BMW is the newest manufacturer to be seduced back to endurance racing by the new LMDh rules, although it will focus on IMSA and not the WEC
It is easier said than done to convince big manufacturers to invest a ton of money in your new motorsport category, but LMDh (Le Mans Daytona Hybrid) seems to have the big guns in droves. Acura, Audi and Porsche have already committed themselves to the regulations that apply to both the WeatherTech SportsCar Championship organized by the IMSA and the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Now you can add BMW to this list. Unlike Audi and Porsche, however, BMW will focus on the former series and not get into the latter. At least for the time being, there doesn’t seem to be any plans to return to Le Mans, where BMW took overall victory in 1999 with the V12 LMR.
Although BMW has always been active in the endurance scene, it has not made any further attempt at prototypes since LMR. His first attempt in a top GT car in over 20 years, however, will be an entirely different beast.
A big driver for the growing popularity of LMDh is the cost control achieved through various standardized components. For the front axle, there is a hybrid system from Williams / Bosch and four chassis to choose from: Dallara, Ligier, Multimatic and Oreca.
The internal combustion engine is supplied by the entry-level manufacturer, and the whole shebang is wrapped in a unique body. Expect some sizable kidney grille on BMW’s shell, judging from some of its recent street cars.
BMW hasn’t yet said which engine it will use for the job, but it won’t be quite as exciting as the LMR’s powerplant – a naturally aspirated S70 V12 shared with the McLaren F1. Hopefully we should learn more details soon, along with the driver line-up for the two cars that BMW will compete in from 2023.
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