The damage to the No. 25 BMW M Team RLL M Hybrid V8 that crashed in Saturday morning’s second practice session for the Sahlen’s Six Hours of the Glen was extensive, including damage to the tub, and the team faces a thrash to have a car ready for the race.
Connor De Phillippi was at the wheel of the BMW when he spun exiting Turn 1. The car slid across the track and hit the barrier on drivers’ right with only 1m30s left in the session. What appeared to be at minimum a new front-right corner and fresh bodywork for the M Hybrid V8 will now require a different chassis.
BMW confirmed that IMSA was notified that the chassis which previously had been used for testing is going to be built up as a spare. That car was at the RLL shop in Indianapolis and left for New York at about 3 p.m. ET.
With the chassis not arriving until the early hours of Sunday, the BMW M Team RLL crew has a long night ahead of it in order to make the race with a car that will not have qualified. In a bright spot for the team, Philip Eng put the No. 24 at the top of the time sheet in Saturday morning’s practice.
Watkins Glen is the site of the M Hybrid V8’s only victory to date, a second-place finish for De Phillippi and Nick Yelloly that became a win when the first-on-the track Porsche Penske Motorsport 963 was moved to the rear of the GTP field for a skid plank that had excessive wear.