First victory for a BMW M Motorsport car in WEC

WEC

Apr 23

Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung triumphed ahead of their team-mates Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi, and Ahmad Al Harthy thanks to the team’s risky but strong strategy and to Farfus and Martin’s amazing skills with slick tyres on Imola’s damp track. It was the first victory for a BMW M Motorsport car in the history of the FIA WEC.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung win the 6 hours of Imola LMGT3 class with BMW M4 GT3 #31.

The LMGT3 race was played in two stages: before and after the rain.

The Manthey PureRxcing #92 lead the LMGT3 race during the first 4 Hours

The Porsche 911 GT3 R fielded by the Manthey PureRxcing customer team experienced a perfect start of the race: starting from pole position, Bronze driver Alex Malykhin retained his lead spot and easily defended it at the wheel of #92 Manthey’s Porsche, followed by Silver teammate Joel Sturm during the first four hours. Together, they lead 118 laps of the 129 covered at the end of the fourth hour.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) ahead of both BMW M Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 during the first stint.

Both BMW M4 GT3 take the lead with rain to end 1-2.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Maxime Martin (BMW M4 GT3 #46) and Augusto Farfus (BMW M4 GT3 #31) start their stint with slick tires several minutes before the rain.

When rain started (several minutes after PRO drivers Martin and Farfus took over for their stint with slicks tyres), both BMW M4 stayed on slick tyres turning around the shape of the race while Klaus Bachler’s team (Porsche #92) decided to pit for rain tyres and had to pit again to change for slicks, losing their leadership.

In the meantime, Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin did a fantastic job with slick tyres on Imola’s damp track. Both drivers dominated the last two hours during 46 laps for Farfus (BMW M4 #31) and 12 for Martin (BMW M4 #46).

First win for BMW M Motrosport in WEC with a 1-2

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Both Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 here in reverse order than race ending with Al Harthy in #46 ahead of Leung in #31.

Augusto Farfus crossed the checkered flag first with #31 BMW M4 GT3. Together with Sean Gelael, and Darren Leung they clinch the 25 points for class victory which puts them in P2 for Teams and Drivers Championships with 37 pts even with Heart of Racing Team.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung with winning #31 BMW M4 GT3.

Augusto FARFUS, #31 BMW M4 GT3: "I am incredibly happy and proud. We showed today that it's about having the best team in this championship, not just the best car or the best individual driver. In my stint, the track was always differently wet, and it was a constant question of which tires were better. We stayed on slicks the whole time, and I felt very comfortable in the BMW M4 GT3 under these conditions. The team always stayed calm and did everything right in the end. It's my son's birthday today – I couldn't have given him a better gift".
Sean GELAEL, #31 BMW M4 GT3: "I'm super happy! Darren qualified the car in fourth place on Saturday and drove a strong first stint. I had quite a bit of fun after that and was able to make up some time. Then I handed over to Augusto, who was sensational on the track and put pressure on Maxime. It was anything but bad today".
Darren LEUNG, #31 BMW M4 GT3: "Winning in just my second FIA WEC race – that's just incredible! We did an outstanding job as a team. The turbulent start phase was difficult for me, but I got through it very well and was able to hand over the vehicle in a good position to my colleagues". Source: BMW M Team WRT

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. P2 for Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi, and Ahmad Al Harthy in #46 BMW M4 GT3 who are now fourth in the championships 1 point behind sister car #31.

Maxime MARTIN, #46 BMW M4 GT3: "A fantastic result for the team. We had a strong car and decided on a bold strategy. That made the difference in the end. Congratulations to the #31 crew on the victory! We collected a lot of points and will continue to work hard in the next races".
Valentino ROSSI, #46 BMW M4 GT3: "I am very happy about the one-two victory for Team WRT, for BMW M Motorsport, and my first podium in the FIA WEC. We already had a strong car on Saturday in qualifying, and Ahmad achieved a very good third starting position. In the race, we then decided to stay out on slicks. Augusto was a bit faster than Maxime at the beginning and took the lead. Nevertheless, I am very happy with the result".
Ahmad AL HARTHY, #46 BMW M4 GT3: "My first podium with Team WRT – that's an incredible feeling! Many thanks to the team, which did a fantastic job. We took a calculated risk, and it paid off in the end". Source: BMW M Team WRT

Manthey PureRxcing #92 ends third and consolidate championship leadership.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Despite ending third, the Porsche 911 #92 trio Alex Malykhin, Joel Sturm and Klaus consolidates its leadership in both drivers and teams championships with 17 points ahead of competition.

The team’s decision to temporarily stay on rain tyres turned out to be unfortunate in retrospect. The time lost for the additional pit stop pushed the #92 winner of the season opener in Qatar back to third place.

Joel Sturm (Porsche 911 GT3 R #92): “My stint in the rain on slicks was pretty tricky. Still, my pace was strong and I managed to bring the car safely into the pits for the next stop. Klaus Bachler then returned to the track on wet tyres. A short time later, however, the track dried out again, so we had to switch back to slicks – which proved less than optimal. With all that said, third place is a very good result and we’re taking home critical points.” Source: Porsche

Ferrari 296 GT3 #55 end fourth

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. P4 for François Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera in Ferrari 296 GT3 #55.

Starting from eighth on the grid, the #55 of François Heriau, Simon Mann and Alessio Rovera reached the top positions thanks to a positive start from Heriau. Throughout the race, further complicated by the onset of rain, the Ferrari 296 LMGT3 consistently held its ground within the top ten. With a fine final stint orchestrated by the Maranello marque's official driver, Rovera – who also clocked the fastest lap of the race at 1:42.257 seconds – the car secured a fourth-place overall finish.

Heart of Racing Team fifth limits damages in Championships

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. With a P5 in LMGT3, I. James, D. Mancinelli and A. Riberas in Aston Martin Vantage AMR LMGT3 keep the P2 they earned in Qatar in both championships but now at equal points than BMW M Team WRT #31.

United Autosports McLaren 720S LMGT3 Evo #95 sixth

Josh Caygill (#95) kicked off proceedings starting P15, moving up to P11. Nico Pino (#95) took over and continued the good work, sitting P9. When the weather took a turn, the #95 crew committed to slick tyres on a partially wet track, with Nico Pino working hard in the McLaren LMGT3 Evo in increasingly greasy conditions. When Marino Sato took over with 80 minutes to go, it was a determined push to the finish – securing P6 at the checkered flag and United Autosports first championship points of the 2024 season.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Imola. Josh Caygill, Nico Pino and Marino Sato with #95 United Autosports McLaren LMGT3 Evo.

Josh Caygill: “I had a solid stint. Good start, good first couple of laps and I stayed out of trouble. Then I got my head down. The pace was strong and I felt really good in the car. I kept chipping away and the race came to us a little bit in the first couple of stints. The lads have done a mega job, the car was great. Nico got in and carried on the good work. He was super fast in the dry and he did a good job in tricky wet conditions too. Then Marino got in and smashed it – super quick, really consistent and fighting to the end. There have been massive steps forward since Qatar. I’m really proud of everybody. Thanks to McLaren and United Autosports. It’s been a good weekend.”

Nico Pino: “Difficult race with changing conditions. Strategy didn’t quite play out as we expected. The rain in between was not ideal for the tyre management I was working on. But overall it’s a huge step forward from Qatar. Really happy with how the team is performing and their determination. Everyone has been working so hard to get us ready for Imola. Now, I’m looking forward to Spa, working on even more improvements so we’re in a really competitive place when we get to Le Mans.”

Marino Sato: “Josh did a great stint. Qualifying on Saturday was not the best he could do but he did a great job in the race, made up a few places and put down some really quick times. Nico also did a good stint. It looked really difficult on slick tyres in the rain, but he managed it. I got in at the end … I was really pushing. I managed to gain us one or two places. We had really strong pace. It’s a huge improvement from Qatar … really happy with the huge team effort.” Source: United Autosports