Note: The Penske Entertainment editorial staff is looking back at the 10 biggest moments of 2024 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway in this year-end series, with one installment appearing on the site per day in countdown fashion from Dec. 22-31.
BMW M Team RLL earned its first on-track victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GTP class in the TireRack.com Battle on the Bricks on Sept. 22 at Indianapolis Motor Speedway. The prototypes prepared by longtime INDYCAR SERIES team Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing finished 1-2 in the six-hour endurance race that featured mixed conditions and plenty of chaos.
Philipp Eng, who was teamed with Jesse Krohn, drove the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 to a 1.647-second victory over the sister No. 25 car shared by Connor DePhillippi and Nick Yelloly. The No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport Porsche 963 driven by Nick Tandy and Mathieu Jaminet finished third in defense of their race win from 2023.
BMW earned its first GTP victory off track in June 2023 with DePhillippi and Yelloly after the six-hour race at Watkins Glen. The duo was elevated to the top spot from second after the No. 6 Porsche Penske Motorsport car was moved to last place in class after a post-race technical inspection discovered a chassis skid plate infraction. The Battle on the Bricks also marked the first 1-2 finish for BMW in GTP.
The victory sent an enormous wave of emotions through the company after struggling the last two years to qualify for the Indianapolis 500.
In 2023, Graham Rahal was the lone participant bumped from the field of 33. He was bumped out by RLL teammate Jack Harvey, sparking disappointment and dismay within the organization. That spearheaded an Indy recovery effort that fully didn’t pan out.
This year, Rahal was back on the bubble but evaded a second straight year of disappointment with rookie Nolan Siegel crashing on the final Bump Day attempt during Last Chance Qualifying.
Eng took the lead for good around the 2.439-mile, 14-turn IMS road course with 46 minutes remaining by passing Louis Deletraz in the No. 40 Wayne Taylor Racing with Andretti Acura ARX-06 amid slower GTD PRO and GTD traffic in Turn 13.
De Phillippi quickly passed Deletraz for second and hung within a half-second of Eng over the next 40 minutes, as the two BMWs marched in lockstep through traffic on the 14-turn, 2.439-mile road course.
De Phillippi made one attempt to pass his teammate over the closing laps, going side by side with Eng on the back straightaway with about 10 minutes remaining. But he backed off, not risking the team’s 1-2 finish, and Eng kept the lead.
Team contact was the least of BMW’s worries toward the end of the race. The team’s margins on fuel and hybrid energy were razor-thin, and it was unclear whether RLL’s prototypes could make it to the finish without pitting.
The anxiety was unfounded, as Eng and De Phillippi both made it to the finish with no hiccups to make BMW history.
