BMW have had a season of ups and downs in the LMGT3 class of the World Endurance Championship in 2024.
The German manufacturer’s Belgian Team WRT outfit are running two M4 GT3’s in the LMGT3 class, with Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung driving the No. 31 car and Ahmad Al Harthy, Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi piloting the No. 46.
Between the two cars, WRT have secured four podiums so far in 2024 – two podiums each – including a one-two finish at Imola with the No. 31 taking victory.
But their WEC campaign has also seen inconsistency, with the team suffering a double retirement at the Six Hours of Spa. The No. 46 has failed to finish at three races while the No. 31 has scored points in all but one race, but has only registered four top five finishes.
WRT team principal Vincent Vosse thinks BMW’s performance is a ‘factor’ in Valentino Rossi considering his WEC future
This unexpected lack of performance, according to team principal Vincent Vosse, is one ‘factor’ as to why Valentino Rossi is considering his future in the WEC.
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The Italian is looking to cut down his racing schedule in 2025 and is set to choose between the WEC or GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup to compete in next season.
Speaking with Autosport, Vosse discussed the uncertainty surrounding Rossi’s future and the reasons for why the Italian is now unsure about which championship to compete in.
“Vale wants to reduce his number of races and the only way to do that is to do just one championship,” he said.
“It is a decision that has to be taken: does he do WEC or GTWCE? It’s something that is up in the air and really isn’t clear at the moment.
“There are many factors, and one is the BMW’s performance in the WEC, which hasn’t been what we were expecting, and another is Valentino’s FIA driver categorisation.”
BMW are in their debut season in the Hypercar class in 2024
BMW’s season in the Hypercar class has also suffered from inconsistency in what is their debut season in the category with their M Hybrid V8.
The No. 15 car, piloted by Rafaelle Marciello, Dries Vanthoor and Marco Wittmann endured a torrid start to the season, with two retirements and a disqualification in the opening four rounds. The trio have since found some performance and secured BMW’s first Hypercar podium with second in Fuji.
The No. 20, driven by Robin Frijns, Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde, have had almost the opposite fortunes this season. The trio scored points in the first two races, but have not grabbed a point since, retiring from the last race in Fuji.
BMW are sat fifth in the Manufacturers’’ Championship with 49 points heading into the final race in Bahrain, three points behind Alpine in fourth.