BMW confirms end of partnership with RLL (UPDATED)

BMW M Motorsport has confirmed that its 17-year racing partnership with Team RLL will come to an end at the end of the current IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar Championship season.

The announcement, predicted by RACER earlier this month, came as part of a wider commitment to the future of the German brand’s FIA WEC Hypercar and IMSA GTP program.

No confirmation has yet been made of the planned replacement service provider for RLL, or of the scope of the brand’s future IMSA program, but it is widely expected to see an expanded role for BMW’s current FIA WEC service provider, Belgian-based Team WRT.

BMW said, however, that it is still in discussions with Bobby Rahal’s team regarding a potential collaboration in other areas.

The BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team RLL collaboration resulted in 24 IMSA race and class wins and more than 100 podium finishes. That includes five GT class titles in 2010 and 2011 with the BMW M3 GT.

The RLL-operated team also claimed back-to-back Rolex 24 GTLM class wins in 2019 and 2020 with the BMW M8 GTE and, also in 2020, drivers John Edwards and Jesse Krohn secured the GTLM title in the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

Then, after 14 years in GT racing, came the dawn of IMSA’s new premier GTP class in 2023 and RLL were selected to represent the Bavarian brand with the new BMW M Hybrid V8. In its first season, car No. 25 achieved five podium finishes and a win at the 6-hour race in Watkins Glen. The second season saw the first 1-2 finish in Indianapolis and then, in 2025, the season began with four consecutive pole positions and podiums at Long Beach and Laguna Seca.

“I want to thank Bobby Rahal and his team for 17 fantastic years. Their loyalty to our brand over such a long period is exceptional," Andreas Roos (head of BMW M Motorsport) said. "Since 2009, the team has achieved titles and victories across many generations of our race cars and has played a crucial role in building BMW M Motorsport’s strong fan base in North America. Together, we made the bold move from GT racing to the GTP class for the 2023 season and celebrated several successes there.

“Even though our joint IMSA racing program is ending, we are very interested in continuing to count on BMW M Team RLL as a strong partner in North America in other areas. Discussions in this regard are ongoing. The same applies to our new IMSA race team, which we will announce in due course.”

Team WRT, meanwhile, has launched a widespread job recruitment campaign. Most interestingly, the listings make it clear that the Belgian-based superteam is recruiting engineers, mechanics and truckies in Charlotte, North Carolina, in addition to its new headquarters in Bierset, Belgium.

WRT currently has no live US-based racing programs.