LMDh and IMSA GTD Pro: BMW Team RLL will continue to race for BMW M Motorsport in North America.

Atlanta Highway. As MOTUL Petit Le Mans approaches, the season finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Road Atlanta (United States), BMW M Motorsport provides an update on the LMDh project for the 2023 season and its plans for the coming year. BMW Team RLL, which has been celebrating success with BMW M Motorsport since 2009, will compete in the two LMDh prototypes from 2023. The first sketches give a taste of the car, which will be called BMW M LMDh. Alongside the LMDh test program, BMW Team RLL will field two BMW M4 GT3s in the new GTD Pro category during the 2022 IMSA season.

“I am delighted that our LMDh project has reached its next step with the announcement of BMW Team RLL as a team to race in both prototypes,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “As with the chassis partner Dallara, team leader Bobby rahal and her crew, we have exceptional expertise and decades of experience at the highest level on our side. The LMDh project continues to gain momentum and I am confident that next year we will once again take all necessary steps as planned to be as well prepared as possible to begin our first IMSA season with LMDh prototypes in 2023. We are tackling this new challenge together at full speed. “

Mike krack, Director of BMW M Motorsport, added: “BMW Team RLL is the ideal partner for our LMDh project. BMW M Motorsport has worked very successfully with Bobby rahal and his crew since 2009. During this time we have all known the IMSA series very well and celebrated a major success together. From our perspective, running in the top class and taking on the challenge of general wins from 2023 is the next logical step. When you race with a new race car, it is a great advantage to already know what awaits you in the race series, on the circuits and in terms of organization. This is 100% the case in the constellation for which we have chosen. This also applies to BMW of North America. Thank you very much for your fantastic support. Moreover, BMW Team RLL is not only one of the best teams in North America on the GT scene, but also in Formula racing, so we have all the right ingredients to be successful. “

BMW Team RLL has participated since 2009 in the GT class of IMSA and its predecessors in BMW racing cars. The greatest successes of this partnership have been the GTLM victories with the BMW M8 GTE at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019 and 2020, the GTLM victories in the driver, team and constructor standings of the 2020 Michelin Endurance Cup, and a total of five GT titles with the BMW M3 GT during the 2010 and 2011 American Le Mans Series seasons. that of Bobby Rahal The team is also enjoying success in the North American IndyCar Series. The team has won the legendary Indy 500 twice – most recently in 2020. Along with intensive testing with the BMW M LMDh, BMW Team RLL will compete in the 2022 IMSA season starting with two BMW M4 GT3s in the new GTD Pro category in the first the races.

“For me personally and professionally this is a dream come true,” said Rahal. “Now driving a brand new car like the BMW M4 GT3 first and then taking the next step with BMW Team RLL to compete for the overall wins in the LMDh class is a direction we absolutely wanted to take. am very happy, so proud, so grateful to be able to do this with BMW M Motorsport. “

The design sketches for the BMW M LMDh were carried out in close collaboration between BMW M Motorsport and BMW Group Designworks. Michael scully, BMW Group Designworks Global Automotive Director, said: “The union of iconic elements of BMW M Motorsport design DNA with the performance architecture of a state-of-the-art prototype is the goal of this project. The shape of the BMW M LMDh exemplifies the visceral efficiency that is so synonymous with BMW M Motorsport, but the design process has been highly collaborative between BMW M Motorsport, Dallara and BMW Group Designworks. Iterating the exterior surfaces with this team is particularly rewarding as each project partner has distinguished expertise in their discipline, but there is mutual respect and to find together a transcendent and coherent result. I have no doubts that this car will be something we can all be proud of, and that the results on the track will reflect the great dynamics of the development team. For me personally, this project represents the synthesis of my professional design experience and a long-standing immersion in racing prototypes to lower echelons as a pilot. It is indeed a dream come true. “

Note to editors:

A new episode of the “MBEDDED” video series will be broadcast on the BMW Motorsport YouTube channel, which will be devoted to the renewal of the partnership with BMW Team RLL within the framework of the MOTUL Petit Le Mans. In the episode, BMW M Motorsport gives an exclusive behind-the-scenes look at the LMDh project. See here for a teaser of the third episode: https://b.mw/MBEDDED_Ep3_Teaser.

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