IMSA: BMW names drivers for two-car Rolex 24 attack

The Bavarian marque will contest the full IMSA campaign in the new-for-2022 GTD Pro division that replaces GT Le Mans with two all-new M4 GT3s run by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

Five of the six drivers that were part of BMW's assault on last year's Michelin Endurance Cup-only program return for the Rolex 24 - Jesse Krohn, John Edwards, Augusto Farfus, Connor de Phillippi and Philipp Eng.

Krohn, Edwards, Farfus and de Phillippi will share the #25 car, while Eng is joined in the #24 machine by two-time DTM champion Marco Wittmann, Nick Yelloly and Sheldon van der Linde.

Wittmann made his Rolex 24 debut with BMW Team RLL last year, while fellow DTM racer van der Linde and Aston Martin F1 simulator driver Yelloly are newcomers to the squad.

Yelloly has prior IMSA experience with BMW customer team Turner Motorsport, while van der Linde first contested the Florida classic back in 2018 in a Land Motorsport-run Audi R8 LMS.

BMW's head of motorsport Mike Krack commented: “With our drivers who will be competing in the two BMW M Team RLL BMW M4 GT3s, we have opted for speed and experience – both at Daytona and with the new car.

"Almost all of our BMW M works drivers have already contested the 24 Hours of Daytona and will be working together to find the perfect set-up for the BMW M4 GT3 at the International Speedway during the ‘Roar Before The 24’ [test on January 21-23] already.

"I am confident that we will be very well prepared going into the GTD Pro premiere of the IMSA series. I’m also looking forward to seeing how Turner Motorsport fares in the GTD class.”

While BMW did not clarify its full-season line-ups, it stated that Krohn and van der Linde are only part of the squad for the season-opening Rolex 24.

That means Finnish driver Krohn has effectively been demoted after three seasons as a BMW full-timer in GTLM from 2018-20 and another as part of its Michelin Endurance Cup-only effort in 2021.