BRASELTON, Ga. (April 17, 2025) – BMW of North America (BMW NA) and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta have extended and expanded upon their existing event partnership, as BMW becomes the Official Pace Car and Official Safety Car of both Motul Petit Le Mans and Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

This increased partnership between the luxury performance automotive group and the north Georgia racetrack builds on the previous relationship, where BMW served as the Official Pace Car and Official Safety Car of the Motul Petit Le Mans event weekend. For 2025 and beyond, BMW will hold an annual presence at the racetrack in addition to the pace and safety car designations for the October race, which serves as the season finale for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Michelin Raceway hosts 15+ spectator events throughout the 2025 season, as well as 100+ track days for various car and motorcycle clubs.

“BMW of North America is pleased to continue our partnership with Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta around the Petit Le Mans event in October,” said Victor Leleu, BMW NA Experiential Marketing Manager. “In addition, and in celebration of BMW NA’s 50^th anniversary, we are proud to serve as the Official Pace Car and Official Safety Car for the entire 2025 season.”

A BMW M5 will serve as the new Official Pace Car of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta, which can be seen leading the field at select events throughout the year, including the 28^th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans on Oct. 11. The track’s new Official Safety Car is in the form of a BMW X5 M Competition and will be among the first vehicles on the scene for on-track incidents at select events.

“Road Atlanta and BMW NA have been fast friends since 1975 when our first year of IMSA competition saw us at the circuit with the beloved BMW 3.0 CSL in only our third event of that year’s IMSA Camel GT Challenge,” continued Leleu. “That 1975 IMSA season was the start of BMW NA’s motorsport programs and 50 years later we have not looked back.”

Motul Petit Le Mans is the cornerstone event on the annual Michelin Raceway spectator schedule and is also the championship decider for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Within the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA WeatherTech Championship, there are currently two BMW M Hybrid V8s that compete under the BMW M Team RLL banner, as well as three total BMW M4 GT3 EVOs in the GT Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes, so fans can look forward to seeing BMW in competition as well as pacing the field at this event.

“BMW has a long history of success at Michelin Raceway and we’re proud to have them at the forefront of our facility and our events,” said Rick Humphrey, president and general manager of Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta. “This annual partnership will continue to showcase BMW North America as a pillar of our motorsports community, as they lead the charge both on and off the track at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.”

The 28^th Annual Motul Petit Le Mans kicks off on Wednesday, Oct. 8 and culminates with the 10-hour IMSA WeatherTech Championship season finale endurance race on Saturday, Oct. 11. This four-day event also features competition from the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in the FOX Factory 120, the VP Racing SportsCar Challenge, Whelen Mazda MX-5 Cup presented by Michelin, and Porsche Carrera Cup North America. Tickets are on sale now at www.roadatlanta.com.

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 in the U.S. BMW Motorrad was brought into the fold in 1980. 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, 144 BMW motorcycle retailers, 105 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