The team was established in 1991 as Rahal/Hogan Racing, became Team Rahal in 1996, and was known as Rahal Letterman Racing from May 2004 until December 2010.[2] Throughout the team's history in IMSA with factory partner BMW, the team has run under the name BMW Team RLL.
CART IndyCar World Series (1991–2003)
Following the 1991 CART season, Bobby Rahal left the Galles-Kraco Racing team. Despite consistent top finishes, Rahal won only two races from 1989 to 1991. Likewise, Danny Sullivan left the Patrick Racing team, following a dismal season with the Alfa Romeo engine. The two drivers essentially swapped rides. Sullivan joined Galles, and Rahal signed with Patrick in September 1991.
By the winter of 1991, however, Patrick Racing started to collapse due to financial and legal issues regarding the Alfa Romeo engine. Ilmor had refused to supply the Chevy/A engine to Patrick due to rumors that one of the Chevrolet Indy car engines had been provided to Alfa-Romeo.[3]
To ensure that Rahal would not be racing an uncompetitive engine in 1992, Patrick sold his assets to Rahal and his new partner Carl Hogan, who was able to secure a supply of Chevy engines.[3] A new team was formed, known as Rahal/Hogan Racing, with key personnel from Patrick Racing, such as team manager Jim McGee, moving over to the new organization.
In 1992, the team won the IndyCar World Series title on their first try, with owner-driver Bobby Rahal driving a Lola T92/00 to 4 victories during the season.
In late 1992, Rahal/Hogan absorbed the Truesports racing team,[4] which Rahal had started his CART career with. The team moved its headquarters from Indianapolis to Hilliard, into the old Truesports facility. Along with the acquisition, they took over the Truesports "All-American" chassis program.[5] Rahal began the 1993 season with an updated version of the Truesports chassis, with the intention of introducing a brand-new Rahal/Hogan chassis later in the year.[6]
A second-place finish at Long Beach offered some promise. The success was short-lived, however, as the chassis proved uncompetitive on ovals. After Rahal failed to qualify at Indianapolis, the team switched to a more conventional Lola, while team driver Mike Groff entered several more races in the R/H-001. Eventually, the team abandoned the chassis project.[6]
Rahal CART car
In 1994, Rahal/Hogan introduced the Honda HRX Indy V-8 engine to the IndyCar World Series, having performed development testing for the engine throughout the 1993 season, but split with the manufacturer after Rahal finished a disappointing tenth place in the standings.[citation needed]
At Indianapolis, the engine proved uncompetitive, and Rahal risked missing the race for the second year in a row. He borrowed two Penske-Ilmor machines and finished third in the race. In 1996, Carl Hogan left the team and started his racing operation.[citation needed] As a result, the team changed its name to Team Rahal and Hogan started Hogan Racing.
In early 1996,[7] Rahal's longtime friend, and avid race fan, comedian David Letterman, purchased a small share of the team.
The team changed its name again to Rahal Letterman Racing in May 2004. For the 2005 season, RLR's three drivers were Buddy Rice, who won the 2004 Indianapolis 500 while driving for the team, Vítor Meira, who finished second in the 2005 & 2008 Indianapolis 500s, and Danica Patrick, who finished fourth in the 2005 Indianapolis 500 and had the highest finish of any female driver (3 previous) in the history of the Indianapolis 500. Also in the 2005 Indianapolis 500, former team member Kenny Bräck, who was replaced by Rice when he suffered a serious injury in 2003, replaced Rice when he was injured in pre-race practice. Rice was able to recover in time to race in the next IndyCar race.
The Rahal Letterman team had high hopes for 2006. Meira had left the team after the 2005 season to join Panther Racing. He was replaced by Paul Dana who brought an Ethanol sponsorship.[8] The team placed three cars in the top eight for the Toyota Indy 300 during March 25, 2006, qualifying (Patrick third, Rice sixth, Dana ninth), and expected good things to come the next day for the race at Homestead-Miami Speedway.
During the final practice Sunday morning, Vision Racing's Ed Carpenter crashed in turn two and the car slid down the 20-degree banking. Dana, who seemed to not receive the signal from the spotter,[citation needed] ran into the gearbox section of Carpenter's car, sending Dana's car flying on the backstretch. Dana died in the hospital later that afternoon, and the entire team, including Patrick and Rice, withdrew immediately.
Patrick and Rice raced together at St. Petersburg with the third car vacant out of respect, but effective the Bridgestone Indy Japan 300 at Motegi, Japan, Jeff Simmons was added as the team's third driver. In mid-2006 the team switched from Panoz to Dallara chassis. Rice finished 15th in points, Patrick finished 9th, and Simmons finished 16th.
For the 2007 IndyCar Series, RLR fielded two cars, one for Simmons and one for IndyCar veteran Scott Sharp. They were unable to find sponsorship to field a third car for 2004 Indianapolis 500 champion Buddy Rice, who moved to Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. However, after 11 races, released Simmons and picked up former Champ Car driver Ryan Hunter-Reay,[9] who earned a 7th-place finish at the Honda 200. Consistent finishes gave Ryan and the team the Rookie of the Year award despite making only six starts.
In the 2008 IndyCar Series season, RLR fielded just one car driven by Ryan Hunter-Reay. The team scored a win at the IndyCar Series event at Watkins Glen International and Hunter-Reay finished 8th in points. However at the end of the season, the team's ethanol promotion council sponsorship left and it was unable to find full-time sponsorship for 2009.[10]
Part-time (2009–2011)
RLR did not participate full-time in the 2009 season due to a lack of sponsorship.[11] With the sponsorship of DAFCA they participated in the 2009 Indianapolis 500, where driver Oriol Servià, after starting on the ninth row, advanced to tenth place but completed only 98 laps before being forced to quit due to mechanical problems.[12]
In 2010, the team again failed to secure sponsorship for the full season. At the 2010 Indianapolis 500, the team arranged a one-race sponsorship entry for Graham Rahal.[13] Rahal ran in the top ten until a blocking penalty shuffled him back in the standings, and he finished 12th.[citation needed]
The team signed Jay Howard to drive the #88 car with Service Central sponsorship for the 2011 Indy 500. Bertrand Baguette also joined the team at the 500. Howard finished 30th after losing a wheel following a pit stop on lap 61, while Baguette would lead 11 laps late in the race before needing to pit for fuel with 3 laps to go. He would finish 7th.[15]
Full-time return (2012–present)
The team returned to full-time IndyCar competition for 2012, running a single Dallara-Honda for Takuma Sato, who achieved two podium finishes at São Paulo and Edmonton. Michel Jourdain Jr. returned to the team in a second car for the Indianapolis 500, where Sato came close to victory, crashing out on the final lap while attempting to pass Dario Franchitti for the lead.
On April 30, 2014, the team made history with Engage Mobile Solutions when four members of the RLL team including driver Graham Rahal and three members of the pit crew wore Google Glass to show an IndyCar Series pit stop from the unique perspective of each person on the racing team.[16]
After rotating through a series of drivers, including Jourdain, Jay Howard, and Mike Conway, Graham Rahal returned to RLL to contest the full 2013 season. Rahal struggled during the 2013 and 2014 seasons with only four top-5 finishes. However, he would have a breakout year in 2015, snapping a six-year winless streak at Auto Club Speedway and dueling Justin Wilson to win at his home track at Mid-Ohio. Rahal would end the 2015 season fourth in points after consecutive bad races at Pocono and Sonoma.
For 2016, the team remained a single-car team but added Indy Lights champion Spencer Pigot to the lineup for three races. Rahal would take a win at Texas Motor Speedway by only .008 of a second.
During 2017 the team would watch another two wins, with Graham Rahal taking back-to-back victories at Detroit.
In 2021 RLL again expanded to three cars, with Graham Rahal and Takuma Sato driving two full-time entries while several drivers would drive a third car on a part-time basis.[17] The car would be backed by Hy-Vee, a supermarket chain in the Midwestern United States. Initially, the third car was only scheduled to run the 2021 Indianapolis 500 with Santino Ferrucci behind the wheel but after Ferucci's top ten finish in the 500 Hy-Vee gave additional sponsorship for the car to run at Detroit, Mid Ohio, and Nashville with Ferucci driving four races. After the Nashville round the team announced the third car would be run at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix and the final three races by different drivers in place of Ferrucci; Danish Formula 2 and current Alpine F1 Academy driver Christian Lundgaard would drive the car at the Big Machine Spiked Coolers Grand Prix on the IMS Road Course with the car backed by MiJack while Oliver Askew would drive the car at Portland, Laguna Seca, and Long Beach backed by Hy-Vee.[18][19] During the season Ferrucci, Askew, and Lundgaard would all test the third car in shootout style tests to determine who would get the full time drive in the third car in 2022.
For 2022 Takuma Sato would depart the team. The #45 Hy-Vee car would be driven by Jack Harvey, who was signed from Meyer Shank Racing. The team announced on October 20, 2021, that Christian Lundgaard had won the opportunity to drive the #30 car full time and would sign a multi-year deal to compete with RLL full time from 2022 onward.[20]
In 2007, Rahal Letterman Racing fielded a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for nine of the twelve races. The team's best results came as a second-place finish at Road America and a third-place finish at Petit Le Mans. The team finished 4th in the GT2 team championship with Tommy Milner and Ralf Kelleners 6th in the driver's championship.
2009–13 (BMW)
The team returned to the series in 2009 with factory support from BMW and thus held dual nationality team licenses (Germany and United States).[21] The team fielded two M3 GT2's, the #90 driven by Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen and the #92 driven by Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller. After a troubled season, the #92 car finished second at the 2009 Petit Le Mans. The team finished 3rd in the team championship with Milner and Müller 4th in the driver's championship.[22][23]
In 2010, the team continued their relationship with BMW and the American Le Mans Series. Despite only winning one race at Road America, Rahal Letterman Racing won the team championship while Bill Auberlen and Tommy Milner 3rd in the driver's championship.[24][25]
2011 was an even more successful year for the team. After a one-two finish at the 2011 12 Hours of Sebring the RLL Racing team would win two more races. Despite fierce competition from Corvette, Ferrari, and Porsche, Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing claimed the GT Teams and Manufacturers championships, While Joey Hand and Dirk Müller won the drivers championship.[26][27][28] This was the second team championship for the team with the M3.
In 2012, the team returned to the American Le Mans Series for their 4th year with the BMW M3. After winning their second 12 Hours of Sebring in a row, the team, lacking the speed to the brand new Porsches and Corvettes, would win only one more race at Road America. Despite their deficit in pace, the team finished the season 2nd in the championship with driver Dirk Muller finished 4th, the highest of the BMW team drivers.[29][30]
Further developing their relationship with BMW Motorsport, the Rahal Letterman Lanigan team campaigned two brand new Z4 GTE cars, replacing the BMW M3 GT2's. Despite being their first season with the car, the team claimed several GT poles, a 1–2 victory at Long Beach, and a win at Lime Rock Park. The team finished the season 2nd in the Teams' and Manufacturers' Championships behind Corvette Racing.
For 2015, the team would make several changes to its lineup, this time with ALMS champion Lucas Luhr replacing Müller in the No. 24, and Auberlen being teamed with Dirk Werner in the No. 25. Both teams would take wins during the season, with Edwards/Luhr winning at Laguna Seca, and Auberlen/Werner taking two wins at Long Beach and Austin. Auberlen/Werner would finish second in points to Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet for the drivers championship. The 24 team also finished 2nd in the teams championship to the Porsche 911 team and BMW finished 2nd to Porsche in manufacturer championship.
For 2016, the team switched to the new BMW M6 GTLM, and the No. 24 team was assigned the Number 100 in celebration of BMW's 100th anniversary. The 25 team finished 7th in the drivers championship and the 100 team in 9th, with neither team winning.
In November 2017, Auberlen was named a BMW Brand Ambassador, and thus stepped down as a full-time driver for 2018.[31] He was replaced by Connor De Phillippi as Sims' full-time partner in the 25 team. Edwards also had a partner change at the 24 team, with Jesse Krohn replacing Tomczyk. RLL also updated to the new BMW M8 GTE. The 25 team (Sims/De Phillippi) won at VIR and Laguna Seca and finished 6th in the 2018 drivers championship, while the 24 team (Edwards/Krohn) finished the season 8th with no race victories.
For 2019, the 24 driver team will remain intact, but Tom Blomqvist was announced to replace Sims as De Phillippi's full-season partner in the 25 team. However, due to delays with his U.S. Visa, Blomqvist had to miss the 2019 24 Hours of Daytona.[32] He was replaced at Daytona by Augusto Farfus, who, along with co-drivers De Phillippi, Colton Herta and Philipp Eng, won the race in the GTLM class. However, the cars scored only three additional podiums combined, so they ranked 6th and 7th in the GTLM drivers standings.
In 2020, the #24 car won the 24 Hours of Daytona and got five additional points, ending second in points. Meanwhile, the #25 car won the 6 Hours of Atlanta plus three more podiums, placing fourth in points.
BMW reduced its budget for the 2021 season, so RLL only entered the four endurance races. In a depleted GTLM field, they scored six podiums combined but no wins.
IMSA dropped the GTLM class before the 2022 season. RLL joined the new GTD Pro class with the new BMW M4 GT3. The #25 runs full-time, whereas the #24 is an endurance-only entry.
On 28 November 2017, it was announced that the team was to be the first to confirm entry to the I-PACE eTROPHY.[33] The team confirmed that they will run two cars in the series.[34]Katherine Legge and Bryan Sellers are part of the current line-up.
Takuma Sato, nicknamed "Taku", is a Japanese professional racing driver. He competes part-time in the IndyCar Series, driving the No. 75 Honda for Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Sato is a two-time winner of the Indianapolis 500, having won the event in 2017 and 2020. He was the first Asian driver to win the Indianapolis 500, and the twentieth driver to win the race more than once. Before winning the Indianapolis 500, Sato became the first Japanese-born driver to win an IndyCar Series race when he won the 2013 Grand Prix of Long Beach.
Robert Woodward Rahal is an American former auto racing driver and current team owner of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. As a driver he won three championships and 24 races in the CART open-wheel series, including the 1986 Indianapolis 500. He also won the Indianapolis 500 in 2004 and 2020 as team owner for Buddy Rice and Takuma Sato, respectively.
William Anthony Auberlen is an American factory race car driver known for his affiliation with BMW, driving cars made and run by the famous German marque for a number of years. Auberlen currently competes for Turner Motorsport in the IMSA SportsCar Championship and Michelin Pilot Challenge. He is the winningest driver in IMSA history.
Chip Ganassi Racing, LLC (CGR), also sometimes branded as Chip Ganassi Racing Teams, is an American auto racing organization with teams competing in the NTT IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship. They have formerly competed in the NASCAR Cup and Xfinity Series, Global Rallycross Championship, Extreme E and the Rolex Sports Car Series. It was founded in 1990 by businessman and former racecar driver Chip Ganassi from the assets of Patrick Racing to compete in the CART IndyCar World Series.
Ryan Christopher Hunter-Reay is a professional American racing driver best known as a winner of both the Indianapolis 500 (2014) and the IndyCar Series championship in 2012. He currently competes part-time in the IndyCar Series for Dreyer & Reinbold Racing. In each accomplishment, Hunter-Reay became the first American to win since Sam Hornish Jr. in 2006. Hunter-Reay also won in the defunct Champ Car World Series twice and the Toyota Grand Prix of Long Beach. In addition to his experience in Indy car racing, Hunter-Reay has competed in the Race of Champions, A1 Grand Prix, and various forms of sports car racing.
Patrick Racing was an auto racing team in USAC, CART, Champ Car and the Indy Racing League. Patrick Racing was started by U.E. "Pat" Patrick in the 1970s. The team is best known for winning the Indianapolis 500 on three occasions, and the Indy car title twice. Patrick Racing achieved 45 Indy car wins.
Graham Robert Rahal is an American race car driver and small business owner. He currently races in the IndyCar Series with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing, a team partially owned by his father Bobby Rahal, the winner of the 1986 Indianapolis 500.
Jonathan Summerton is an American race car driver.
Newman/Haas Racing was an auto racing team that competed in CART, Champ Car, and the IndyCar Series from 1983 to 2011. The team operations were based in Lincolnshire, Illinois. Newman/Haas Racing was formed as a partnership between actor, automotive enthusiast and semi-professional racer Paul Newman and long-time auto racing owner/driver Carl Haas. The duo were competitors in sports car racing during the 1970s and early 1980s. In 1983, they joined forces to enter the ranks of Indy car racing. Newman/Haas was one of the most successful teams in Indy car racing during the 1980s, 1990s, and 2000s. The team won 105 CART/Champ Car races and eight season championships, followed by two race wins in the IRL/IndyCar Series.
Truesports was an automobile racing team founded by Jim Trueman based in Hilliard, Ohio. The team is best known for winning the 1986 Indianapolis 500 and back-to-back CART championships in 1986 and 1987. The team won 19 points-paying Indy car races.
Michael Lanigan is an entrepreneur, shipping magnate and IndyCar Series team owner. Entries he had won the 2007 championship with Sébastien Bourdais and the 2020 Indianapolis 500 with Takuma Sato.
John Michael Edwards is an American professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver.
Joseph Alan Hand is an American professional racing driver who competes in sports car racing as a Ford factory driver. A former champion of the Star Mazda Series, Hand is the co-winner of the 2011 24 Hours of Daytona driving for Chip Ganassi Racing, the 2012 12 Hours of Sebring GT class for BMW Team Rahal, and the 2016 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Pro class for Ford Chip Ganassi Team USA driving the Ford GT.
The 2013 IZOD IndyCar Series was the 18th season of the IndyCar Series and the 102nd season of American open wheel racing. Its premier event was the 97th Indianapolis 500 held on Sunday, May 26. The 2013 season was the second to feature the Dallara DW12 chassis. Ryan Hunter-Reay entered the season as the defending drivers' champion. Chevrolet entered as the defending Manufacturers' Cup champion.
Santino Michael Ferrucci is an American racing driver. He competes in the IndyCar Series, driving the No 14 Chevrolet for A.J. Foyt Racing. He has also previously raced in the FIA Formula 2 Championship.
Oliver Clark Askew is an American-Swedish race car driver who races under the American flag. He is the 2019 Indy Lights champion.
The BMW Z4 GTE is a racing car which competed in the sports car races such as the American Le Mans Series, Tudor United SportsCar Championship and European Le Mans Series. It competed from 2013 to 2015 and was replaced in 2016 by the M6 GTLM.
The 2021 NTT IndyCar Series was the 26th season of the IndyCar Series and the 110th official championship season of American open wheel racing. The premier event was the 2021 Indianapolis 500, won by Hélio Castroneves. It was the second year under Penske management after they took over in late 2019. Scott Dixon entered his 21st season competing for a National Championship as the defending champion, but ultimately finished the campaign in fourth place.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 is a sports prototype racing car designed by BMW M and built by Dallara. It is designed to the Le Mans Daytona h regulations, and debuted in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship at the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona. It marks BMW's first return to the top-flight of sports prototype racing since the BMW V12 LMR in 1999. The car will also contest the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2024 onwards.
The 2024 NTT IndyCar Series is the 113th official championship season of American open wheel racing and the 29th season under IndyCar Series sanction. Its showcase event will be the 108th running of the Indianapolis 500.
1 2 Carl., Hungness (1992). The Indianapolis 500 Yearbook - 1992. Speedway, Ind.: Carl Hungness. ISBN0915088584. OCLC1066693961.
↑ The men & machines of Indy car racing: Indy car 1992-93. Rahal, Bobby., Hughes, Jonathan., PPG Indy Car World Series. New York, NY: Autosport International. 1993. ISBN0929323092. OCLC29490370.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: others (link)
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Augusto Farfus 
Philipp Eng 
Jesse Krohn 
Dries Vanthoor 
Connor De Phillippi 
Nick Yelloly 
Rene Rast 
