RLL's sportscar program grew out of the team's long relationship with BMW, which began when the marque sought a premier partner for its factory assault on the American Le Mans Series. Based in Hilliard, Ohio, the team ran its IMSA-facing activities under the BMW Team RLL name, distinguishing the sportscar division from the IndyCar side while sharing the organization's infrastructure and technical personnel.
The team made its sportscar debut in 2007 fielding a Porsche 911 GT3 RSR for nine races, with Tommy Milner and Ralf Kelleners earning a second place at Road America and a third at Petit Le Mans, finishing fourth in the GT2 teams championship.
Full factory BMW support arrived in 2009 with two M3 GT2 cars. Car 90, driven by Joey Hand and Bill Auberlen, and car 92, shared by Tommy Milner and Dirk Müller, anchored the program. Despite a difficult debut season, the team finished third in the championship and Milner and Müller took second at Petit Le Mans.
The 2010 season brought the team's first title in the class despite only one race win, at Road America. Auberlen and Milner claimed the overall team championship, establishing RLL as a genuine championship-caliber operation.
In 2011 the team reached its ALMS peak. A one-two finish at the 12 Hours of Sebring launched a season in which RLL won two further races, and captured both the GT Teams Championship and the Manufacturers Championship for BMW. Drivers Joey Hand and Dirk Müller won the GT Driver Championship, completing a clean sweep of the top class honors.
RLL won a second consecutive Sebring 12 Hours in 2012 with the M3, though newer Porsche and Corvette machinery forced them to rely on a single additional win at Road America, finishing second in the championship. For 2013 the team transitioned to the new BMW Z4 GTE, securing a 1-2 victory at Long Beach and a win at Lime Rock in the car's debut season, finishing second in the Teams and Manufacturers championships.
When IMSA absorbed ALMS in 2014, RLL continued with the Z4 GTE, accumulating four second-place finishes across both cars through the season. The 2015 campaign, again with two BMW entries, produced wins at Laguna Seca for the Edwards/Luhr pairing and two wins at Long Beach and Austin for Auberlen and Dirk Werner. Auberlen and Werner finished second in points behind Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet.
The team switched to the BMW M6 GTLM for 2016, including a special number 100 livery on one car celebrating BMW's centenary. Results were modest, with neither car winning, but the program remained competitive as the GTLM field tightened.
In 2017 the four-car victory haul returned. The 25 car of Bill Auberlen and Alexander Sims won at Watkins Glen, Petit Le Mans, and Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, finishing second in the driver championship. The 24 car of John Edwards and Martin Tomczyk won at Laguna Seca, placing BMW second in the manufacturers championship by just six points to Chevrolet.
The 2018 update to the BMW M8 GTE brought a fresh competitive cycle. Connor De Phillippi and Sims won at VIR and Laguna Seca in the 25 car. The 2019 Rolex 24 at Daytona produced the program's most celebrated endurance result: De Phillippi, Augusto Farfus, Colton Herta, and Philipp Eng took class victory after Blomqvist's visa issues forced a last-minute substitution. The 2020 season produced another Rolex 24 win for the 24 car with five additional points finishes, placing the car second in points.
BMW reduced its IMSA budget ahead of 2021, limiting RLL to the four endurance races only, producing six combined podiums without a win in a depleted GTLM field. IMSA dropped the GTLM class before 2022, and RLL entered the new GTD Pro class with the BMW M4 GT3 — car 25 full-time, car 24 as an endurance entry.
The program stepped up again in 2023 with two BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh cars in the new GTP class, and the team scored its first GTP-class victory at the Sahlen's Six Hours of The Glen.
BMW Team RLL's IMSA tenure represents one of the longest-running and most successful factory sportscars programs in North American racing. From the ALMS era through the LMDh transition, the team accumulated multiple class championships, consistent Rolex 24 and Sebring podiums, and eventually a GTP win, cementing RLL as a cornerstone of BMW's American racing identity.