Spa-Francorchamps/Laguna Seca. For the second consecutive time, BMW M Motorsport is facing a double-header race weekend in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA Series). At Spa-Francorchamps (BEL), Belgian BMW M Team WRT will compete with two BMW M Hybrid V8s and two BMW M4 GT3s in its home race in the FIA WEC. At Laguna Seca (USA), the fourth IMSA race of the year is on the schedule. BMW M Team RLL will enter two BMW M Hybrid V8s in the race. Paul Miller Racing and Turner Motorsport will start with the BMW M4 GT3 in the GTD classes.
FIA WEC: Home race for BMW M Team WRT in Belgium.
After the home race comes another home race. After BMW M works driver Valentino Rossi (ITA) recently thrilled Italian fans at Imola (ITA), it is now his team’s turn. At Spa-Francorchamps, BMW M Team WRT tries to continue the clear upward trend in the FIA WEC in front of the Belgian home crowd. After sixth place for Robin Frijns (NED), René Rast (GER), and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) with the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 at Imola, the goal is to further establish themselves in the leading group among the hypercars in the third race since the comeback. Raffaele Marciello (SUI), Dries Vanthoor (BEL), and Marco Wittmann (GER) will compete in the sister #15 car.
In the LMGT3 class, there was a fantastic one-two result for the two BMW M4 GT3s to celebrate at Imola. Augusto Farfus (BRA), Sean Gelael (INA), and Darren Leung (GBR) achieved the first victory for a BMW M Motorsport car in the history of the FIA WEC in the #31 BMW M4 GT3. Second place at his home race went to Rossi, who shared the cockpit of the #46 BMW M4 GT3 with Maxime Martin (BEL) and Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA). Both crews now compete at Spa-Francorchamps to attack for the podium places again and collect more points in the world championship. Victory at the 24-hour race in 2023 proved that the course is good for the BMW M4 GT3.
The race at Spa-Francorchamps starts on Saturday at 13:00 CEST.
IMSA Series: BMW M Team RLL aims for the first podium of the season.
The fourth race weekend of the IMSA season takes place on the spectacular track at California’s Laguna Seca. BMW M Team RLL has shown strong pace with the two BMW M Hybrid V8s so far this season but is still waiting for the first podium finish. That is the goal for Philipp Eng (AUT) and Jesse Krohn (FIN) in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 as well as Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Nick Yelloly (GBR) in car #25.
A special weekend awaits Turner Motorsport. Team Principal Will Turner’s squad is competing in its 557th race for BMW and is thus the BMW M Motorsport customer team with the most race entries. In honour of this milestone, the BMW M4 GT3 will carry start number 557 instead of the usual 96. Since 1998, Turner Motorsport has exclusively competed with BMW racing cars and has achieved numerous prestigious victories and titles. In the GTD-Pro class, Paul Miller Racing will field the #1 BMW M4 GT3 with BMW M works driver Madison Snow and Bryan Sellers (both USA) at Laguna Seca.
The race at the WeatherTech Raceway starts on Sunday at 21:10 CEST (12:10 local time) and lasts 2:40 hours.
Comments before the races at Spa-Francorchamps and Laguna Seca:
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “We go into the third race of the FIA WEC season positively after the steps we made at Imola. In Italy, we not only celebrated the fantastic one-two result in the LMGT3 class but also saw a clear upward trend with our hypercars. We have tested at Spa-Francorchamps and want to continue the positive trend at BMW M Team WRT’s home race. In the IMSA Series, the goal is clear. We want to convert the consistently good performance of the BMW M Hybrid V8 this season into corresponding results. In the GTD class, it will be a very special weekend for Turner Motorsport. Congratulations on the 557th start in a BMW racing car and at the same time a big thank you for the decades-long loyalty to our brand. It is always a pleasure and a lot of fun to work with Will Turner and his very professional crew. The long list of victories and titles speaks for itself. Turner Motorsport is an indispensable part of BMW M Motorsport’s racing programme in North America. I hope it will stay that way for many more years!”
Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “After a good weekend at Imola, where we made a clear step forward with our hypercars and celebrated a fantastic one-two result in the LMGT3 class, we are now looking forward to our home race in the FIA WEC. The course traditionally suits the BMW M4 GT3 well, so we should be well positioned again in the LMGT3 category. For the hypercars, it’s about taking one step at a time. Hopefully, we can make the next step in front of our home fans.”
Dries Vanthoor (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8): “I am really looking forward to the home race for the team and also for me personally. There will be many fans, but also friends and family on site. We have tested again with the BMW M Hybrid V8 at Spa-Francorchamps and hopefully made further progress that we can show on the race weekend.”
Augusto Farfus (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3): “We want to take the momentum from our victory at Imola to Spa-Francorchamps and finish the first third of the season on a high before the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The goal is to continue on the good path we have taken and score many points for the world championship.”
Connor De Phillippi (BMW M Team RLL, #25 BMW M Hybrid V8): “I can’t wait to race at the WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca. It’s the track where I had my very first racing experiences, and I have many fond memories of this place. We had a good test on the freshly paved track a few weeks ago. I think the race will be very exciting, especially in terms of strategy.”