BMW will deploy eight drivers across the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship’s GTP category and FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar class in 2025. The eight drivers will share the driving duties of the BMW M Hybrid V8s between BMW M Team RLL in IMSA and BMW M Team WRT in WEC.
As previously announced, new to the team is Formula 1 driver Kevin Magnussen. The Danish driver will be joined by Philipp Eng, the only holdover from the previous line-up in IMSA, Robin Frijns, René Rast, Marco Wittmann, Raffaele Marciello, Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor.
“We have high goals for the upcoming season with our BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes,” said Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport. “To achieve these, we are striving for optimizations in all areas. For our driver line-up, this means focusing and specializing. The more time our drivers spend behind the wheel of the BMW M Hybrid V8, the better they will get to know its handling and the more feedback they can provide to our engineers. The goal is to intensify the development of the BMW M Hybrid V8 in collaboration with the specialists at the teams and at BMW M Motorsport.
“It also helps us in this regard, that some drivers compete in both championships, thereby further improving the exchange of information. We are convinced that this way joining our forces will bring us advantages.”
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Eng will race with BMW M Team RLL for his third season, joined by Vanthoor in the No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8. Magnussen will be on board for the Rolex 24 At Daytona, the Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring and Motul Petit Le Mans. Wittmann and van der Linde will be the core driver pairing in the No. 25, adding Frijns for the three longer endurance races.
In WEC, the No. 15 BMW M Team WRT entry will be driven by Magnussen, Marciello and Vanthoor, with Frijns, Rast and van der Linde remaining in the No. 20 as last season.
For the conflicting weekend of IMSA’s race at WeatherTech Raceway Laguna Seca while WEC is at Spa-Francorchamps, BMW M Team WRT will have only two drivers in each car at Spa. The other conflicting weekend between the two series is WEC in Brazil while IMSA is at Canadian Tire Motorsports Park, where GTP does not compete.
“The schedule overlap in May is not ideal, but we have the regulatory option to compete in a six-hour FIA WEC race with two drivers per car, which we will utilize,” Roos said. “The fact that the season starts in January with the 24-hour race at Daytona is very beneficial for us. This allows us to have all eight drivers together for an extended period early in the season, helping us to optimally synchronize with each other.”
Marciello will be in the No. 24 for the Rolex 24, while Rast completes the squad in the No. 25.