New BMW M Hybrid V8 to compete in WEC and Le Mans in 2024

MANILA: BMW M Motorsport will compete in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024. The new BMW M Hybrid V8 will race against the best teams in the Hypercars category in the official FIA WEC one year after its debut season in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023. The first BMW M Motorsport prototype since the renowned BMW V12 LMR completed its initial laps at the roll-out at Varano de Melegari in Italy last Monday, July 25.

In a statement, BMW M GmbH Chief Executive Officer Franciscus van Meel said, “The decision to run the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA series from 2023, and the WEC from 2024, is a milestone for the project. I sampled and marveled at the extraordinary flair of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during my first term as CEO of BMW M so I am very excited to be challenging for overall victory as BMW M Motorsport again at this classic and in the whole World Endurance Championship for the first time for decades. The BMW M Hybrid V8 represents a turning point towards electrification for BMW M. The IMSA series in North America and the WEC, which takes place all over the world, are the perfect platforms, on which to use our prototype to show how exciting electrified BMW M cars will be in the future.”

“Due to the very tight schedule for the LMDh project, the plan has always been to focus on one field of application in the first season in 2023. The IMSA series is perfectly suited for this. However, our mid-term goal was obviously to race on two fronts with the BMW M Hybrid V8, and also to use the major platform provided by the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans,” BMW M Motorsport Head Andreas Roos stated. “We are now working determinedly toward this, at the same time as our program in North America. We took the next important step on Monday. The car successfully completed its roll-out at Dallara in Varano de Melegari. We now start the intensive test work before the race debut in January 2023 at Daytona.”

The BMW M Hybrid V8 spent several days on the Dallara test track this week. BMW M works drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Connor De Phillippi alternate at the wheel.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to complete the first laps of the BMW M Hybrid V8,” De Phillippi said. “This was a historic day for BMW M Motorsport within the LMDh project. Step by step, we went through all functions of the car and by the end of the day, we were able to do some laps with nearly full power, which is a good result for a roll-out. A huge thank you to everybody working so hard for this project at BMW M Motorsport, BMW M Team RLL, BMW M Team RMG and Dallara!”

More European tests are slated for August before BMW M Team RLL and a team of BMW M Motorsport experts begin IMSA-specific preparations with testing in the US in September. Several BMW M works drivers will be behind the wheel during the test phase. It will be determined later who will sit in the drivers' seat for the 2023 IMSA season. The WEC operations team and the drivers for the 2024 season are both subject to the same rules.

In 2024, BMW M Motorsport will make its first appearance at Le Mans with a prototype since 1999. Back then, Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini, and Yannick Dalmas took overall victory after 24 hours of racing in the BMW V12 LMR. In the same year, the BMW V12 LMR also won at the 12 Hours of Sebring, where its successor, the BMW M Hybrid V8, will participate in 2023.

Photos from BMW

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