[BMWGirlFL]

BMW boss makes it clear: Le Mans return with LMDh is absolutely possible

BMW has announced the entry into the new LMDh class from 2023, but was noticeably cautious when it comes to Le Mans and WEC. Markus Flasch is now speaking.

Audi, Porsche and now also BMW: three of the four German premium manufacturers will be involved in the newly created LMDh category (Le Mans Daytona hybrid) from 2023. In the future hypercar top class of endurance racing, German car manufacturers will face international competition from Ferrari, Toyota, Peugeot and Co. in the most important prototype races in the world from Daytona to Le Mans.

"There are now regulations that make it possible to compete in the IMSA and the WEC with the same vehicles," said Julius Seebach, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH and Head of Audi Motorsport, to Motorsport-Magazin.com . "This is unique and thanks to the ability to win, which is also possible with LMDh within the defined budget, it is perfect for us."

While Audi and Porsche have clearly communicated that they will compete with their LMDh cars in both the WEC (including 24h Le Mans) and the IMSA (including 24h Daytona, Sebring), BMW kept communicating initially noticeably back.

When the announcement was made on June 11, 2021, the Munich-based company explicitly spoke of the development of an "LMDh vehicle for use in the North American IMSA series". There was no mention of a race in Le Mans, certainly the most prestigious endurance race in the world. In its press release, BMW only referred to its first and to date only Le Mans victory in 1999 with the BMW V12 LMR (used by BMW ex-Team Schnitzer-Motorsport).

BMW and Le Mans: Rumors are making the rounds
Due to this rather unusual approach compared to Audi and Porsche - after all, the point of LMDh is to be able to compete in the 24-hour classics from WEC and IMSA at the same time and relatively inexpensively - rumors in the sports car scene were not long in coming.

Did BMW deliberately not mention the WEC or the Le Mans outing in order to exert pressure? Disputes with the ACO as Le Mans organizer and the FIA ​​WEC, from which BMW withdrew at the end of 2018 after only one season with the BMW M8 GTE and instead drove exclusively in the IMSA and thus in the US region, which is extremely important for BMW , came up as possible arguments.

BMW Boss: Use in Le Mans absolutely possible
Markus Flasch, Managing Director of BMW M GmbH and Head of BMW Motorsport, rejects speculation in this direction. "One of the reasons why we decided in favor of LMDh was that the vehicle can be used in both the IMSA and the WEC," assures the Austrian in an interview for the new print edition of Motorsport-Magazin.com . "For BMW M, only the US market is one of the largest and most crucial. That is why we have now committed to IMSA. Everything else is possible and it has absolutely no tactical or political reasons."

Flasch expressly: "It is absolutely possible to compete in the WEC and in Le Mans. We'll take a very close look at it." According to Flasch, it is still open whether BMW, like Audi and Porsche, will also have customer teams competing in addition to works outings. The M boss, however, considered this approach a "charming idea". Porsche has already announced a cooperation with US icon Penske for the WEC and IMSA, and several well-known teams at Audi are said to have long since applied.

With which engine BMW will compete in the LMDh category and whether the technologically complex turbo unit from the DTM period 2019/2020 is an option, Flasch did not want to reveal yet. All I can say is: "It is finished. You can assume that what we will have in the LMDh car is also related to what we will see on the road during that period."

Emphasis added.
https://www.motorsport-magazin.com/2...asch-exklusiv/

Back in the top class: BMW M Motorsport confirms it will compete in LMDh from the 2023 season.
BMW M Motorsport is returning to international prototype racing. On Thursday, it was confirmed that an LMDh car is being developed for use in the North American IMSA series. From the 2023 season, this car will allow BMW M Motorsport to compete for overall race wins at such prestigious classics as Daytona, Sebring and Road Atlanta (all USA).
“BMW is back on the big motorsport stage,” said Markus Flasch, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “In entering the LMDh class, BMW M Motorsport is fulfilling the prerequisites to challenge for overall victory at the most iconic endurance races in the world from 2023. We will be fully focussed on tackling this challenge. There is a spirit of optimism here. BMW has a successful history in prototype racing – the Le Mans victory in 1999 was unforgettable. Reviving this story in a modern prototype with M Power will thrill fans of BMW M Motorsport. The LMDh concept guarantees maximum cost control and offers a wide range of possible applications, including the IMSA series in North America, an extremely important market for BMW M. We are all eager to get stuck into the LMDh category with a compact and highly-efficient team set-up.”
Mike Krack, Head of BMW M Motorsport, is responsible for the development, testing and race outings of the new car. He added: “Everyone in our motorsport team shares the same motivation: we want to test ourselves against our strongest opposition at the racetrack – and to celebrate victories for BMW. As such, the LMDh project is a real affair of the heart for us and exactly the new challenge we were hoping for. An extremely exciting project awaits us. To challenge for overall victories in Daytona and Sebring is a massive motivation. We have a lot of work ahead of us, but the anticipation is immense.”
The regulations for LMDh cars stipulate that they have both a combustion engine and an electric motor. While each manufacturer may develop their own combustion engine, the electric motor and battery, as well as the transmission, are standard parts. The chassis is also built by an external partner. A BMW M Motorsport works involvement, with two cars, is planned from the 2023 IMSA season. The works team and the driver line-up for the two LMDh prototypes will be announced at a later date.
The last big win for a BMW prototype came in 1999, when the BMW V12 LMR won the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA). The car also won the 12 Hours of Sebring in the USA in the same season.

https://www.press.bmwgroup.com/globa...he-2023-season