BMW M TEAM WRT SECOND AT LE MANS AFTER A 24-HOUR FIGHT FOR VICTORY
BMW and Team WRT came within touching distance of a historic victory at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the most prestigious endurance race in the world, in front of 350,000 fans. The thrilling fight ended with a fantastic second-pace finish, with the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 of Robin Frijns, René Rast and Sheldon van der Linde. The result crowns a remarkable run of form for the Belgian team, securing a fourth consecutive podium for the Hypercar programme after podium finishes in IMSA at Laguna Seca and Detroit and a maiden FIA WEC victory at the 6 Hours of Spa.
Emotions were running high at the end of the race, like always at Le Mans, with satisfaction for the great achievement taking over on the regrets for landing only 10.9 seconds from absolute glory. In LMGT3, the BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung finished seventh.
Team Principal Vincent Vosse commented: “That was one of the strongest races we have ever had as a team with the BMW M Hybrid V8. Absolutely flawless. No penalties, no bad pit stops – nothing. Congratulations to everyone in my team and at BMW M Motorsport! We are one unit, we are making progress, and we deserved this podium. I’m not disappointed at all that we didn’t win. Toyota deserved it – congratulations! I feel sorry for the crew of car #15. On the LMGT3 side, we have to admit that we simply had no chance. That is very disappointing. Many thanks to the team and drivers for their great effort. They gave everything, but unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough this time.”
Both in Hypercar and in LMGT3, the BMWs proved competitive throughout all the sessions since the start of the week. The four cars made the cut to the Hyperpole and reached the final stage of the exercise, which determined the top 10 positions on the grid. In Hypercar, car #15, with Dries Vanthoor at the wheel, was second-fastest, only five thousandths shy from the best lap time, but clinched the pole when the fastest car was inflicted a penalty for entering the fast lane too early. This meant that a Belgian driver was back on pole at Le Mans 43 years after Jacky Ickx. Car #20, with Robin Frijns, qualified an excellent fourth. In LMGT3, car #32, in the hands of Sean Gelael, qualified fifth, right ahead of car #69 driven by Parker Thompson.
With perfect weather and track conditions, and less incidents than usual, the 94th running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans was a long, breath-taking sprint race. The start was not entirely flowing for the two BMW M Hybrid V8, but René Rast in the #20 took the lead during the first lap. #20 stayed within the first two positions for more than three quarters of the race, exchanging the lead with its most direct rival, at times one of the Cadillacs, at others one of the Toyotas, according to the different sequence of pit stops.
The race was more complicated for car #15, which spent the initial hours in the lower half of the top 10, before Dries Vanthoor was involved in contact with an LMP2 car shortly before the six hour mark. Although the LMP2 driver was subsequently penalised for causing the collision, car #15 had already suffered substantial rear-right damage and was forced to limp back to the pits. With the repairs, the incident cost three laps but further checks cost two extra laps, before an electrical issue less than six hours from the end brought the car back to the pits, where it later retired.
In LMGT3, the race started well, with Augusto Farfus at the wheel of #32 and Dan Harper in the #69. They ran as high as third and second, respectively, before seeing their pace drop with respect to rivals through the evening and the night. Both cars also had to serve a drive-through each in the morning. Unfortunately, less than three hours from the end, car #69 had to retire with a gearbox issue.
The last quarter of the race started with a lengthy 50-minute safety car period that had a decisive negative impact on car #20, which had pitted right before and was leading with a 45-second margin that was wiped out by the neutralisation.
The last four hours were thrilling, with four cars in contention for victory. Sheldon van der Linde and then Robin Frijns put on a show, closing the gap and with the latter seizing P2 once again after a superb duel with the Toyota of Sébastien Buemi. The Dutchman kept the suspense alive until the end, where he progressively closed the gap with the leader to eventually take second, only 10.9 seconds shy from the winner.
The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO finished seventh in LMGT3, with Augusto Farfus taking the flag.
Sheldon VAN DER LINDE, driver #20: “At first, I don’t really know whether to laugh or cry. When you finish just ten seconds behind the winner after 24 hours, it’s not easy to accept at first. But if we look at the past two years and see the huge progress we’ve made, we can be very proud. The team gave everything to put us in this position. Of course, you never know if you’ll get another chance to win Le Mans, but we’ll definitely try again.”
Augusto FARFUS, driver #32: “First of all, congratulations to the Hypercar crew on the podium. It was a great fight and a deserved result. Our race was tough. We did everything right, had no technical problems, and nailed every pit stop. Unfortunately, it just wasn’t enough to fight for the podium. We simply didn’t have the pace. Still, it’s always a great honour to be on the grid here at Le Mans.”
Kevin MAGNUSSEN, driver #15: “It just wasn’t our race. A few things went wrong, but that’s also Le Mans. Luckily, our sister car made up for our bad luck and scored a fantastic podium. That’s ultimately a great success for all of us. As for us in car #15: We’ll come back stronger.”
Dan HARPER, driver #69: “I had imagined my first Le Mans, just like Parker and Anthony, differently. But you also have to see it this way: I was here for the first time at this very special event, and it was an honor to be part of it. Hopefully, there will be many more Le Mans appearances to come! This time, unfortunately, we didn’t have the pace to run at the front. Then came the gearbox problem. Nevertheless, we can be proud of what we achieved.”
