NEW MOTUL BMW M4 GT3 SET TO DEBUT AT THIS WEEKEND’S DAYTONA 24H

The year has only started, but already it will get off to a bang this weekend with the legendary 24 Hours of Daytona. The race will also be a pivotal moment for BMW M Motorsport and Motul, who will debut a new car at the famous USA race. The new Motul BMW M4 GT3 is set to make its debut at the endurance classic in Florida in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

BMW M Team RLL and Turner Motorsport were in action last weekend at the test and qualifying event, “Roar before the 24”, where they secured their starting positions for the 24-hour race. The big race looks set to be the perfect stage on which to mark the 50-year anniversary of BMW M GmbH, who will celebrate the occasion with a top-class programme both on and off the track.

In 2020 Motul became the official partner of BMW M Motorsport, providing technical co-operation, expertise and support to its successful racing program in North America. Fast forward two years and the sporting foundations for the upcoming weekend were laid over the past few days, within several test sessions and a 100-minute qualifying race. The two Motul BMW M4 GT3s run by BMW M Team RLL qualified 12th and 13th in the GTD-PRO class and are ready to take up the challenge this weekend.

“The 24 Hours of Daytona is a very special race for BMW M Motorsport in many regards – and for me personally,” said Mike Krack, head of BMW M Motorsport. “For the first time this season, the 50-year anniversary of BMW M will be duly celebrated, thanks to the efforts of BMW of North America at the racetrack. From a sporting perspective, we are extremely excited about our IMSA debut with the BMW M4 GT3. We have already seen at the “Roar” that setting up and classifying a totally new GT car can pose challenges that need a little time to master. However, the drivers and teams are constantly making progress and will continue to improve over the course of the race weekend. I am confident that will see good performances at my final race as head of BMW M Motorsport. I am really looking forward to it.”

Motul is a dedicated partner to BMW M Motorsport and lends its name to the BMW M Team RLL cars. “After two years of successful partnership, including the 2020 24h Daytona win, we are very proud to continue our adventure together “, said Romain Grabowski, head of brand at Motul. “This is not only a partnership renewal, but also a real challenge for our two companies with the introduction of the brand new Motul BMW M4 GT3 as we have both been cooperating together on its technical development. We are hoping to provide BMW fans from all over the world with great excitement as well as top quality engine oil, allowing them to extract maximum power output from their BMW engines while benefiting from maximum protection.”

As well as the race action, BMW M Motorsport and BMW of North America will also mark 50 years of BMW M with a host of highlights on the support programme for the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona. Directly before the start of the race, there will be a parade of vintage and current BMW M cars, including a BMW M1 from 1980. Three race cars that made history by winning IMSA races will be on display at the ‘Rolex 24 Heritage Exhibition’ in the Daytona Fan Zone: the 1975 BMW 3.0 CSL, the 2015 BMW Z4 GTLM, and the BMW M8 GTE that triumphed in Daytona in 2019.

“We are very proud to have played a role in a good portion of the history of BMW M Motorsport. For us, signing with BMW back in 2008 for the 2009 season was a huge honour – so for us to be part of this 50th anniversary of BMW M is really something special. We are super excited about racing the new BMW M4 GT3. Once again introducing a new race car to BMW fans like we have done with the M3 GT, Z4 GTLM, M6 GTLM and M8 GTE. We have been fortunate to have success with each of those cars which makes it exciting to embark on this new project and hopefully have more success with this great new chassis in 2022. BMW M Motorsport has assembled another great driver line-up and our drivers will have to give us their best. There are a lot of good drivers in GTD PRO and we’re looking forward to the competition.”

“Not a great qualifying race for us. Obviously, we would have liked to be further up on the grid. Our job is to make sure that everything runs smoothly within the team. For me personally it’s the first race with the RLL team, so I have been getting to know everybody these past few days. My first time with BMW M Motorsport in Daytona means a lot left for me to learn.”

“We could see in the qualifying race where we are at the moment – and that’s not where we want to be. Now we have to stick our heads together in the days to come. In general, it’s a pleasure to drive the BMW M4 GT3 and work with BMW M Team RLL. Now we just have to find some speed.”

“Not the result we wanted, obviously. We executed well and had a clean race. We just didn’t have the package to challenge for top positions. Let’s hope it will be different next weekend and we can put on a fight.”

“For us the focus was on set-up work. It’s important to find a good balance between racing day and night. There are still a lot of things to learn and discover with the new car. I think we made good progress and the car is in a good window. It is easy to drive which is important for a 24-hour race. Now we just got to make it fast. I am confident we’ll get there soon.”

“Not the result we wanted, obviously. We executed well and had a clean race. We just didn’t have the package to challenge for top positions. Let’s hope it will be different next weekend and we can put on a fight.”