The sixth round of the FIA World Endurance Championship Super Season and the second round of the 2019 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship share the same Sebring event next weekend with several BMW entries competing in three races.
On Friday 15th March, BMW Team MTEK will contest the WEC “1000 Miles of Sebring” with its pair of BMW M8 GTEs. The #81 BMW M8 GTE regular drivers, Nick Catsburg and Martin Tomczyk, will be supported by Alexander Sims. Augusto Farfus and António Félix da Costa share duties in the #82 sister car with BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler, who will debut in WEC. It will be the first time that the Munich-based outfit will race in the USA, but after achieving over 2,300 kilometres of testing at the weekend the team is feeling prepared.
On Saturday, BMW Team RLL, which won the GTLM class in January’s IMSA season-opening prestigious 24-hour race of Daytona, will contest the IMSA Sebring 12 Hours. After finishing the race second in 2018 on the BMW M8 GTE’s second outing, the team is aiming for the top-spot this year. The Daytona winning #25 BMW M8 GTE will be driven by Tom Blomqvist, Connor De Phillippi and Colton Herta. Their team-mates Jesse Krohn and John Edwards will share duties with BMW DTM driver Philipp Eng in the #24 sister car.
In the 12-hour endurance race GTD class, Turner Motorsport will return to Sebring with its BMW M6 GT3. The team will also field a BMW M4 GT4 in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, with Bill Auberlen doing double-honours and driving in both. BimmerWorld Racing and Stephen Cameron Racing will also compete in this series with their BMW M4 GT4s.
“It’s a big weekend for BMW M Motorsport and, in particular, the BMW M8 GTE. Since we launched it at the start of last year, both BMW Team RLL and BMW Team MTEK have had great podium results, including the victory at Daytona and a second-place finish at Sebring last year. To see four BMW M8 GTEs compete in two events across two days is a unique opportunity and we’re looking forward to taking on the challenge. The BMW M6 GT3 and the BMW M4 GT4s complete the big BMW array at Sebring. This weekend will be a great BMW family meeting at a venue that plays a very special role in BMW Motorsport history as we all remember the fantastic Sebring overall wins with the BMW 3.0 CSL in its debut season 1975 and with the BMW V12 LMR exactly 20 years ago in 1999.”
“It’s so great to come back to Sebring after I raced here in IMSA in 2017, and now to come back with for the WEC ‘1000 Miles of Sebring’ is very exciting. It’s a special track – the oldest in Florida – and a favourite with every driver. It’s going to be a challenging event with both championships running side-by-side but I’m looking forward to being a part of it and showing what the BMW M8 GTE can do.”
“Sebring is an incredible track. It has a good mix of slow and medium speed corners, and then the last corner that is very special. It’s one of the bumpiest tracks in the world and is a legendary track where many of the greats have won. I hope that we can do that this weekend with the BMW M8 GTE.”
“We scored the first podium for the BMW M8 GTE program at Sebring last year, so we have shown what we are capable of. With our strong finish to the 2018 season and the Daytona win this year we are aiming for nothing short of a podium - if not the win. For me the 24-hour win was really special because it was my first major endurance racing victory with BMW and that it was also the first big race and win my family was able attend.”
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