The debut season for BMW M Motorsport in the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) is on the horizon. The release of the official entry list confirms the participation of BMW M Team WRT in both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes. The Belgian team will field two BMW M Hybrid V8s and two BMW M4 GT3 cars.

Munich. BMW M Motorsport has secured a top-notch addition in anticipation of the extensive racing programme in the coming years. Raffaele Marciello (SUI) will compete as a BMW M works driver starting from the 2024 season. The 28-year-old has celebrated impressive successes in recent years and is now taking the next step in his career with BMW M Motorsport. His racing schedule will be announced at a later date.

In recent years, Raffaele Marciello, under the banner of Mercedes-AMG, has proved himself to be one of the best GT drivers globally. In 2023 and 2022, he clinched the title in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, secured victory in the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and the driver's title in the ADAC GT Masters in 2022. In both 2023 and 2019, he triumphed at the FIA GT World Cup in Macau (CHN), and in 2018, he became the champion in the Blancpain GT Series. Before entering GT racing, Marciello achieved success in open-wheel racing. He was a member of the Ferrari Driver Academy, won the FIA European Formula 3 Championship in 2013, claimed victories and podium finishes in the GP2 Series, and conducted Formula 1 tests for Ferrari and Sauber.

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “I am very pleased to welcome Raffaele Marciello to the BMW M Motorsport family. When you have the opportunity to sign a top-caliber driver like him, you must seize it. He has consistently demonstrated his prowess for years, particularly in GT cars. But there is much more to him. Before his GT career, Raffaele Marciello showcased his class multiple times in open-wheel racing. In our view, he brings the perfect all-around package with his versatility to further strengthen our already high-quality roster of works drivers. The multitude of racing programmes we will undertake in the coming years with our cars provides diverse deployment opportunities. We will announce the specific details of Raffaele Marciello's racing plans in the coming weeks and months.”

Raffaele Marciello: “I am very excited to be a BMW M works driver starting from the upcoming season. This is a significant step in my career. Having been a racing driver for many years, I am immensely proud to be able to compete for BMW M Motorsport in the future.”

Le Castellet. The breakthrough has come! ROWE Racing has given BMW M Motorsport the first major success of the year 2024 at the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Le Castellet (FRA) season opener. Augusto Farfus (BRA), Dan Harper (GBR), and Max Hesse (GER) were rewarded following a magnificent performance in the #998 BMW M4 GT3 and celebrated their first victory in the highly competitive race series. Starting from fifth place, the trio put on an impressive show and crossed the finish line in first place with a 13.5-second lead. In the BMW M Team WRT #46 BMW M4 GT3, Valentino Rossi (ITA), Maxime Martin (BEL), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) also gave a strong performance to finish fourth.

You find post-race video interviews here: https://b.mw/GTWC_Interviews. (URL is not valid)

The #998 BMW M4 GT3, sporting the design of BMW M Motorsport partner MultiBank Group, moved up to third place thanks to a strong start by Farfus, and Harper put the car on the path to victory with a remarkable overtaking manoeuvre on the leading Lamborghini. Hesse then confidently drove to the finish line, securing the fifth overall victory for ROWE Racing in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. The sister car with Marco Wittmann (GER), Nick Yelloly (GBR), and Philipp Eng (AUT) also gave a very strong performance and was on track for a podium finish, but a problem during the second refuelling initially cost valuable seconds and then forced Eng to make an additional pit stop shortly before the end of the race. That dropped the #98 BMW M4 GT3 back to twelfth position.

There were mixed feelings at BMW M Team WRT. While Rossi, Martin, and Marciello could be satisfied with fourth place thanks to a strong final sprint, the #32 BMW M4 GT3 was forced to retire after an unprovoked collision for Charles Weerts (BEL) with a competitor resulting in tyre damage. The Team WRT #30 BMW M4 GT3, in which BMW M works driver Jens Klingmann (GER) shared the cockpit with Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA) and Sam De Haan (GBR), finished sixth in the Bronze Cup. The #991 BMW M4 GT3 of Century Motorsport with Jake Dennis, Darren Leung, and Toby Sowery (all GBR) at the wheel was on course for a podium in the Bronze Cup but then retired.