BMW Motorsport is maintaining strong qualifying performances in the 2025 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season, but the team is still looking for its first victory. At the third race of the season in Long Beach, Dries Vanthoor once again put the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 on pole, completing a hat trick after earlier pole positions at Daytona and Sebring. Sheldon van der Linde secured second place in the #25 car, giving BMW a front-row lockout.
Despite leading early in the race, both BMW M Team RLL entries lost positions during pit stops under the first yellow flag. Philipp Eng, who took over the #24 car from Vanthoor, finished in third place, earning the team its first podium of the season. Marco Wittmann, who replaced van der Linde in the #25 car, recovered from tenth place to finish fifth.
Although BMW continues to show strong qualifying speed, the team has struggled to convert these results into race victories. The BMWs have started from pole in every race so far this season but have yet to secure a win. In contrast, the No. 7 Porsche Penske Motorsport team, driven by Felipe Nasr and Nick Tandy, claimed their third consecutive overall and Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class victory.
In the current championship standings, BMW sits second in the manufacturers’ title race, just ahead of Acura, but over 130 points behind Porsche. In the drivers’ standings, Vanthoor and Eng are in third with 875 points, while van der Linde and Wittmann hold sixth place with 832 points. The leading Porsche duo has already accumulated 1,140 points.
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, acknowledged both the progress and challenges: “The third pole position in three races for Dries Vanthoor and a complete front row for BMW M Motorsport was fantastic. However, we lost valuable positions during the pit stops, which cost us the chance to win. Still, the podium finish is something we can build on.”
In the GTD class, Turner Motorsport’s #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, driven by Robby Foley and Patrick Gallagher, finished in fifth place.
