The team which will field BMW’s entry in next year’s World Endurance Championship has completed its first test run with the M Hybrid V8 LMDh.
Six of the team’s works drivers took the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8. It is powered by a four-litre twin-turbo engine producing around 640bhp, as defined by the regulations, and a specification 50kW (67bhp) LMDh hybrid drive system.The car was originally shaken down at BMW’s Dingolfing facility in Germany by Nick Yelloly. It then spent several days running at the Motorland Aragon circuit in Spain.
BMW M Team WR drivers Jesse Krohn, Maxime Martin, Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Dan Harper and Max Hesse shared the BMW M Hybrid V8 in Spain. The car was also entrusted to some of its Junior Team drivers.
BMW M Motorsport chief Andreas Roos said the team made “a very good start” to its programme ahead of the new WEC season in Qatar next March.
The car has already raced in America’s IMSA series. BMW scored its first win with the it in last weekend’s race at Watkins Glen after the on-the-road winner was penalised for a technical infringement.
“The BMW M Hybrid V8 ran smoothly during the first test drives and provided our engineers and the team with the opportunity to gain a wealth of insights right from the start,” Roos continued. “Of course, the experiences we have gathered together with BMW M Team RLL in the IMSA series races have also contributed to this.
“At the beginning of the LMDh programme, we deliberately chose to compete exclusively in the IMSA series first and later in the FIA WEC. We are now benefiting from this approach. Although the start was successful, there is still a lot of work to be done on the way to the first races. We are all highly motivated for the work throughout the rest of the year.”
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Pictures: BMW M Hybrid V8 tests at Aragon
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Mog
26th June 2023, 22:05
First test? And the car is running already in IMSA?
RandomMallard
26th June 2023, 22:23
First test for the WEC operation I believe. I expect they’re running different operations in each series, so this is the first opportunity for the full WEC team to get hands on and do some testing.
MichaelN
27th June 2023, 15:50
It’s the first test for the European WRT outfit, the IMSA racing is done by Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing. Same car, different teams.