FIA WEC Bahrain: BMW M Hybrid V8 fights for podium again in turbulent season finale.

Sakhir. At the penultimate round of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) in Japan’s Fuji, BMW M Team WRT celebrated the first podium finish for the BMW M Hybrid V8, and during the finale of its debut season in the FIA WEC, the hypercar once again proved its potential for top positions. In the 8 Hours of Bahrain (BRN), the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 dropped out of podium positions only in the eventful final stages, finishing the race in sixth place. Due to a penalty for a competitor, the car was subsequently promoted to fifth position. The #20 car, which also had a strong start to the race, was forced to retire due to a technical issue.

BMW M Team WRT made a very good start in qualifying, securing a spot in the coveted Hyperpole with both BMW M Hybrid V8s, where the ten top cars battle for the front grid positions. In the early stages of the eight-hour race, the #20, driven by René Rast (GER), Robin Frijns (NED), and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), moved from tenth to fifth position, fighting for the top spots. Unfortunately, after nearly four hours, the race ended prematurely for the #20 due to an engine issue.

Meanwhile, Marco Wittmann (GER), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and Dries Vanthoor (BEL) gradually worked their way up from ninth on the grid. About two hours before the race’s end, Vanthoor took third place, putting the #15 trio in contention for another podium finish. However, in the turbulent final phase –marked by numerous Full Course Yellows, Virtual Safety Cars, Safety Car phases, and different pit stop strategies – the BMW M Hybrid V8 lost a bit of ground in the tightly packed field. After intense position battles, the #15 crossed the finish line in sixth place and was then later promoted to fifth position.

In the LMGT3 class, Team WRT faced a tough final weekend. Augusto Farfus (BRA), Sean Gelael (INA), and Darren Leung finished the 8-hour race in 13th place in the #31 BMW M4 GT3. Their teammates Maxime Martin (BEL), Valentino Rossi (ITA), and Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA) were 14th in the #46 BMW M4 GT3.

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At the following link, you will find images, footage, and video interviews from the 2024 FIA WEC season, including the finale in Bahrain, available for editorial use: https://b.mw/Media_Exchange_WEC

Reactions after the 8 Hours of Bahrain:

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “A long season in the FIA WEC came to an end here in Bahrain. Of course, we had hoped for more, especially after both BMW M Hybrid V8s made it into the Hyperpole and performed very well in the race for a long time among the top cars. Unfortunately, the #20 car retired due to an engine issue, which we need to analyse further. With the #15, we positioned in the leading group until the end, but unfortunately, the Safety Car worked against our strategy. This result is not what we had hoped for, but overall, we can look back positively on the season, considering where we started in our first FIA WEC appearance in Qatar and where we are now in this fiercely contested world championship. A big thank you to everyone at BMW M Motorsport, BMW M Team WRT, all our drivers, and everyone involved in development. We’ll take this into the winter break and work hard to come back stronger next year. On the LMGT3 side, Bahrain was a disappointing race for us. We didn’t have the performance from the start to fight for a top result, and we need to analyse that carefully to be competitive next year.”

Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “It was a tough race. We were in a position to fight for the podium again, which is good. Unfortunately, we were a bit unlucky with the last Full Course Yellow and were not able to hold our position until the end. But P6, later P5, is still a good result. On the LMGT3 side, we just didn’t have the pace all weekend to fight for the podium.”

Raffaele Marciello (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 5th place): “Today we could have finished better. But looking at the bigger picture, we have to see the positives. Now we are disappointed about crossing the line in P6, a position, that was far away at the beginning of the season. We improved a lot since Qatar and were able to fight for top positions regularly in the second half of the season. We have to take this and move on towards the next season.”

René Rast (BMW M Team WRT, #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, DNF): “The retirement due to a technical issue with the powertrain is obviously disappointing, but until then, our race was going well. I had strong stints, and Robin was also doing great after me. Before our problems, we were fighting for positions three, four, and five. Later in the race, our sister car even had a shot at victory. So we can look positively at our performance – we can fight for top spots on our own merit. That’s great motivation for the 2025 season.”

Augusto Farfus (Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3, 13th place): “When you have no pace, it makes a race very difficult. We did your best, our crew did a perfect job. To still lose P3 in the championship, is sad. Looking back at the season, we can be very proud. It was the first time in this championship for many of us and we won a race and finished second in Le Mans.”

Valentino Rossi (Team WRT, #46 BMW M4 GT3, 14th place): “It was the first FIA WEC season for me, BMW M Motorsport and the team in the LMGT3 category. And this championship is very unique. We had good races and very difficult races. But in the end we can be happy with two podium finishes, although we weren’t able to celebrate a win unfortunately.”