Bruno Spengler is happy with his victory in the second round of the IMSA iRacing Pro Series at Weathertech Raceway Laguna Seca, but admits the result could have been very differently if it were not for a late crash for fellow BMW works star Philipp Eng.
“I am delighted to have won again. The race was great fun. Many thanks to the whole team at work in the background. It could really have ended very differently today after I lost the lead to Philipp Eng for a while,” said Spengler.
Spengler lost the lead to Eng after the Canadian had to avoid backmarker Paul Holton that unexpectedly rejoined the track, forcing Spengler to brake and swerve. This allowed Eng to slip by, but the Austrian lost the lead again after crashing into Corey Fergus.
“Luckily, I did manage to get the win in the end,” added Spengler. “I was sorry for Philipp, as he suffered similar bad luck to mine and was involved in an accident through no fault of his own. In general, the traffic on this short circuit made things difficult.
I am really looking forward to the next race – and of course I’m looking forward to racing in the BMW Z4 GT3 on Saturday, on the Nordschleife in the DNLS.“
Spengler led a podium sweep for the Bavarian marque, with Shane van Gisbergen second in the AIM Vasser Sullivan BMW M8 GTE, while factory ace Nick Catsburg came home in third.
“This race was much more intensive than the one in Sebring,” said Catsburg. “The strategy and the traffic played a much greater part. The short laps mean that you are pretty much always involved in battles. I tried not to take too many risks, but I couldn’t be overcautious.
In the end, Shane van Gisbergen was just a bit too fast. It was great fun again nonetheless.”
