Jens Marquardt feels BMW Motorsport can take many positives from the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, after the #25 BMW Team RLL trio of Alexander Sims, Connor De Phillippi and Bill Auberlen claimed the M8 GTE claimed an excellent second place on Saturday.
The race around the Sebring International Raceway is one of the toughest events on the schedule, as was proven by the retirement in the final hour of the sister #24 car of Jesse Krohn, John Edwards and Nick Catsburg, but Marquardt was thrilled that the #25 was in contention throughout the race and were rewarded with the second place trophies.
“We have seen another exciting and extremely tough 12-hour race here at Sebring – and we can take many positives back home,” said BMW Motorsport Director Marquardt. “Congratulations to BMW Team RLL and our BMW Motorsport crew on the maiden podium finish for our new BMW M8 GTE.
“The 12 hours here is more demanding than many 24-hour races on other circuits. That makes this result even more special.”
More importantly for Marquardt was the ability for BMW to fight with the other manufacturers, with the Balance of Performance levels, which he heavily criticised after the Rolex 24 at Daytona, much more balanced this time around at Sebring.
“Far more important than the result are two other findings: On the one hand, the BMW M8 GTE was able to show its potential, which is underlined by the fact we recorded pole position and the fastest race lap,” said Marquardt.
“On the other hand, the GTLM field was far better balanced than it was at Daytona. The fans saw a thrilling race with close battles and excitement to the very last lap. This is what we all want.
“We are now looking forward to the upcoming races. At Long Beach we will go flat out again.”
