In early June, BMW announced that it will be returning to the highest class of endurance racing with a its new M Hybrid V8 LMDh Prototype.
The German manufacturer also confirmed this week that they will be returning to the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2024.
However, the car will first complete a season in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023.
“The decision to run the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA series from 2023, and the WEC from 2024, is a milestone for the project,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH.
“I sampled and marvelled at the extraordinary flair of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during my first term as CEO of BMW M so I am very excited to be challenging for overall victory as BMW M Motorsport again at this classic and in the whole World Endurance Championship for the first time for decades.”
The car successfully took to Dallara’s (the company responsible for developing the car) test track earlier this week, putting in some valuable testing hours on the chassis while providing some images of the car in action.
BMW M works drivers Connor De Phillippi and Sheldon van der Linde alternated behind the wheel for testing duties.
“It’s been an honour and a pleasure to complete the first laps of the BMW M Hybrid V8”, said De Phillippi after Monday’s roll-out.
More European tests are scheduled for August before BMW M Team RLL and a crew of BMW M Motorsport experts start IMSA-specific preparations with testing in the USA from September.
