Tommy Milner calls out ‘dirty’ tactics by BMW after damage costs him GTD Pro lead

Tommy Milner did not hold back his frustrations after his final stint at Daytona, taking aim at what he described as unsportsmanlike conduct from the Paul Miller BMW team.

“That’s not what racing is about. It’s not what sports car racing is about,” he told IMSA Radio. But what happened? Well, with less than three hours to go in the Rolex 24, Milner was in control of the GTD Pro Class in the No. 4 Corvette. He was being hounded by Connor De Phillippi in the BMW, but it was the BMW in front of the race leader that proved to be the real issue.

Augusto Farfus – running several laps down – was holding up Milner with aggressive blocks that allowed the sister BMW to close. Race control took notice and issued a drive-through penalty for blocking, but it was too late. Moments later in the international horseshoe, Farfus’ slow entry caused Milner to make a mistake. His Corvette bobbled and he slammed doors with De Phillippi, tearing back the left side of the bumper cover. Farfus dove to the pits for his penalty at the end of the lap and an irate Milner opened his window to show him the middle finger as he raced on.

#48 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3 EVO: Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Jesse Krohn, Augusto Farfus

Photo by: Andreas Beil

On the next pitstop, the team tried to tape up the flailing bodywork but it was left unfinished by the time fueling was done. Milner returned to the race in second place, only for the bodywork to peel back again. Race control issued him a mechanical black flag and he was forced back into the pits. 

Milner told IMSA Radio that Farfus, the team and BMW “should be embarrassed for that kind of racing. It is team racing here but not like that. You got a car that’s laps down, out of the race, who’s only job is basically help a teammate and not like that — lap after lap after lap, blocking, blocking, blocking and waiting for me. Like I said, it’s not how sports car racing should be. It’s disappointing. I don’t have an issue with the No. 1 car [De Phillippi] — those guys are in their own race. It’s just the sister car that is out there just to be a nuisance. It’s poor sportsmanship, poor driving. Just embarrassing on their part.”

Milner claims that the No. 48 BMW was timing its pitstops to ensure they came out just ahead of Milner and that it happened twice. “Their only goal is to race dirty. Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go.”

Moments later, his fury was interrupted by cheers in his pitbox. A full-course yellow had just come out, breathing new life into their 24 shot. Milner concluded by noting that he wasn’t a particularly spiritual person, but hoped karma would help to settle the score.