BMW’s IMSA campaign, the focus now shifts to 2026 — and the pursuit of more silverware.
