IMSA: Eng Applauds Michelin’s Consistency in Season’s First Victory

BMW M Team RLL celebrated their first win of the year as Philipp Eng and Dries Vanthoor led the No. 24 to victory in Road America’s final sprint race. Teammates Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde in the No. 25 finished second to deliver a double podium for the team.

“It’s been a long time coming so it’s a big relief for us drivers, for the whole team,” said Eng. “The car wasn’t great today. The team did a strategic masterclass. All it boils down to was just to bring it home, and that is what I tried to do, and here we are in Winner’s Circle. It’s a fantastic feeling.”

The chaotic two hour and 40-minute sprint race saw five full-course yellows, two of which occurred within the opening 10 laps. The lone sprint race to feature all four classes finally got into a rhythm and finished with a 20-lap green flag stint. This meant faster class cars had to maneuver lots of traffic around the 4.048-mile circuit.

“I mean the tires were very consistent,” said Eng. “There was no real drop off. It was only a little bit exciting when we hit GT traffic. Going off-line with the marbles wasn’t so easy towards the end of the race, but I’m very happy with the product.”

Road America will join the Michelin Endurance Cup as one of five endurance events next season. The six-hour race will take place alongside Daytona International Speedway, Sebring Raceway, Watkins Glen and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

Motul SportsCar Grand Prix Results:

GTP: No. 24 BMW M Team RLL, Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor
LMP2: No. 99 AO Racing, PJ Hyett, Dane Cameron
GTD PRO: No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW, Madison Snow, Neil Verhagen
GTD: No. 021 Triarsi Competizione Ferrari, Onofrio Triarsi, Kenton Koch

Michelin Tire Tech Minute: As Road America joins the Michelin Endurance Cup next season, the key to winning this year’s final flat-out dash? Nail every green flag lap. Watch here.

Up Next:

GTD Pro and GTD headline the next IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship race at Virginia International Raceway. Watch the Michelin GT Challenge on Peacock and USA from 2-5 p.m. ET on Sunday, August 24.