BMW will deploy eight drivers throughout the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP class and FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class in 2025. The eight drivers will share the driving duties of the BMW M Hybrid V8s between BMW M Crew RLL in IMSA and BMW M Crew WRT in WEC.
As beforehand introduced, new to the crew is Components 1 driver Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver will likely be joined by Philipp Eng, the one holdover from the earlier line-up in IMSA, Robin Frijns, René Rast, Marco Wittmann, Raffaele Marciello, Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor.
“We now have excessive objectives for the upcoming season with our BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes,” mentioned Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport. “To realize these, we’re striving for optimizations in all areas. For our driver line-up, this implies focusing and specializing. The extra time our drivers spend behind the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8, the higher they may get to know its dealing with and the extra suggestions they will present to our engineers. The purpose is to accentuate the event of the BMW M Hybrid V8 in collaboration with the specialists on the groups and at BMW M Motorsport.
“It additionally helps us on this regard, that some drivers compete in each championships, thereby additional bettering the trade of knowledge. We’re satisfied that this manner becoming a member of our forces will deliver us benefits.”
Eng will race with BMW M Crew RLL for his third season, joined by Vanthoor within the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8. Magnussen will likely be on board for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans. Wittmann and van der Linde would be the core driver pairing within the No. 25, including Frijns for the three longer endurance races.
In WEC, the No. 15 BMW M Crew WRT entry will likely be pushed by Magnussen, Marciello and Vanthoor, with Frijns, Rast and van der Linde remaining within the No. 20 as final season.
For the conflicting weekend of IMSA’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca whereas WEC is at Spa-Francorchamps, BMW M Crew WRT can have solely two drivers in every automotive at Spa. The opposite conflicting weekend between the 2 sequence is WEC in Brazil whereas IMSA is at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, the place GTP doesn’t compete.
“The schedule overlap in Could shouldn’t be ultimate, however we now have the regulatory choice to compete in a six-hour FIA WEC race with two drivers per automotive, which we’ll make the most of,” Roos mentioned. “The truth that the season begins in January with the 24-hour race at Daytona may be very helpful for us. This permits us to have all eight drivers collectively for an prolonged interval early within the season, serving to us to optimally synchronize with one another.”
Marciello will likely be within the No. 24 for the Rolex 24, whereas Rast completes the squad within the No. 25.
