BMW M Hybrid V8 warms up at Dallara, to make race debut at Daytona

In preparation for a series of highly competitive racing events, BMW’s motorsports division took the BMW M Hybrid V8 to Italy for its first functional test. According to the German automotive brand, the 640-horsepower BMW M Hybrid V8 will spend several days on the Dallara test track after its initial run on Monday.

“It’s been an honor and a pleasure to complete the first laps of the BMW M Hybrid V8”, said De Phillippi after Monday’s rollout.

“This was a historic day for BMW M Motorsport within the LMDh project. Step by step we went through all functions of the car and by the end of the day, we were able to do some laps with nearly full power, which is a good result for a roll-out. A huge thank you to everybody working so hard for this project at BMW M Motorsport, BMW M Team RLL, BMW M Team RMG, and Dallara!”

BMW adds that the BMW M Hybrid V8 will undergo more tests in the coming months. It will stay in Europe for more evaluations before it goes to the US for IMSA-specific preparations and trials in September.

In January, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will make its race debut at Daytona in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

“Due to the very tight schedule for the LMDh project, the plan has always been to focus on one field of application in the first season in 2023. The IMSA series is perfectly suited for this… We are now working determinedly towards this, at the same time as our program in North America. We took the next important step on Monday. The car successfully completed its roll-out at Dallara in Varano de Melegari. We now start the intensive test work before the race debut in January 2023 at Daytona,” said BMW M Motorsport Head Andreas Roos.

One year after the BMW M Hybrid V8 makes its first race participation, BMW M will take it to compete in the top-class Hypercars category in the official FIA World Endurance Championship and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“The decision to run the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA series from 2023, and the WEC from 2024, is a milestone for the project,” said BMW M CEO Franciscus van Meel.

“I sampled and marveled at the extraordinary flair of the 24 Hours of Le Mans during my first term as CEO of BMW M so I am very excited to be challenging for overall victory as BMW M Motorsport again at this classic and in the whole World Endurance Championship for the first time for decades. The BMW M Hybrid V8 represents a turning point toward electrification for BMW M. The IMSA series in North America and the WEC, which takes place all over the world, are the perfect platforms, on which to use our prototype to show how exciting electrified BMW M cars will be in the future,” added the BMW M boss.

BMW M Hybrid V8’s participation in Le Mans in 2024 will mark BMW M’s return to the French endurance race after 25 years. Here, BMW M Hybrid V8’s predecessor, the BMW V12 LMR, took overall victory after 24 hours of racing in 1999.

Photos from BMW

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