Paul Miller Racing wins six-way IMSA GTD Pro title battle at Petit Le Mans

Six teams entered Saturday’s Motul Petit Le Mans with a chance to win the GTD Pro championship, but standing tall afterward was Paul Miller Racing, led by drivers Connor De Phillippi and Neil Verhagen, who won their first full-season IMSA championships.

The championship-clinching third-place finish for De Phillippi, Verhagen, and third driver Dan Harper bookended a season which began with an incredible victory in the Rolex 24 At Daytona, and ended with Paul Miller Racing winning the title in one of GT3 racing’s most competitive all-pro categories.

For De Phillippi, now a BMW mainstay across GT and prototype racing, it’s his first championship in his seventh full season in IMSA.

“I haven't been able to wrap my head around it,” said De Phillippi, who recalled “a lot of character-building years in IMSA.

“I’ve been part of multiple programs with BMW now, some easier than others. When I had the chance to join Paul Miller Racing for the full season, I knew it was a huge opportunity to try to win the championship.

“Starting off with a strong Daytona is huge for the overall title. We went race by race, maximized what we had each given weekend. Made the least amount of mistakes between everyone in the field. When there was more to grab, we took it.”

De Phillippi gave all plaudits to Verhagen, the former BMW Junior Team prodigy (alongside Harper and fellow Rolex 24 winner Max Hesse) whose strength in qualifying, with seven top-three starts, proved critical.

“Coming into the season we all agreed to have our own jobs, and we all would focus really hard on those jobs well. Neil was great all season in qualifying,” De Phillippi said of his co-driver. “The team put a huge emphasis in that. When you see the championship come down to a handful of points across multiple scenarios, all those start to add up.”

It was a hectic race for Paul Miller Racing, as the team had to bounce back from a drive-through penalty after Harper collided with the No. 59 RLL Team McLaren, and then at the end, Verhagen had to survive a frenetic final two hours to take third place behind the winning No. 68 Car Blanche Aston Martin and runner-up No. 77 AO Racing Porsche.

“That was probably the most anxious I was,” De Phillippi admitted. “The guys were running numbers on strategy. The least thing I could do is double-check math and the points scenario.

“I woke up this morning to a memory. It was almost 10 years to the exact day when I won the (ADAC) GT Masters championship with Chris Mies back in 2016. It seemed very fitting. When I saw it this morning, I was like, Maybe that's a good omen.

"Here we are – we closed off the year with how we wanted.”

Not only did Paul Miller Racing win the GTD Pro championship three years after a dominant run to the 2023 title in GTD, but this year also saw the team crowned GTD Pro Endurance Cup winners for the third straight year. But the success comes as the people who make up Paul Miller Racing face an uncertain future heading into 2027, unclear as to what form – if any – the team will take.

“I think regardless of what the rumors are, they're just rumors,” Verhagen said. “(The championship) meant more than anything to the boys this year.

“We were able to win the Endurance Cup two years ago. Last year we were able to do 1-2 in the Endurance Cup. This year the goal was clear: It was to go and bring home the team a Rolex in the 24 Hours, and to go and win the championship.

“You can see what it means to everybody, the emotion, the celebration, the tears. For me as well, too, Connor as well, first championship for both of us. It means so much. To do it with a group of guys like we have at Paul Miller Racing is very special. They all work so incredibly hard.”

The memory of races like Detroit and VIR, where Paul Miller Racing’s mechanics and engineers patched up the No. 1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO after practice accidents and made it fast enough for its drivers to salvage crucial results, sticks out to Verhagen when showcasing the team’s resilience.

“I think it's that perseverance over the entire season: Everyone had each other's backs the entire way through,” he said. "I think that's what is in our blood and has really made us champions this year.

“(It’s) going to be a season which I never forget. My most successful season in motorsport ever. I think there's no words other than to say it was an absolutely amazing season.”