DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. — Philipp Eng knows and appreciates BMW M Motorsport history.
“By the way, I really like the poster in the background with the 3.0 CSL and BMW M8 GTE, so good job on that,” said the observant Austrian racer when he was introduced by the IMSA moderator on a recent teleconference for media covering the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Eng should know, because he’s played a significant part in the German marque’s successful racing legacy. He’s competed in the WeatherTech Championship with BMW M Team RLL since 2018 – first in the aforementioned M8 GTE, and more recently in the BMW M Hybrid V8 in IMSA’s top Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) category.
In 2024, Eng teamed with Jesse Krohn to win the rain-affected TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. This year, Eng’s co-driver Dries Vanthoor has been sensational in qualifying, notching four consecutive Motul Pole Awards to start the season. Vanthoor and Eng have earned three podium finishes, including a victory in the most recent round at Road America to lie third in the GTP point standings with two races remaining.
Returning to Indianapolis not only as the defending Battle on the Bricks winner but also the most recent to visit victory lane has Eng feeling good about his prospects in this weekend’s six-hour contest.
“Last year, well, I was over the moon, and I still am when I think about this race,” he remarked. “Gosh, it was such an up and down of emotions – we’re at the front, we’re at the back – so it was a race, which was very, very hectic, but we managed it very well together as a team. Also, my teammate last year was Jesse Krohn. He did an incredible job keeping the car on track with slicks when it was drying up. And that all contributed to a very successful day and I will never forget this day.
“I think it’s a very special feeling to win at Indianapolis, and I really hope that we can win again this year. That’s the clear goal, because it’s such a fantastic track.”
Vanthoor and Eng were unable to translate the single-lap speed of the No. 24 BMW into race-winning pace in the first half of the season and they fell 297 points out of the championship lead following the Chevrolet Detroit Sports Car Classic.
The win at Road America moved them within 181 points of leaders Matt Campbell and Mathieu Jaminet in the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963.
“We’ve had really good momentum,” Eng said. “I think we had a strong first part of the season, especially in qualifying. Then to convert the strong qualifying results into a victory and two more podium positions in (WeatherTech Raceway) Laguna (Seca) and Long Beach was really good. Unfortunately, we lacked a bit of execution, let’s say, in the races, and that’s why we are 180 points behind our friends from Stuttgart (Porsche).
“Nevertheless, we believe that our car is really strong,” he added. “I think as a team, we’ve progressed a lot during the progress of the season, and our goal is to win the championship. We as BMW, we feel strong, we feel confident. From a driver perspective, I can tell you that the car feels really good, especially in the last event at Road America. We had really good pace and really good drivability. I hope we can convert that aspect into a very good end of the season, which would mean to win both remaining races. And we need some luck in the end, because 180 points in this championship is a lot. But we are certainly not giving up and we will fight very hard as a team.”
Winning the championship would be the most spectacular way to celebrate the end of an era for BMW M Team RLL, as BMW M Motorsport is planning to shift administration of its GTP program to another partner team in 2026. Eng paid tribute to the Indianapolis-based team and its leader, Bobby Rahal.
“My first race was Daytona 2018 with the BMW M8 GTE – the first ever race of that race car,” Eng recalled. “I have a very emotional connection to that car and to that team because it was the first time I was really involved in a proper works environment. The M8 program really made me a better driver because I got to experience what it means to race for a works team and not only try and drive as fast as possible around in circles, but also to be trying to lead a team and leading a direction in the development of a race car, which was a first time for me.
“With BMW and Team RLL, we’ve won the Rolex 24 At Daytona together (Grand Touring Le Mans class in 2019), and we’ve had some great success in GTP,” he continued. “So, looking back at almost 10 years, it’s been extremely helpful, making me a better race driver and it’s such a privilege to be racing for Bobby Rahal. He’s a legend, not only as a team owner, but he’s a legend as a racing driver, and I respect him so much for everything he has achieved. And I’ve made so many good friends in the last 10 years with mechanics, engineers, with Bobby and the management team.
“So, I don’t want to think about end of race Petit Le Mans, because it will be definitely a little bit emotional.”
A piece of Eng’s BMW M Team RLL history – his 2024 IMSA driver’s suit – is on display at the recently revamped Indianapolis Motor Speedway Museum.
“I need to have a look at that,” he smiled. “A great honor. There’s a lot of history in that museum.”
Like this:
Loading…
