The BMW drivers for the 2024 season in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) have been determined! In addition to Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde, who have long been confirmed as drivers of the BMW M Hybrid V8, Rene Rast, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann and Robin Frijns have now also been confirmed.
The driver line-ups have already been determined: Marciello and Wittmann, together with Vanthoor, form the driver trio in the BMW M Hybrid V8 with starting number 15, while Frijns and Rast, together with van der Linde, complete the driver line-up in starting number 20.
“We will be competing in the 2024 WEC season in the Hypercar class with a very strong selection from our top-class factory driver line-up,” says BMW Motorsport Director Andreas Roos. “In the two BMW M Hybrid V8s we have combined driving class with experience – on the one hand experience with our LMDh vehicle, on the other hand in the racing series and especially in Le Mans.”
“Marco Wittmann, like Sheldon van der Linde, has already completed races with the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA series,” reminds Roos that the car was already at the start in America last year. “All other drivers – including our new addition Raffaele Marciello – have already been able to test the vehicle and will continue to do so intensively in the coming months.”
Marciello: “Exactly the challenge I was hoping for”
In recent months it has already become apparent that Marciello will climb into the LMDh cockpit after his move from Mercedes to BMW. “I’m really looking forward to being able to tackle this big challenge together with the BMW M Team WRT,” says the Swiss.
“Combating for victories and titles in the FIA WEC with so many big manufacturers is exactly the challenge I was hoping for,” says Marciello. “After being opponents on the racetrack for years, it’s great to now be driving together with Dries Vanthoor. Having a BMW M Motorsport legend like Marco Wittmann there is fantastic. I hope I can learn from both of them. “
Wittmann is also happy about the opportunity to compete in the World Championship. “For me it is both a great pleasure and an honor to be part of the WEC squad,” says the two-time DTM champion. “Having already been able to drive a few races in the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the IMSA series, I am extremely excited about the hypercar class in the FIA WEC.”
“This will experience real hype in 2024 with the amount of manufacturers and high-class drivers. Being a part of it is fantastic,” says Wittmann, who speaks of a “huge challenge”. “The 24 Hours of Le Mans has always been on my wish list. The fact that I can drive it in the top class in 2024 and hopefully fight for victory is a dream come true.”
Frijns optimistic: “What could go wrong?”
The WEC commitment also comes as no surprise to Robin Frjins, who was announced as a BMW works driver in August 2023. “I have been working very successfully with the BMW M Team WRT for many years,” recalls the Dutchman of his time with Audi, but above all of his successes in the LMP2 class of the WEC.
“In the FIA WEC I gained experience in the LMP2 class – always with the aim of starting in the hypercar category,” reveals Frijns. “Now the time has come with BMW M Motorsport and I’m very happy about that. Everyone is working very hard on the project to ensure that we have a good basis at the start of the season on which we can build and hopefully achieve some podium places.”
“I’m particularly looking forward to the mega event in Le Mans,” grins Frijns, who also competes in Formula E at the same time. “My driver colleagues René and Sheldon are both great guys who I know well from the DTM. I’m driving with two champions, what could go wrong?”
Rast, on the other hand, remains cautiously optimistic: “Starting in the hypercar class with BMW M Motorsport opens a new chapter for me,” says the three-time DTM champion honestly. “In the past, I drove a few individual races for Audi in the top class of the FIA WEC, but never a full season. After that, I competed in the LMP2 category.”
“To now be part of a new golden era of endurance racing is great,” says Rast, looking to the future. “I’m really looking forward to the challenge and think that we will be competitive with the BMW M Team WRT, the BMW M Motorsport engineering team and the driver line-up.”