BMW M Team WRT has completed its first season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), overcoming early-season debutant challenges to deliver strong results across the Hypercar and LMGT3 categories. In Bahrain, both BMW M Team WRT Hypercars fought for a strong finish. Ultimately a drivetrain issue forced car #20 to retire, while on car #15 Dries Vanthoor and his teammates finished P6 after fighting fiercely for a podium spot, FCYs ultimately disrupted the well-planned strategy.
For their first Hypercar season, BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT made substantial progress, evolving from top-ten battles and aiming to score points at the start of the season, to regularly fighting for podium positions from mid-season. This determined drive led to a first overall podium at Fuji, as the highlight of this maiden season.
In the LMGT3 category, Team WRT’s #31, driven by Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung, and #46’s Ahmad Al Harthy, Maxime Martin, and Valentino Rossi behind the wheel, competed valiantly in a fiercely competitive field. In the last race of the FIA WEC season car #31 crossed the line in P13 and #46 in P14. Throughout the season though, the team demonstrated resilience and seized standout moments, including a sensational double victory at Imola through a strategic masterstroke and podium finishes at the prestigious 24 Hours of Le Mans and Fuji.
The season is not over yet for Team WRT, with two final races on the 2024 calendar. The team heads next to the FIA GT World Cup in Macau on November 17, where Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor shall compete against some of the world’s best GT drivers on the challenging Guia Circuit. Following Macau, the team will close the season at the Fanatec GT finale in Jeddah on November 30, aiming to cap off their year with strong results and momentum to carry into 2025.
BAHRAIN FIGURES
Number of cars on the grid: 36 (18 Hypercars, 18 LMGT3s)
Manufacturers: 13
Number of WRT cars: 4 (2 Hypercars, 2 LMGT3’s)
235 laps in total for Hypercar winner, 214 laps for LMGT3 winner
FACTS
Qualifying HYPERCAR:
Car #15: P5 (Dries Vanthoor)
Car #20: P3 (Robin Frijns)
Hyperpole HYPERCAR:
Car #15: P9 (Dries Vanthoor)
Car #20: P10 (Robin Frijns)
Qualifying LMGT3:
Car #31: P12 (Darren Leung)
Car #46: P13 (Ahmad Al Harthy)
Starting drivers:
#15: Marco Wittmann
#20: René Rast
#31: Darren Leung
#46: Ahmad Al Harthy
Race – 1st hour:
Great start for #20 and #15, respectively 5th and 7th in Hypercar
Clean start for #46 and #31, respectively 11th and 12th in LMGT3
End of 1st hour: #20 in P9, #15 in P10, #46 in P10 (in class), #31 in P12 (in class)
Race – 2nd hour:
#46 Driver change to Rossi
End of 2nd hour: #20 in P4, #15 in P8, #46 in P12 (in class), #31 in P11 (in class)
Race – 3rd hour:
#20 Driver change to Frijns
#15 Driver change to Vanthoor
#31 Driver change to Farfus
#46 5-sec added to the next pitstop – Pitlane infringement
End of 3rd hour: #20 in P5, #15 in P6, #46 in P12 (in class), #31 in P14 (in class)
Race – 4th hour:
#20 in garage: mechanical issue
#31 Driver change to Gelael
#46 Driver change to Al Harthy
#20 DNF – drivetrain issue
End of 4th hour: #15 in P3, #46 in P14 (in class), #31 in P13 (in class), #20 DNF
Race – 5th hour:
#15 Driver change to Marciello
FCY – Debris on track
#46 Driver change to Martin
#46 Drive-through – Pitlane infringement
End of 5th hour: #15 in P4, #31 in P12 (in class), #46 in P15 (in class), #20 DNF
Race – 6th hour:
Safety Car – car stopped on track
#15 Driver change to Vanthoor
#31 Driver change to Farfus
#46 Driver change to Rossi
End of 6th hour: #15 in P4, #31 in P9 (in class), #46 in P14 (in class), #20 DNF
Race – 7th hour:
Safety Car – car stopped on track
#31 Driver change to Farfus
FCY – Car stopped on track
#46 Driver change to Martin
FCY – Debris & marshalls on track
End of 7th hour: #15 in P4, #31 in P9 (in class), #46 in P14 (in class), #20 DNF
Race – 8th hour:
#31 Driver change to Farfus
#31 Drive-through – incident at T11
End of 8th hour: #15 in P6, #31 in P13 (in class), #46 in P14 (in class), #20 DNF
RACE RESULTS
HYPERCAR RESULTS
1. Buemi – Hartley – Hirakawa (Toyota GR010 Hybrid), 235 laps
2. Calado – Giovinazzi – Pier Guidi (Ferrari 499P), + 27.539s
3. Campbell – Christensen – Makowiecki (Porsche 963), + 29.177s
4. Jensen – Müller – Vergne (Peugeot 9X8), + 36.799s
5. Chatin – Habsburg – Gounon (Alpine A424), + 37.404s
6. Marciello – Vanthoor – Wittmann (BMW M Hybrid V8), + 47.916s
DNF. Frijns – Rast – van der Linde (BMW M Hybrid V8), + 124 laps
LMGT3 RESULTS
1. Heriau – Mann – Rovera (Ferrari 296 LMGT3), 214 laps
2. Andrade – Eastwood – Van Rompuy (Corvette Z06 R LMGT3), + 3.022s
3. Baud – Juncadella – Koizumi (Corvette Z06 LMGT3R), + 4.879s
4. Cairoli – Cressoni – Schiavoni (Lamborghini Huracan LMGT3), + 6.147s
5. Lietz – Schuring – Shahin (Porsche 911 GT3 R LMGT3), + 30.654s
13.Farfus – Gelael – Leung (BMW M4 LMGT3), + 2.26.803s
14.Al Harthy – Martin – Rossi (BMW M4 LMGT3), + 1 lap
QUOTES
Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal 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 is still a good result. On the LMGT3 side, we just didn’t have the pace all weekend to fight for the podium. »
Augusto FARFUS, car #31: « When you have no pace, it makes a race very difficult. We did our 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, car #46: « 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. »
Raffaele MARCIELLO, car #15: « Today we could have finished better than P6. But looking at the bigger picture, we have to see the positives. Now we are disappointed with 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 must take this and move on towards the next season! »
René RAST, driver #20: « The DNF due to a technical issue with the drivetrain is disappointing of course, but up until then our race was going well. I had good stints, and Robin’s pace was also strong after me. Until our problems, we were around third, fourth, fifth places. Later in the race, our sister car even had victory in sight for a while. So, we can look positively at our performance. We can fight for the top spots on our own strength. That is a great motivation for the 2025 season! »