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Monza (ITA), 20-22 September 2024. Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, GTWC, Endurance Cup, BMW Italia Ceccato Racing, #15 BMW M4 GT3, Marco Cassará, Philippe Denes, Felice Jelmini.

Large contingent of BMW M Motorsport teams, drivers, and cars in the GT World Challenge Europe 2025.

Jeff Seabrook 2025 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Thursday March 6, 2025

BMW M Motorsport will be represented with a large contingent of teams, drivers, and cars in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season. ROWE Racing and Team WRT will deploy BMW M works drivers.

Laura Claesgens
BMW Group

Munich. BMW M Motorsport will be represented with a large contingent of teams, drivers, and cars in the 2025 GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season. ROWE Racing and Team WRT will deploy BMW M works drivers. Additionally, customer teams Ceccato Racing, Century Motorsport, and Paradine Competition will take on the challenge in one of the world's most competitive GT racing series .

In the Endurance Cup, an impressive number of eight BMW M4 GT3 EVO cars will compete in the entire season consisting of five races. ROWE Racing, in car #98, will feature the BMW M works driver trio of Augusto Farfus (BRA), Jesse Krohn (FIN), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI). Also, three works drivers will pilot the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO for Team WRT: Ugo de Wilde (BEL), Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), and Charles Weerts (BEL). Jens Klingmann (GER), as the seventh works driver, will participate in the full season, sharing the cockpit of the AlManar Racing by Team WRT #777 BMW M4 GT3 EVO with Al Faisal Al Zubair (OMA) and Ben Tuck (GBR). WRT’s car #30 will be driven by Gustav Bergström (SWE), Gilles Stadsbader (BEL), and Etienne Cheli (FRA). Additional entries in the Endurance Cup include teams Ceccato Racing and Century Motorsport with one car each, and Paradine Competition with two BMW M4 GT3 EVO cars. In one of these cars, Darren Leung (GBR) will receive support from BMW M works drivers, mainly Dan Harper (GBR), who, however, will not be able to compete in all races due to scheduling conflicts.

Lusail (QAT), 25th to 28th February 2025. BMW M Motorsport, FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA WEC, Qatar, BMW M Team WRT, Hypercar, LMDh, hybrid, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, Sheldon van der Linde, René Rast, Robin Frijns.

FIA WEC: Strong season-opener for the BMW M Hybrid V8 – BMW M4 GT3 EVO scores podium at debut.

Jeff Seabrook 2025 FIA WEC Saturday March 1, 2025

At the season-opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in Qatar, the BMW M Hybrid V8 and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO delivered strong performances, making a significant impact in the competition against the world's top manufacturers.

Andrea Schwab
BMW Group

Doha. At the season-opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in Qatar, the BMW M Hybrid V8 and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO delivered strong performances, making a significant impact in the competition against the world's top manufacturers. The two BMW M Team WRT hypercars finished in fourth and seventh places respectively, earning valuable points for the World Championship standings. In the LMGT3 class, the #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO achieved a podium finish, coming in third .

At the start of its second season in the FIA WEC, the BMW M Hybrid V8 demonstrated strong pace. In qualifying, Dries Vanthoor (BEL) secured a spot on the front row with a second-place finish in 1:38.495 minutes – a first for the hypercar, missing pole position by just 0.136 seconds. Robin Frijns (NED) also made it into the top-ten Hyperpole with the sister car.

During the race, the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 initially fell back, but the team, including Vanthoor, Kevin Magnussen (DEN), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI), fought their way back to the top positions with strong lap times over the ten-hour race. In the end, only the three Ferraris, which battled among themselves for the win, were faster. The #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Frijns, René Rast (GER), and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), was at one point in third place but finished seventh due to varying strategies.

In the LMGT3 class, a BMW M Motorsport crew celebrated a podium finish. Augusto Farfus (BRA), Timur Boguslavskiy, and Yasser Shahin (AUS) drove the #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO to third place, mounting a remarkable comeback from 14th on the grid after a setback in qualifying. The #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, piloted by Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), Valentino Rossi (ITA), and Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA), faced challenges and finished eleventh in the LMGT3 class.

Comments after the race:

Lusail (QAT), 21st to 22nd February 2025. BMW M Motorsport, FIA World Endurance Championship, FIA WEC, Official Prologue, Qatar, BMW M Team WRT, Hypercar, LMDh, hybrid, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, Sheldon van der Linde, René Rast, Robin Frijns.

FIA WEC: BMW M Hybrid V8 and BMW M4 GT3 EVO complete many test laps at the Prologue in Qatar.

Jeff Seabrook 2025 FIA WEC Monday February 24, 2025

On the weekend before the season opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in Qatar, four BMW M Motorsport cars completed numerous test laps during the Prologue at the Lusail Circuit. The BMW M Hybrid V8 made a strong impression and set the fastest time. The two hypercars and the two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs were presented for the first time in their new designs.

Andrea Schwab
BMW Group

Doha. On the weekend before the season opener of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in Qatar, four BMW M Motorsport cars completed numerous test laps during the Prologue at the Lusail Circuit. The BMW M Hybrid V8 made a strong impression and set the fastest time. The two hypercars and the two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs were presented for the first time in their new designs .

Bathurst (AUS), 30th January to 2nd February 2025. BMW M Motorsport, Intercontinental GT Challenge, 12H Bathurst, Team WRT, #32 BMW M4 GT3, Sheldon van der Linde, Kelvin van der Linde, Augusto Farfus.

Triumph and cheers at Bathurst: Team WRT celebrates an impressive 1-2 result with the BMW M4 GT3.

Jeff Seabrook 2025 Intercontinental GT Challenge Sunday February 2, 2025

Team WRT achieved an impressive 1-2 result with the BMW M4 GT3 at the Bathurst 12 Hour (AUS), the season opener of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Brothers Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde (both RSA) triumphed alongside Augusto Farfus (BRA) in car #32. Following them, Valentino Rossi (ITA), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and Charles Weerts (BEL) in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 secured second place.

Laura Claesgens
BMW Group

Bathurst. What a race, what a victory! Team WRT achieved an impressive 1-2 result with the BMW M4 GT3 at the Bathurst 12 Hour (AUS), the season opener of the Intercontinental GT Challenge (IGTC). Brothers Sheldon and Kelvin van der Linde (both RSA) triumphed alongside Augusto Farfus (BRA) in car #32. Following them, Valentino Rossi (ITA), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and Charles Weerts (BEL) in the #46 BMW M4 GT3 secured second place. It was the first victory for BMW M Motorsport in the GT3 era at the Mount Panorama Circuit. Team WRT remains undefeated in the 2025 season after successes at the 24h Dubai and the 6h Abu Dhabi (both UAE). On the sidelines of the race at Bathurst, the new BMW M3 CS Touring (fuel consumption combined: 10.5 l/100 km [26.9 mpg imp]; CO₂ emissions combined: 238 g/km in the WLTP cycle, CO₂ class: G)* celebrated its world premiere.