Doha. Next weekend will see BMW M Motorsport return to centre
stage in endurance racing at the season-opener in the FIA World
Endurance Championship (FIA WEC). The BMW M Team WRT will be racing
with two BMW M Hybrid V8s in the Hypercar class at the Qatar 1812
km. A prototype from BMW M Motorsport will be battling for overall
wins for the first time in 25 years. The BMW M Motorsport Media
Guide attached to this press release contains a detailed
introduction to the BMW M Hybrid V8 and the BMW M4 GT3, which will
be competing in the LMGT3 category. It also features everything you
need to know about teams, drivers, and the 20th BMW Art Car for the
24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA) in June 2024.
Link to BMW M Motorsport Media Guide: https://b.mw/WEC_Media_Guide.
On Monday and Tuesday, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s and the pair of BMW
M4 GT3s each completed around 500 test laps during the Prologue at the
Lusail International Circuit (QAT) as the team provided the best
possible preparation for the first race on Saturday (start time: 09:00 CET).
Reactions to the Prologue:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Overall, we
can be really satisfied with the Prologue. We were able to complete
our testing schedule without any issues for the BMW M Hybrid V8 and
for the BMW M4 GT3. We concentrated on getting the cars into the right
working conditions and ticking off all the open items that we still
had on our list. In the Hypercar class, it was also important for us
to continue optimising the workflows between the BMW M Motorsport
engineers and the BMW M Team WRT. That worked out really well. In the
case of the LMGT3 crews with the new drivers, our focus was on
generating great team spirit and I think that we did an excellent job
there as well. I am now really looking forward to some racing after
all this testing.”
Vincent Vosse (BMW M Team WRT Team Principal): “The
two days of testing here in Qatar went well. We had no problems at all
with the cars and the reliability was very good. The processes within
the team also worked perfectly. In terms of performance, it’s still
very difficult to estimate what the balance of power will be like, but
it’s always like that in the run-up to a season.”
Dries Vanthoor (#15 BMW M Hybrid V8): “It feels good
to finally be making a start to a race week. Testing went well for us
and we were able to take a few steps in the right direction. We still
have a bit of work to do on the performance, but that’s what the
practice sessions are there for. All in all, things have gone
according to plan so far.”
Robin Frijns (#20 BMW M Hybrid V8): “My first
competitive appearance for BMW M Motorsport! The Prologue was really
valuable for me personally, as I was able to chalk up plenty of
kilometres and learn a lot about the car. We had no significant
issues, which is very good. It is difficult to estimate where we are
compared to our rivals, but I am going into my first race as a BMW M
works driver with plenty of confidence.”
Augusto Farfus (#31 BMW M4 GT3): “The Prologue was
important to help us familiarise ourselves with a new circuit, which
was a lot of fun, and for getting to know the new team configuration
for the FIA WEC even better. We were able to get plenty of laps under
our belts and gather some valuable data that we will now analyse to
ensure that we are perfectly prepared for the race weekend.”
Valentino Rossi (#46 BMW M4 GT3): “We did a good job,
as I still had a lot of understeer and my tyres were overheating on
the morning of day two. I wasn’t feeling too good. However, we got a
grip on the balance of the car in the afternoon and I coped a lot
better. I was able to complete plenty of laps and my pace was good.
That was a good way to round off the testing. Now we will analyse
everything to see where we are for the race weekend.”
Note to editors:
Click on the link below for video interviews with all BMW M
Motorsport drivers in the FIA WEC: https://b.mw/WEC_driver_interviews.
