Inside BMW's long-awaited prototype racing return
Much like German OEM rival Porsche, BMW's absence from sportscar racing’s top flight will be ended this weekend when a pair of M Hybrid V8 prototypes make their debut in the Rolex 24 at Daytona. A programme focused on IMSA for now will expand to the WEC and Le Mans next year, in a sign of both its ambition and pragmatism.
BMW is back, shooting for outright honours in the big sportscar races after an absence of nearly a quarter of a century.
The German manufacturer's attempt to follow up on its Le Mans and Sebring successes of 1999 with the V12 LMR begins at this weekend's Rolex 24 at Daytona with a new LMDh prototype called the M Hybrid V8. It won't be back at the Le Mans 24 Hours until 2024. And the reason for that can at least partially be explained by an ultra-tight timeline for a project described internally as a "zero error programme".
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