Throughout 24 hours of racing, emotions are bound to run hot. Just ask Tommy Milner of Corvette Racing. Milner, one of the drivers co-piloting the No. 4 Corvette Z06 GT3.R at the 2025 Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona, had a heated exchange with some BMW drivers while battling for the lead – and he made his frustration crystal clear by flipping them off at race speed.
Milner found himself in a fierce fight for the lead of the GTD Pro class against the No. 1 BMW, driven by Kelvin van der Linde of Paul Miller Racing at the time of the incident. The duo took their battle through slower traffic and lapped cars in front of them, one of which was the No. 48 BMW of Augusto Farfus, none other than van der Linde’s teammate. Farfus, over 50 laps down, did his utmost to stall Milner’s charge, throwing blocks left and right and backing the No. 4 Corvette Racing machine into the clutches of van der Linde.
Officials cracked down on Farfus, sending him for a drive-through penalty for impeding the leaders. When he returned to the track, though, Farfus continued to wield the No. 48 BMW against Milner’s Vette, and the two got stacked up heading into a corner. Milner drifted high and made contact with van der Linde. The No. 4 Corvette suffered damage, tearing out its left taillight. Farfus was handed another drive through penalty, and Milner sent him off with his middle finger flying high out the window of his Corvette.
The damage wasn’t immense, but it was enough to take the No. 4 Corvette Racing team out of contention for the lead as they made multiple pit stops to fix it.
The saga didn’t end there, though. Later in the race, Nico Varrone, now at the helm of the No. 4 Vette, got sweet, sweet payback. As the No. 1 BMW closed on Varrone’s teammate, the No. 3 Vette, for third place, Varrone saw his chance and divebombed his rival. The BMW went for a neat little spin as both bright yellow Corvette Racing teammates carried on their way.
“It sounds like they timed their pit stop to come out in front of me,” Milner said of the BMW teammates. “On their previous stint, they waited for me until I got close, then held me up for a bit but for whatever reason, either he pit or got the black flag, then came out and did it again. Their only goal is to race dirty. Again, it’s just disappointing. It’s not how this kind of race should go.”
The No. 4 Vette wound up seventh in the GTD Pro Class while the No. 3 Vette chased a Ford Mustang GT3 across the line and finished second. The No. 1 BMW, meanwhile, was relegated to fourth.
Comments
It used to be incumbent upon Porsche drivers to “take out the Corvettes.” It seems they have passed the torch to BMW! This effort seems to be a “German” thing….
They’re just upset because the last time it was the Americans who took out the Germans… you know.
It was the Russians who took out the Germans and took Berlin. Americans only assisted.
So the two Kraut drivers of the NAZI go-Karts were only given drive-thru penalties after repeated dirty racing tactics intent on taking-out another class competitor. This isn’t NASCAR ! Exactly why did the weak IMSA Officials not Black Flag and disqualify both of them after their second and third infractions ? Has IMSA become afraid of BMW or, more likely, has some money changed hands ?
Prohibit BMW from all IMSA races.
So tired of the unprofessional people in sports it turned me against watching any of it till they grow up and act right.
Idk man, I think it’s pretty entertaining
BMW should have been disqualified!!!
Looks like BMW race drivers are as bad as BMW street drivers.
Instagram, YouTube, Facebook, GMA; out of all the sources, I have not seen one comment defending the BMW drivers, and I absolutely love it.
Shows how correct Milner was during his interview about the BS tactics from BMW.
Couldn’t be prouder of all the Corvette drivers in both classes. Each and every one of them did a great job.
I saw this and loved it. Chevy sent a strong FAFO message.
Excellent paybacks. And a good Corvette Racing start for the season.
Good hard racing is what makes the sport great however it should be fair without blocking or stalling one car to help another. BMW’s are great and it would be nice if they raced fairly to win and not cheat to win. My support is and always will be with the Corvettes and sometimes Fords but a true fair racing win by any of the others is always conceded to without spite.
While all this childlike nonsense was going Ford stayed focused on the race and took them win.