BMW M TEAM WRT EYES UP LE MANS GLORY AFTER STRONG FIA WEC SEASON OPENERS
That special moment of the year is back: for the entire motor racing community and fans around the world, the mid-June weekend means the 24 Hours of Le Mans, possibly the greatest race of all. The 94th running of the legendary endurance race in France is around the corner. It has indeed already started with the pre-race proceedings and Sunday’s official test day.
For Team WRT, it will be the third Le Mans in partnership with BMW M Motorsport, defending the colours of the German brand in both classes of the FIA World Endurance Championship, the Hypercar and the LMGT3, but the Belgian squad arrives in La Sarthe with a different status.
In Hypercar, the recent maiden win at Spa, with a one-two finish on the team’s home track, and the current lead in the Hypercar Manufacturers’ and Drivers’ standings, have promoted BMW M Team WRT into the selected club of FIA WEC winners.
Similarly, in LMGT3, the Belgian squad is fighting among the front-runners, starting the season with a win at Imola.
Team Principal Vincent Vosse keeps his head cool: “The positive start of the season changes absolutely nothing to the way we approach the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The determination, the hard work and the humility are the same and what this unique race requires. But, clearly, going to Le Mans as the championship leaders and having conquered our first Hypercar victory, puts us in a different position. It’s true that a maiden win takes off the pressure of reaching that ladder, but then you want more, there is immediately a next objective, and the journey goes on. For Le Mans, we have prepared well, in the Test Day everything went according to the plan, we focused on the race and on ourselves rather than on what happening around us. We know that if we can have a smooth and clean race we can have a good result. We also know what to expect: it will be again a great, challenging Le Mans”.
HYPERCAR
Two BMW M Hybrid V8s under ‘BMW M Team WRT’ are entered in the Hypercar class. Hypercar Sporting Director Thierry Tassin summed up the work done in the Test Day: “We did a lot of tyre work, reviewing the three types of compounds, as this year it was possible to test with soft, medium and hard. Together with Michelin, we validated the possible number of stints and the various procedures during the race. Therefore, we focused on long runs, reliability, balance and driver satisfaction rather than doing qualifying runs. I would say that we should be better than what the lap times showed during the test, but all this needs to be checked in real race conditions. Expectations? Of course, we would like to repeat Spa’s result, but for that you need to put together a lot of things, be reliable and have no team or driver mistakes.”
Car #20, the one that won in Spa, is entrusted to championship leaders Robin Frijns and René Rast, partnering with Sheldon van der Linde, in their new, striking Shell livery.
René Rast reckons: “After the win in Spa, expectations are high, we can aim for the podium, but we will see, this is Le Mans, and anything can happen. For now, we are happy with how things went at the test day, all points were covered, we did many laps and we learned a lot”.
Car #15 will be in the hands of Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello, currently lying fifth in the FIA WEC Hypercar Drivers’ standings, joined by Dries Vanthoor.
Raffaele Marciello comments: “It’s a long race, so first we have to finish it! You can practice and be fast as much as we want, but reliability comes first. Let’s see if we can align everything and get a good result.”
In constant evolution and development, the BMW M Hybrid V8 has made a big step forward in performance and reliability. This outcome is also driven by the transfer of technical expertise and know-how built through the U.S. racing programme. Team WRT, out of its new operational base in North Carolina, is contesting its first season in the IMSA Series, where it has already earned three podium finishes. Marco Wittmann and Philipp Eng, who drive for the squad in the US, were also in Le Mans to bring their contribution to the team and will act as reserve drivers.
LMGT3
Two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs are entered in the very competitive LMGT3 category. GT Program Manager Kurt Mollekens was satisfied after the Test Day: “Everything went well, we have seen good reliability, all drivers did a great job. We have strong racers the three driver categories, Bronze, Silver and Pro, so we can say we are in pretty good shape. There are a couple of other cars that look very competitive, but we’ll see how things develop once free practice begins. All in all, I think we can aim at the podium, but of course, Le Mans is Le Mans, and you’ll need that extra bit of ‘réussite’, as the French say.”
Car #69, which won in Imola and is currently fifth in the standings, is driven by Dan Harper, Anthony McIntosh and Parker Thompson. As known, this car is sporting a different retro-inspired livery celebrating BMW’s racing heritage at each WEC round. The livery for Le Mans celebrates the iconic BMW-engined McLaren F1 GTR which won the 24 Hours in 1995.
Anthony McInstosh explains: “The Test Day went fairly well. The car feels good, and the team and the drivers did a good job, although we know we have got some more work to do. As far as the race is concerned, all three of us are Le Mans rookies, so we’ll try to keep an open mind, make sure we don’t do mistakes and hand over a clean car to each driver, specifically for the last eight hours of the race.”
Car #32, entrusted to Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung, sports a livery that celebrates constant evolution and progress, the “where we want to be next” philosophy that is at the core of Darren Leung’s company, Paradine, and so well defines motor racing.
Darren Leung admits: “It helps having done Le Mans before, it’s my third time now, but of course, driving a different car feels different. It’s been very tight in the Test Day, with so many cars in one second, we’ll have to see what the real situation is when free practice starts. At Le Mans, of course, you have to be very careful with traffic, the presence of LMP2 cars is an added factor, and you have very different track abilities among their drivers. The track is also quite a special place, not as flowing as other tracks. You spend a lot of time on the straights, then you must be very careful not to be surprised when corners arrive. It’s a track that invites you to overdrive, and then punishes you for it.”
ROAD TO LE MANS
This year too, Team WRT will also be competing in Road to Le Mans, the Le Mans Michelin Cup round that serves as support to the 24 Hours and has become very popular with fans and drivers wanting to race on La Sarthe’s 24-Hour track. For its 11th running, the event is adopting an endurance format, with a single three-hour race to kick-off on Friday at 10:00 CET.
Team WRT, who won the two one-hour 2023 races, are entering a BMW M4 GT3 EVO for French brothers Arnold and Maxime Robin. The duo is of course no strangers to the Belgian squad, having previously raced with Team WRT in 2022, and will reunite with the team for this special appearance on home soil. Their participation is part of Projet 24, a Sarthe-based initiative dedicated to supporting and promoting local endurance racing talent. Bringing together a network of regional partners, the programme helps promising athletes pursue their ambitions at the highest level, whether in motorsport (GT and karting), motorcycle racing or para-sport.
RACING IS NOT EVERYTHING…
Enshrined in Team WRT’s DNA and core identity are solidarity and the commitment to sustainability and societal causes. The humanitarian commitment and CSR vision of Team WRT, encapsulated in the #WeaReaTeam and #WeaReuniTed tags, reflect the conviction that motorsport can be a powerful vehicle for inclusion and self-confidence.
As part of the ACO Challenge 2026 at the 24 Hours of Le Mans and its philanthropic activities, Team WRT launches another high human-impact initiative. After winning the ACO's "Coup de Cœur" award in 2024 for its project with the Fondation Arthritis, and having shone a spotlight on young kart racer Gabin Léger during the 2025 event, the Belgian team is now organising a new day for children facing academic challenges. A group of 19 young students from Saint Joseph – LaSalle school in Le Mans, supported by the SEGPA program, a French educational framework that helps pupils with learning difficulties or mild disabilities, will have the possibility to live the Le Mans dream, through a karting experience on Monday and an immersive circuit visit as Team WRT guests on Tuesday. Gabin Léger and Maxime Robin will also be part of the experience, sharing their insights.
THE SCHEDULE
Wednesday 10 June 2026
14:00 - 17:00 Free Practice 1
18:45 - 19:15 LMGT3 Qualifying
19:30 - 20:00 Hypercar Qualifying
22:00 - 00:00 Free Practice 2
Thursday 11 June 2026
14:45 - 17:45 Free Practice 3
20:00 - 20:20 LMGT3 Hyperpole 1
20:35 - 20:50 LMGT3 Hyperpole 2
21:05 - 21:25 Hypercar Hyperpole 1
21:40 - 21:55 Hypercar Hyperpole 2
23:00 - 00:00 Free Practice 4
Friday 12 June 2026
10:00-13:00 Road to Le Mans race
16:00 Drivers’ Parade
Saturday 13 June 2026
12:00-12:15 Warm-up
16:00 Race start
Sunday 14 June 2026
16:00 Race finish
