Connor De Phillippi raced a BMW M4 for Rahal Letterman Lanigan in the GTD Pro category in 2022. This was the first year for that class as he had been competing in the IMSA GTLM category before that class was phased out. In this interview taken on the Thursday before the 2022 Acura Grand Prix of Long Beach, he talks about his early open-wheel career versus GT racing, how GTD differs from GTLM and his preparation for the race weekend. After a penalty in qualifying relegated his team to start last, De Phillippi carved his way through the field to the lead before another penalty during a pit stop dropped them down the order again. De Phillipi is a talented driver who’s always looking forward to improving his craft and going after wins. Enjoy!

NOTE: De Phillippi has been chosen as one of the drivers to hit the track in 2023 in the all-new BMW GTP car. After some testing towards the end of 2022, the new season kicks off with the 24hrs of Daytona on January 28-29, 2023.

By Larry Mason

Copyright © 2022 Larry Mason

Larry Mason interviews Connor De Phillippi in the IMSA paddock (one day before hitting the track in Long Beach) for Fast Lane raceschool.com podcast listeners. (Photo courtesy of Helmut Ulrich)

The RLL BMW M4 GTD Pro car that Connor De Phillippi shares with his co-driver John Edwards makes its way around Turn 10 at Long Beach.

For a different perspective of Turn 10, here’s how close De Phillippi and Edwards steer their BMW M4 to the wall and fence as seen from inside the corner.

This photo was taken at the worldwide reveal of the new BMW GTP race car that De Phillippi and his teammates will be racing next year. (Photo courtesy of BMW / Cobb)

Test miles at Sebring is part of the preparation for the new BMW GTP car before it makes its debut at the Rolex 24hrs of Daytona the last weekend of January 2023. (Photo courtesy of BMW / Cobb)

Interview and photos Copyright © by Larry Mason (unless otherwise noted)