2023-06-26 16:29:21
The BMW team has announced that it has started its circuit test program with the M Hybrid V8 which is due to make its World Endurance Championship debut next year.
BMW will enter the WEC from 2024, as part of a program that will be managed by the Belgian structure WRT. To prepare for this arrival in the discipline, a first outing was organized with the BMW M Hybrid V8 at Dingolfing, in Bavaria, the German group’s test area.
Thereafter, three days of circuit testing were held on the side of the Motorland Aragón track, in Spain. Factory riders Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Maxime Martin and Jesse Krohn first took turns driving, before being joined by Dan Harper and Max Hesse, from the brand’s junior team, for this first test.
According to the press release issued by BMW, the sessions took place “no problem” et “BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team WRT engineers have collected a lot of information and data which will be very useful for the development program of the new car and the many other tests to come”.
The announcement of this first successful run comes the day after the first victory, on green carpet, of the BMW M Hybrid V8, already entered in competition in the United States, during the 6 Hours of Watkins Glen in the IMSA championship.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 in testing.
Preparations for the commitment to the WEC next year are therefore experiencing a boost after having formally started, particularly on the WRT side, with the launch of the American program, which allows troops to familiarize themselves with the requirements related, among other things, to the operational aspect and procedures.
“This first test is an important step for which we have all worked hard, an important step for the team”said Vincent Vosse, head of BMW M Team WRT. “When we created Team WRT with Yves [Weerts]we said to ourselves ‘Maybe one day we will do the 24 Hours of Spa’, and in less than two years we won it… Being at Le Mans was also a goal, but going to Le Mans and in the WEC by representing a manufacturer like BMW, in the premier category, it’s a dream come true.”
“We feel like we have the best builder and the best group of people behind us. Everyone did a fantastic job building and preparing the car, we had three days of testing without any issues, and it It’s a great first step. I can’t wait to see what’s next and I want to thank everyone involved in the program.”
To see the LMDh in the WEC, you will therefore have to wait for the opening round of the 2024 season, on the side of Losail in Qatar.
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