Piers Phillips has been appointed team president of Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing.

The Briton didn’t have to wait long to find a new post after departing the general manager role at Schmidt Peterson Motorsports late last month, and hopes to bring the organization closer to earning its first IndyCar Series championship since 1992. On the sports car front, BMW Team RLL’s most recent title came in 2011 in the former American Le Mans Series.

Phillips will oversee operations for the team’s involvement in the IndyCar Series, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship and Jaguar I-PACE eTROPHY Series. With an extensive background in touring car and prototype competition, including running teams at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and three seasons of leading SPM from midfield results to becoming a front-runner in 2018, Phillips’ experience could be a perfect fit for RLL.

“I was incredibly honored to be approached by Bobby about this opportunity given his experience, success and stature,” Phillips said. “From the moment I sat down with him to discuss this role, I just fell in love with his passion, drive, and enthusiasm to continue the already impressive accomplishments that RLL has achieved as well as his desire to take the team even further in the future. He is an infectious character that I think I will thoroughly enjoy working with. I also spent some time with Mike Lanigan in Chicago and was equally impressed with his attitude and approach.

“To be involved at this level with not only the Indy car program, but also the sports car program and eTROPHY was a very easy decision for me and one that I know I will thoroughly enjoy.”

“Mike, Dave and I are pleased that Piers is joining the team as its first ever president,” said Bobby Rahal, team co-owner with David Letterman and Michael Lanigan. “His past successes speak volumes of his ability in all facets of racing and I look forward to working closely with Piers to take the team to the next level.”