At the official IMSA Sanctioned Test at Daytona International Speedway (USA), BMW M Team WRT will be competing with the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship for the first time. The Belgian team, which is already familiar with the hypercar from the FIA WEC, is using the test to familiarize itself with the procedures of the US series – supported by the experienced BMW M Team RLL.
In addition to the fresh design, BMW M Motorsport will be presenting a significant technical innovation in Daytona: the use of the new “Track Lights”. This generation of headlights combines state-of-the-art lighting technology with characteristic BMW design and ensures optimized visibility at the numerous night races of the IMSA and FIA WEC season, including the 24 Hours of Daytona and Le Mans, the 12 Hours of Sebring and the races in Qatar and Bahrain. The powerful lights improve illumination in dark sections of the track, increasing safety and precision for the drivers.
Visually, the yellow accents of the Track Lights tie in with current BMW M racing cars such as the BMW M4 GT3 and M4 GT4 in their EVO versions. The high-performance models from BMW M GmbH – such as the CS versions of the M3, M4 and M5 – also continue this design feature, thus building a bridge between the race track and the road. The appearance is complemented by the illuminated BMW kidney grille with “Iconic Glow”, which also gives the hypercar an unmistakable appearance at night.
Aerodynamic modifications had already been tested on the BMW M Hybrid V8, including a reduced kidney grille and a redesigned front splitter to improve airflow and cooling. These further developments will now be combined with the new lighting system in Daytona.
On the two test days, six BMW M works drivers will share the duties in the cars with starting numbers 24 and 25: Philipp Eng (AUT), Robin Frijns (NED), Kevin Magnussen (DEN), René Rast (GER), Dries Vanthoor (BEL) and Marco Wittmann (GER). The team will have a total of five test sessions to gather valuable data and optimally prepare the car for the 24-hour race at the end of January.
Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “I am delighted that we will be able to present and test the update to our BMW M Hybrid V8 for the first time in the IMSA environment at Daytona. The new design and the new headlights not only look spectacular, they are primarily intended to further optimize performance. We will work just as hard on this at the test in Daytona as we did at the Roar in January. We want to make the best possible use of the time we have left before the 24-hour race at the end of January to prepare both the cars with their updates and BMW M Team WRT perfectly for the first highlight of the season.”