BMW Media Site BMW Team RLL Looking Forward to Mid-Ohio and Home Field Advantage.  Contact: Bill  Cobb BMW billcobbcommunications@yahoo.com   Oleg  Satanovsky BMW oleg.satanovsky@bmwna.com   Thomas  Plucinsky BMW thomas.plucinsky@bmwna.com     Kathi Lauterbach Rahal Letterman Lanigan, VP of Communications 317-297-8064  (office) 317-447-4337  (cell) klauterbach@rahal.com BMW Team RLL Looking Forward to Mid-Ohio and Home Field Advantage.  Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – May 01, 2019… BMW Team RLL returns to the historic Mid-Ohio SportsCar Course this weekend for the fourth round of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship looking for the team’s home track to provide a rebound from a sub-par performance at Long Beach three weeks ago.As shown last season, the 2.4-mile, 15-turn natural terrain circuit in Lexington, Ohio proved much more to the BMW’s liking than Long Beach’s temporary street course with the GTLM class pole scored by John Edwards’ No. 24 M8 and a second place finish recorded by the No. 25 M8 of Connor DePhillippi and Alexander Sims.The BMW M8 GTE was developed with endurance racing in mind and very high aerodynamic efficiency which especially lends itself to fast and flowing road courses such as Mid-Ohio.“Mid-Ohio is one of the classic, technical road courses in North America and always brings out the best in teams and drivers,” said Bobby Rahal, Team Principal. “Because it is our home track the entire team feels that little extra push from the folks around the track and we are looking to improve on our excellent race there last season.”This weekend, the No. 25 BMW M8 GTE will be driven by Conner DePhillippi and - new for 2019 co-driver -Tom Blomqvist. John Edwards and Jesse Krohn pair up for a second season in the No. 24 BMW M8 GTE.DePhillippi, in fifth place, is the top-standing BMW driver in GTLM Driver points. After three races, BMW stands second in GTLM manufacturer points.The green flag for the Acura Sports Car Challenge at Mid-Ohio falls at 1:40 p.m. ET on Sunday, May 5th. The race will be broadcast live on NBCSN with coverage beginning at 1:30 p.m. ET. Follow us on Twitter @BMWUSARacing for news from the pit box and get live scoring and in-car camera views at IMSA.com.Tom Blomqvist, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: “After some disappointments, I think it’s safe to say everyone is extremely motivated to get a result at Mid-Ohio. This was one of my favorite tracks when I was a kid messing about on the simulator so I’m pumped to try it for real. It should suit our package more than previous races so I’m confident and extremely motivated to get my first podium of the year.”Connor DePhillippi, driver No. 25 BMW M8 GTE: “Mid-Ohio is a special event for our crew with it being our home event and I’m excited to get back to this flowing circuit! We’re all ready to get back into our podium form and try to do one step better than our result last year.”John Edwards, driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE: “Mid-Ohio is a really fun track, with some good elevation in key places to make it challenging. It’s also the site of the team’s home race so there’s some added pressure to get a good result for the guys and keep Bob happy! Jesse and I are still looking for our first win together and Mid-Ohio would be a special place to get it done.”Jesse Krohn, driver No. 24 BMW M8 GTE: “Mid Ohio is the team’s home race and an important one not only for the team but for the championship. We didn't have the best of weekends at Long Beach so it is important to get a strong result. Mid Ohio was a new track for me last year so I had to learn the track quickly in the free practice. This year will be much easier as we can go straight into fine tuning the car for the weekend instead having to learn the track in free practice. All in all I like the track and it suits our car well so I am expecting a strong weekend.”BMW Group In AmericaBMW of North America, LLC has been present in the United States since 1975. Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC began distributing vehicles in 2003. The BMW Group in the United States has grown to include marketing, sales, and financial service organizations for the BMW brand of motor vehicles, including motorcycles, the MINI brand, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars; Designworks, a strategic design consultancy based in California; technology offices in Silicon Valley and Chicago, and various other operations throughout the country. BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC in South Carolina is the BMW Group global center of competence for BMW X models and manufactures the X3, X4, X5, and X6 Sports Activity Vehicles. The BMW Group sales organization is represented in the U.S. through networks of 347 BMW passenger car and BMW Sports Activity Vehicle centers, 153 BMW motorcycle retailers, 127 MINI passenger car dealers, and 36 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. BMW (US) Holding Corp., the BMW Group’s sales headquarters for North America, is located in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey.Rahal Letterman Lanigan RacingBMW’s partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, based in Hilliard, Ohio and co-owned by three-time IndyCar Champion and 1986 Indianapolis 500 winner Bobby Rahal, former CBS Late Show host David Letterman and Mi-Jack co-owner Mike Lanigan, has been competing for almost three decades. Prior to the start of their 27th season of competition in 2018, the team had compiled 42 victories, 53 poles, 162 podium finishes, three series championships (1992, 2010, 2011) and claimed an Indianapolis 500 victory (Buddy Rice in 2004). In 2009 the team joined BMW of North America to campaign the new BMW M3 in the American LeMans Series. The following year the team won both the Manufacturer and TeamChampionships in the GT category and swept all three GT titles - Manufacturer, Team and Driver – in 2011. In 2012, the team finished second in the Team Championship and third in the Manufacturer Championship and in 2013, the team finished second in the Driver, Team and Manufacturer Championship. Since 2014, BMW Team RLL has competed in the GTLM class of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship with a two car program and has brought their total to 17 wins, 23 poles and 68 podium finishes as well as a second place finish in the Manufacturer, Team and Driver championships in 2015 and 2017.Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwgroupusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com.