Luhr, Edwards Combine To Give BMW Second Consecutive GTLM Victory

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Victory is becoming habit forming for BMW. One event after scoring its first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship triumph in the GT Le Mans (GTLM) class at Long Beach, BMW Team RLL was back at it Sunday at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca.

 

This time, Lucas Luhr and John Edwards teamed to give the No. 24 IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4 GTLM its first TUDOR Championship victory. Long Beach winners Dirk Werner and Bill Auberlen placed second in the No. 25 IHG Rewards Club BMW Z4, with Edwards leading Auberlen to the checkered by 22.572 seconds.

“The key today was traffic,” stated Edwards. “We had some slower Prototypes that we had to get through. Being the first one to arrive in the back of the Prototypes was an advantage, because I could stuff my nose in and surprise them. After that, they started blocking and that enabled me to get a gap. I’m happy Lucas and I could get to the top step after our teammates did it last weekend at Long Beach.”

It was Luhr’s ninth class victory at the circuit – including three overall triumphs in the American Le Mans Series presented by Tequila Patrón – and 52nd in all-time North American endurance racing, two behind Auberlen and seven behind leader Scott Pruett.

“After two races where we should have been on the podium but had little issues, it’s very rewarding to have a victory,” added Luhr. “It’s my first victory as a BMW works driver, so it’s really special. It’s very sweet, and I’ll remember it for a long time.“

 

Michael Christensen finished third in the No. 911 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR started by Patrick Pilet. Pierre Kaffer and Giancarlo Fisichella took fourth in the No. 62 Risi Competizione Ferrari F458 Italia, followed by Christensen and Joerg Bergmeister in the No. 912 Porsche North America Porsche 911 RSR.

 

The race was slowed by two cautions that came back-to-back in the opening hour of the two hour, 40-minute session. Luhr started the race in the No. 24 before Edwards took over and managed to work traffic after the second restart to build a commanding lead. With the remainder of the race run under green, he went unchallenged, only briefly relinquishing the lead during the final round of pit stops.

 

Vindication for Pumpelly, First Victory for Lindsey In GTD

One year ago, Spencer Pumpelly took the white flag at Mazda Raceway in the lead, only to have his Audi run out of fuel on the final lap. Sunday, Pumpelly had more than enough VP Racing Fuel in the tank to go the distance, winning the GT Daytona (GTD) class in the No. 73 Park Place Motorsports Porsche 911 GT America.

 

It was the first victory for the team and starting driver Patrick Lindsey, who captured his first career TOTAL Pole Award on Saturday. Pumpelly took the checkered flag 3.677 seconds ahead of Christopher Haase, driving the No. 48 Paul Miller Racing Castrol Edge Audi R8 LMS started by Dion von Moltke. Haase’s chances of victory went away in the closing laps after contact with the overall race-winning Prototype of Richard Westbrook.

“I’d be lying if the thought [about last year’s last-lap misfortune] didn’t go through my mind,” Pumpelly stated. “This definitely was a bit of redemption.”

 

Ian James and Mario Farnbacher, who won last time out at Sebring, finished third in the No. 23 Team Seattle/Alex Job Racing Porsche 911 GT America, followed by Bill Sweedler and Townsend Bell in the No. 63 Scuderia Corsa Robert Graham/Royal Purple Ferrari 458 Italia. Christina Nielsen and James Davison finished fifth in the No. 007 TRG-AMR Royal Purple/Orion Energy/LaSalle Solutions/PassTime USA Aston Martin Vantage. The competitive class saw eight lead changes among six cars.

 

Adam Sinclair
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