Raffaele Marciello is officially a new BMW M Motorsport driver, thus bringing to a close the ‘soap opera’ that has been going on for months about his future.
‘Lello’s farewell to Mercedes-AMG Motorsport had already been announced between the lines by himself when at the end of the 2022 season he stated his desire to move to driving a prototype once the contract with the Star of Stuttgart ended at the end of 2023.
The last race aboard the AMG GT3 saw him dominate the FIA GT World Cup in Macau last weekend with the conquest of Pole Position, Qualification Race and Sunday morning race, confirming himself as the best driver the German brand has had in its years. ranks for seven straight seasons, where he brought home a host of successes and titles.
Now a new chapter opens for the Swiss-Italian which is anything but easy given the enormous difference between Mercedes and BMW as GT3 cars, but above all by taking the wheel of the M Hybrid V8 LMDh and thus crowning his dream .
This year the 28-year-old’s search for a seat began in the negotiations started with Lamborghini, but when everything seemed to be in good shape, an offer arrived from BMW M Motorsport which convinced Marciello to remain at the service of a German brand by accepting the court of the Bavarian House.
“I am very happy to be an official BMW driver starting next season – said Marciello – It is an important step in my career. I have been racing for years and am immensely proud to be able to race for BMW M Motorsport in the future.”
Photo by: BMW Motorsport
The presentation of the BMW M Hybrid V8
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, added: “I am very pleased to welcome Raffaele to the BMW M Motorsport family. When you have the opportunity to sign a top-level driver like him, you have to seize it. For years he has consistently demonstrated his skill, especially with GT cars, but there is much more to him.”
“Before his GT career, Raffaele demonstrated his class in open-wheel racing several times. In our opinion, with his versatility, he represents the perfect all-round package to further strengthen our already esteemed roster of factory drivers” .
“The multitude of racing programs we will undertake in the coming years with our cars offers diverse employment opportunities. We will announce the specific details of Raffaele’s racing plans in the coming weeks and months.”
At this point all that remains is to wait for the complete list of names of those who will be involved in the various championships. The BMW driver fleet in 2023 consisted of Jake Dennis, Connor De Phillippi, John Edwards, Philipp Eng, Augusto Farfus, Dan Harper, Colton Herta, Max Hesse, Erik Johansson, Jens Klingmann, Jesse Krohn, Maxime Martin, René Rast, Valentino Rossi, Bruno Spengler, Sheldon Van Der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Neil Verhagen, Charles Weerts, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly.
As the head of the LMDh program, Maurizio Leschiutta, stated to Motorsport.com, BMW will use its standard bearers both in the WEC and in IMSA, therefore Marciello will have the opportunity to cover more commitments over the course of next year, dividing the tasks also in the GT.
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