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Three-Class BMW IMSA Campaign
The newly launched Hanley Motorsports Incorporated (HMI) is joining forces with DXDT Racing to field a multi-car, multi-series IMSA program for the 2027 season. The unified effort will contest two IMSA championships across three separate classes, campaigning BMW race cars throughout the campaign. In the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the operation is set to run BMW M4 GT3 EVO machinery in both Grand Touring Daytona Pro (GTD PRO) and Grand Touring Daytona (GTD). In addition, the team will field a BMW M4 GT4 EVO in the Grand Sport (GS) category of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. Driver lineups across all entries will be announced at a later date.
Leadership Structure and Personnel
The collaboration unites Robert Hanley, DXDT Racing founder David Askew, Bryan Sellers, and Mitchell Simmons, each of whom has achieved sports car racing championships across different outfits and roles. HMI has appointed Simmons as Team Principal and Sellers as Competition Director. Sellers spent the previous two years serving as Team Manager at DXDT Racing, the championship-winning team established by Askew. The arrangement also reunites Simmons and Sellers, who spent nearly a decade working together at Paul Miller Racing, securing multiple IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup race victories and championship titles before Sellers transitioned to DXDT.
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Operational Base and Testing Schedule
HMI will operate out of the former Paul Miller Racing shop in Buford, Georgia, for the 2027 season while a new facility in Flowery Branch, Georgia, is being completed. The team intends to test for the first time prior to January's Roar Before the Rolex 24. Most of 2026 saw the group come together in the background, with Hanley noting he was committed by Sebring to making the program happen, while Askew capped DXDT Racing's season with a podium finish at Motul Petit Le Mans.
Hanley's Motorsports Background
The project marks a milestone for Hanley following more than three decades involved across varied motorsport disciplines. Beginning as a dirt racer, Hanley expanded into sports car competition during the 2020s before establishing an IMSA presence in 2026 through two WeatherTech Championship efforts: an announced partnership within the Bryan Herta Autosport with PR1/Mathiasen Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) program and an involvement with DXDT Racing. According to Sellers, their connection formed while DXDT worked to finalize its roster and Hanley offered backing to driver Mason Filippi.
BMW Alignment and Development Ladder
With BMW joining the program, Hanley noted that manufacturer support was a critical part of the effort, calling manufacturer alignment probably the single most important question to answer once key people were in place. Simmons highlighted his past championship success with BMW, while Sellers described leaving a mark on such a marquee manufacturer as a massive honor. Operating entries simultaneously across GTD PRO, GTD, and GS positions Hanley Motorsports as a rare outfit with entries across all three classes, which Hanley explained can build opportunities for drivers, crews, and other motorsport personnel. Sellers added that the team wanted to be able to start a GS program to provide a feeder for drivers, engineers, crews, and interns, with Hanley pointing to the GT4 effort as a major element toward an ultimate goal of personnel reaching the pro car.
