Woodcliff Lake, N.J. – January 25, 2024 . . . Five BMW M4 GT4 racing cars from four BMW customer racing teams will line up in this season’s BMW M Endurance Challenge At Daytona to open the 2024 IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge season on January 26th. Now in its 12th consecutive year, BMW of North America has been the sponsor of the IMPC season-opening race since 2012. BMW customer racing teams entered in the four-hour event are CarBAhn Motorsports, Random Vandals Racing, Stephen Cameron Racing, and Turner Motorsport. A Signal Green M3 CS will pace the race and an XM Hybrid Label will carry the race’s Grand Marshal, Sylvia Neubauer, Vice President Sales and Marketing BMW M. With a system output of 550 kW (748 hp), the BMW XM Label is the most powerful BMW M model ever offered. Jochen Neepasch, BMW Motorsport’s very first director (1972 – 1979), will wave the green flag to begin the four-hour BMW M Endurance Challenge.

VP Racing Challenge results.
The first two rounds of the 2024 IMSA VP Challenge Championship were run during the Roar Before the 24 weekend, with eight BMW M4 GT4 racing cars entered among the 23 GSX class cars. Saturday’s Round 1 45-minute contest saw the No. 43 Stephen Cameron Racing BMW M4 GT4, of Gregory Liefooghe, lead the most laps but ultimately finish second by a scant .051 seconds at the checkered flag. Four more BMWs finished in the top-10. On Sunday, a late-race caution stacked up the field and offered up a one-lap dash to the checkered flag. Once again Gregory Liefooghe was the top-finishing BMW driver, today in third, to make it two BMW podiums in the first two rounds of the 2024 VP Racing Challenge.
 
Snow Joins Auberlen and Foley on BMW driver roster.
This season BMW welcomes Madison Snow to the BMW NA stable as an official BMW driver. The 2023 GT Daytona co-champion returns to Paul Miller Racing and the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3, this season in the GTD PRO class. Snow joins Robby Foley, the 2023 Michelin Pilot Challenge Grand Sport class co-champion, who is continuing to drive for Turner Motorsport this year. Bill Auberlen, the driver at the top of IMSA’s all-time win list with 65 victories, will again represent BMW in 2024, as part of a new multi-year contract. His program for this year will be announced at a later date.
 
First Mobile Parts Distribution Center Opens at Daytona.
This week, BMW Customer Racing teams at the Rolex 24 can avail themselves of BMW NA’s first mobile parts distribution center, an 80-foot long “DMDC on Wheels” mobile warehouse housing parts, an office for BMW support engineers, and an enthusiastic staff led by Ali Laduca. Two DMDC on Wheels have been produced and will be present at IMSA and SRO events throughout the 2024 season to support M2 CS Racing, M4 GT4 (F82), M4 GT4 (G82), M4 GT3 customers, demonstrating BMW NA’s efforts to support its certified BMW M Motorsport dealers with best-in-class service to its racing customers.
 
BMW Customer Racing Teams Enjoy Tremendous 2023 IMSA Season
BMW M4 GT4.
2023 was quite a debut season for the BMW M4 GT4 (G82).  In IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge competition, the BMW M4 GT4 took the Grand Sport class driver and team title behind the efforts of Vin Barletta and Robby Foley, and Turner Motorsport. BMW finished second in the Manufacturer championship. In the IMSA VP Racing Challenge, the BMW M4 GT4 swept the GSX class Manufacturer, Team, and Driver titles. Again, it was Turner Motorsport and Francis Selldorf putting together a great season.
 
BMW M4 GT3.
A record five victories by the No. 1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 secured the 2023 GT Daytona Driver championship for Bryan Sellers and Madison Snow. This year, the duo step up to the GTD PRO class with BMW drivers Neil Verhagen joining for the Michelin Endurance Cup events and Sheldon Van Der Linde co-driving at the Rolex 24.
 
Auf Wiedersehen, John Edwards.
2024 will be the first season since 2015 that John Edwards will not race a BMW for BMW of North America. Announcing last year that he was setting his racing career aside, the avid flyer is pursuing another career, this time behind the controls of a jet.
This Saturday, he will be reunited with his No. 24 BMW Team RLL BMW Z4 GTLM to take a few laps around the Speedway in the Rolex Heritage Classic and say “Auf Wiedersehen” to IMSA fans.
 
BMW NA Sets Sales Record in 2023 and Continues as World’s No. 1 BMW M Market.
Not only was 2023 a success on the track, it was also a success on the road as BMW of North America LLC. set a new sales record as BMW sales increased by 9% with total sales of 362,244 vehicles compared to the 332,388 vehicles sold in 2022. The US also continued to be the largest market in the world for BMW M accounting for more than 30% of worldwide sales.
 
Following the market launch of the first-ever BMW i5 in November, BMW now offers four full battery electric vehicles in the U.S. – the BMW i4, BMW i5, BMW i7, and BMW iX. BMW sold 14,374 battery electric vehicles in the fourth quarter of 2023, a 65.4% increase over the 8,689 battery electric vehicles sold in the fourth quarter of 2022. For the full year 2023, BMW sold 45,417 battery electric vehicles, which represents 12.5% of total sales for the year.
 
In addition, the company sold 25,318 plug-in hybrid electric vehicles in 2023, bringing the total number of electrified vehicles sold to 70,735, or 19.5% of total BMW sales.




 
BMW Group in the United States.
BMW of North America, LLC was established 50 years ago to support the sales, marketing and distribution of BMW automobiles and motorcycles in the U.S. In 1993 BMW Group Financial Services NA, LLC was founded, and one year later BMW Manufacturing Co., LLC began assembling vehicles in South Carolina. In 2002 and 2003, BMW Group established MINI USA, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars NA, LLC relaunching two iconic brands and rounding out its product portfolio.

Today, the BMW Group has a nationwide corporate footprint in the U.S. which consists of nearly 30 locations in 12 different states. Beyond the National Sales Company and Financial Services headquarters in Woodcliff Lake, NJ, its manufacturing plant in Spartanburg, South Carolina, and numerous other operational facilities, BMW Group in the U.S. also includes Designworks, a strategic design consultancy in Santa Monica, CA, BMW Group Technology Office USA, a technology research and development center in Silicon Valley, and BMW i Ventures, a venture capital fund, also in Silicon Valley.

BMW Group Plant Spartanburg is the largest single BMW production facility in the world, and the global center of competence for BMW Sports Activity Vehicles including the X3, X4, X5, X6, X7, and XM. The plant assembles more than 1,500 vehicles each day, and up to 450,000 annually. Since 1994, Plant Spartanburg has assembled nearly 7 million BMW vehicles in the U.S.

The BMW Group sales organization in the U.S. is represented through a network of 350 BMW retailers, 147 BMW motorcycle retailers, 104 MINI passenger car dealers, and 38 Rolls-Royce Motor Car dealers. The company’s activities provide and support over 120,000 jobs across the U.S. and contribute more than 43.3 billion to the U.S. economy annually.

Journalist note: Information about BMW Group and its products in the USA is available to journalists on-line at www.bmwusanews.com, www.miniusanews.com and www.press.bmwna.com