BMW’s Harper, Hesse Hoping for Second Year in GTD Pro

Newly crowned Motul Petit Le Mans class winners Dan Harper and Max Hesse said they are hopeful they’ll have shown enough in their debut IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season to have earned a second campaign in the series amid uncertainty over which teams and drivers will represent BMW in GTD Pro next year.

Harper, Hesse and Connor De Phillippi completed a controlling run from pole position to beat the pair of Corvette Racing by Pratt Miller Motorsports Chevrolet Corvette Z06 GT3.Rs to victory in Saturday’s ten-hour endurance classic at Michelin Raceway Road Atlanta.

The win propelled Harper and Hesse, who are both former BMW Junior Team members, to fourth in the GTD Pro standings, while they also won the Michelin Endurance Cup in class.

Their maiden season in the WeatherTech Championship included two race wins, a pair of pole positions and two extra podiums, all of which came at the endurance races.

Post-race, both drivers indicated they would like to return to the WeatherTech Championship next year, despite  uncertainty about who is going to represent BMW in the category next year.

Sportscar365 understands that several teams are currently in the frame for BMW’s factory-supported GTD Pro effort, with Paul Miller Racing a candidate to continue but set to scale back to a single car.

However, the Georgia-based outfit is understood to also be in discussions with McLaren and Lamborghini, while Random Vandals Racing has publicly signaled its intention to represent BMW in GTD Pro despite not appearing on the full season entry list released last week.

With question marks lingering over BMW’s exact presence in the category next year, Harper and Hesse both commented in the post-race press conference that they would like to remain in GTD Pro for a second season in 2026.

“I think we’ve done good,” said Harper. “Of course, there’s always room for improvement from everyone’s side, from the team.

“They made a mistake at some stage, I made a mistake at some stage. We for sure have learned so much.

“It’s always nice to go for a second attempt, I think, from what we’ve all learned and progressed through the year, that’s what we want to do, so let’s see.”

Hesse added: “As Dan mentioned, generally the team has been doing really, really well this year having for the first time two cars, it’s a huge effort.

“The guys really stepped up on it. Yeah, would be very happy to do another year. If not, I’m sure we will be busy somewhere else.”

The win for the No. 48 BMW came at the end of what Harper described as “very up-and-down season” that notably saw the pairing finish no higher than fifth during the shorter rounds of the championship.

“The Sprint Cup not so good, the Endurance Cup very good,” he said.

“It will be nice to go for a second attempt and put it all together in a championship fight, but that’s not up to us. [It was] a great way to end the year, two poles in a row in Indy and here. A podium in Indy and now a victory here.

“It’s all going to the guys. The pit stops were fantastic all race. They always brought us in at the right time.

“A bit of fortune has to go into that, but they were fast, no mistakes. Also, my teammates, no mistakes, and extremely fast and giving me the car in the lead and was able to bring it home.

“I’m very happy and a great way to end the year.”