Only confirmation was awaited for news of which there were already strong hints. After presenting the BMW M Hybrid V8 with Dallara chassis to attack the 24 Hours of Daytona and the IMSA title as early as 2023, the Bavarian house recently formalized the program in the WEC including participation in the 24 Hours of Le Mans starting from 2024. BMW will therefore manage a double commitment with its LMDh prototype, as the World Championship campaign will complement the challenges in North America that will continue beyond 2023.
The fleet of the Hypercar class in the WEC is thus further enriched, which in 2024 will see the starting line Toyota, Peugeot, Porsche, Ferrari, Cadillac, BMW, Lamborghini and Alpine, in addition to the possible Glickenhaus, Vanwall and Isotta Fraschini. A real dream grid that endurance enthusiasts could hardly have imagined a few years ago. For the Bavarian manufacturer in particular it will be the first campaign at Le Mans after the victorious 1999 edition, won by the trio Joachim Winkelhock, Pierluigi Martini and Yannick Dalmas at the wheel of the BMW V12 LMR. Andreas Roos, director of MBW M Motorsport, commented on the news: “Due to the very tight schedule for the LMDh program, the plan has always been to focus on just one engagement in the first season in 2023. The IMSA championship suits us perfectly. However, our medium-term objective was obviously to race on two fronts with the M Hybrid V8 and also to take advantage of the great platform offered by the WEC and the 24 Hours of Le Mans. We are working hard on this at the same time as our North American program. We took another important step on Monday. The car has successfully completed its shakedown in Varano de Melegari. Now an intense test program begins before our Daytona debut in January 2023 ”.
The Varano test was the first time the M Hybrid took to the track, driven by drivers Connor De Philippi and Sheldon van der Linde. The P66 / 3 engine, a 4-liter twin-turbo V8 based on the P66 / 1 unit previously installed on the M4 DTM in 2017 and 2018. A great deal of work was carried out by the Munich engineers to adapt the starting aspirated engine and convert it into a turbocharged example coupled with the hybrid system of the LMDh regulations. De Philippi commented on the first sensations behind the wheel of the Dallara-BMW: “It was an honor and a pleasure to complete the first few laps of the BMW M Hybrid V8. It was a historic day for BMW Motorsport for its LMDh program. Step by step we checked all the car’s functions and at the end of the day we were able to do a few laps at almost full power, which is a good result for a roll-out “. Testing of the BMW GTP-Hypercar will continue in Varano in the last week of August, followed by other sessions in Europe in August. Starting in September, the M Hybrid V8 will fly to the United States, to complete a specific preparation program for its debut in IMSA.
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