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BMW is ending its 16-year-long partnership with Rahal Letterman Lanigan. Why, and what happens next?
BMW has confirmed the end of its IMSA SportsCar Championship venture with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. The 16-year partnership will not extend to the Hypercar programme. BMW stated they are still in the process of defining their 2026 programme and are in talks with RLL for future collaborations in North America.
The partnership with RLL began in 2009 when BMW launched its M Hybrid V8 programme in IMSA. The decision to work with RLL for the LMDh project was announced in November 2021. BMW recognized RLL as a top team in North America, highlighting their success in GT and formula racing.
Throughout their collaboration, BMW and RLL achieved successes like GT victories at Daytona and GT titles in the American Le Mans Series. However, BMW had limited wins in the GTP category compared to other manufacturers.
The split between BMW and RLL was influenced by BMW M Team RLL’s performance this year, where they only secured two podiums and finished fourth in the manufacturers’ championship. BMW Motorsport acknowledged the need to improve results by avoiding mistakes and aiming for better performance in the future.
