The progress of the BMW M Team WRT in the FIA World Endurance Championship 6 Hours of Imola was emphasized by Rene Rast. The #20 M Hybrid V8, which qualified in P7 for the race, showed a significant improvement from its starting position in P16 at the Qatar opener. Rast expressed optimism in staying within the top ten during the race, highlighting the team’s progress since Qatar, where they gained nearly 10 positions. The team focused on adjusting every aspect during testing, aiming to avoid mistakes and penalties to achieve their goal.
At the season opener in Qatar, with 1812 km, co-driver Sheldon van der Linde qualified the BMW #20 in P16, marking the first WEC qualifying for BMW’s factory Hypercar operation, managed by the WRT team. The BMW #20 crew earned a point for finishing 10th in Qatar, motivating Rast, van der Linde, and Robin Frijns to aim for another points-scoring race. Despite Ferrari’s domination in the Hypercar category, the BMW #20 will start between two Toyota GR010 Hybrids, which have received a more flexible Balance of Performance for this round. While the BMW #15 finished in 13th place and did not reach the Hyperpole limit, the Bavarian manufacturer is determined to take advantage of tomorrow’s race at 1pm local time and potentially secure a double score.
