Bobby Rahal gives frank response to rumored end of BMW and RLL's IMSA partnership

Former IndyCar driver Bobby Rahal’s motorsport team, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing's partnership with BMW in the IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship was rumored to be coming to an end. Amid the reports, the 72-year-old came out and shared his clear opinion on the matter, putting the rumors to bed, at least for the moment.

RLL joined the GTD Pro Class with the BMW M4 GT3 in 2022, followed by the GTP Class in 2023 with the BMW M Hybrid V8s. The GTP programme did well with the BMW, having the pace to run with the leaders and fight for the race wins.

While the single-lap pace has been outstanding during the 2025 season, the team has lost race wins for one reason or another. The RLL BMW team has claimed all pole positions in the IMSA GTP Class this season but failed to convert them into wins, with the Porsche Penske sweeping them away.

IMSA WeatherTech Championship Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring - Source: Getty

Although RLL has finished on the podiums, the rumors of a split with BMW started circling the paddock. Team owner Bobby Rahal came out and commented on the same, as he said:

“I don’t want to get into the specifics of that, but, you know, we’re obviously hoping to continue this long relationship that we’ve had with BMW that dates back to 2008."

“I think for us, there’s three quarters of the season left over and I can tell you, I think with BMW Motorsports, everybody’s just really focused on this coming race at Laguna Seca, and the race after that, and after that, and after that – there’s a lot of racing left. And so I think it’s premature to get too far into that," he added.

Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing debuted in the endurance racing scene in 2007 in the American Le Mans series. However, after a poor season, Bobby Rahal's team returned to the series in 2009 with a factory BMW support team, and the partnership has continued ever since.

Bobby Rahal's RLL to make pit improvement after losing out at Long Beach

The RLL BMW team took the pole position at the recent IMSA WeatherTech Sportscar championship race at Long Beach, and the team was running in pole position. However, following a mishap in the pit, Bobby Rahal's team lost the race lead to Porsche Penske, who went on to win the race.

Bobby Rahal at Le Mans 24-Hour Race - Qualifying - Source: Getty

Bobby Rahal came out and spoke about the scope of making improvements for the upcoming race. He said:

“After Long Beach, that highlighted some areas maybe of where we need to focus a bit more of our efforts, pit lane in particular, and I think we’re going to come into Laguna with some new things on that front."

“All the data is there to show where the deficit was. The fuel is going in well, the tires are going and, well, it was just about getting in up," he added.

The upcoming IMSA race is the TireRack.com Monterey SportsCar Championship, which will be held at Laguna Seca from May 9 - May 11.