FIA WEC in Spa: Highs and lows for BMW M Motorsport on the Ardennes rollercoaster.

Spa-Francorchamps. The Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) is known as the Ardennes rollercoaster, and BMW M Motorsport experienced an emotional rollercoaster of its own there this weekend. At the third round of the 2025 FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) and the home round for BMW M Team WRT, the “6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps,” both BMW M Hybrid V8s once again demonstrated their potential following the podium finish in Imola (ITA). This time, however, it went unrewarded. The #20 Hypercar was in the fight for another podium finish until shortly before the end. A slow puncture set the car back before it had to retire for safety reasons due to a brake issue. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 also showed strong performance, but, after an eventful six hours, it was only enough for tenth place.

With perfect spring weather and an impressive crowd of nearly 100,000 spectators over the weekend, the stage was set for an exciting FIA WEC race. Each of the two BMW M Hybrid V8 cars was driven by a duo instead of the usual trio. Kevin Magnussen (DEN) and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) drove the #15, while René Rast (GER) and Robin Frijns (NED) shared driving duties in the #20. Their teammates Dries Vanthoor (BEL) and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) are competing this weekend with the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the North American IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship at Laguna Seca (USA).

At the start, Magnussen sprinted from 11th on the grid into the top five with the #15 before handing over to Marciello. In the eventful race that followed, with several safety car periods, the car, however, was set back by two drive-through penalties. Rast initially ran outside the top ten in the #20, but he and Frijns made steady progress thanks to a strong performance and good strategy. Frijns eventually pushed the BMW M Hybrid V8 into podium contention with bold moves. But half an hour before the end, he had to return to the pits due to brake problems, and the team decided not to send the car back out.

Even though the race outcome did not meet expectations, BMW M Motorsport and BMW M Team WRT gathered valuable data in preparation for the season highlight – the 24 Hours of Le Mans (FRA). The endurance classic at the Sarthe will be held as the fourth round of the 2025 FIA WEC on 14th /15th June.

In the LMGT3 class, the crews of both BMW M4 GT3 EVOs had a difficult weekend. Ahmad Al Harthy (OMA), Valentino Rossi (ITA) and Kelvin van der Linde (RSA), who had narrowly missed out on victory in Imola with a second-place finish, came ninth in class with the Team WRT #46 car. The race ended early for the #31 The Bend Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 EVO during the second hour. Following contact, damage occurred in the suspension area, and the trio of Augusto Farfus (BRA), Timur Boguslavskiy and Yasser Shahin (AUS) had to retire.

Comments after the race:

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “If you look at the race result alone, it’s obviously not what we had hoped for here at the home race for BMW M Team WRT. Also given the performance we showed with both BMW M Hybrid V8s, we had expected more in the end. It was frustrating that car number 15 received two penalties. That, unfortunately, set the car back, and it was difficult to fight for a top result after that. Car number 20 was very strong throughout the entire race. It was great to see that we were once again able to fight for top positions and were back on course for the podium. Unfortunately, we first had a slow puncture and then a brake issue that we still need to examine more closely. For safety reasons, we decided to retire the car. So, our conclusion is: the performance was there again, but, of course, we also want to achieve the corresponding results. In the LMGT3 class, the outcome was also not what we had hoped for after the strong race in Imola. Unfortunately, car number 31 retired early after contact. Car number 46 did a race without mistakes, but, unfortunately, the performance wasn’t enough today to fight for the front. We will continue working and are now looking forward to Le Mans. There, we want to show our full strength again and be at the very front.”

Vincent Vosse (Team Principal, BMW M Team WRT): “A disappointing weekend overall. At some stages, it looked like we could fight for a podium, but, in the end, that wasn’t the case. Car #20 was forced to retire due to what looks like brake issues. We will investigate further. As for car #15, two drive-through penalties made it impossible to aim for a stronger result. Ferrari had the race under control, and there wasn’t much we could do to challenge them. In LMGT3, it was also a tough outcome. Car #31 retired early after being involved in an incident, which was very disappointing. With car #46, we maximised what we could with the pace we had, but it wasn't enough to fight for the podium. We took a strategic gamble, but, unfortunately, it didn’t pay off. We’ll analyse, we’ll learn, and we’ll come back stronger.”

Kevin Magnussen (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 10th place): “It was unfortunate to get the two drive–through penalties. Apart from that, we had a strong start to the race. We showed a decent form, but then we were just fighting to make up from the two penalties. But it has been a good effort from the whole team. The other car also showed great performance, fighting all the way up to the top. Unfortunately there was no reward.”

Robin Frijns (BMW M Team WRT, #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, DNF): “I think it was an exciting race overall. The start wasn’t ideal, but we recovered well and made our way forward. Our pace was decent, even though we were not the fastest in the field, but we made smart strategy calls that kept us in the mix. On my side, there was some proper racing, with elbows out! Unfortunately, we had to retire due to a brake issue towards the end, which is a real shame as a podium was definitely within reach. But that’s racing.”

Valentino Rossi (Team WRT, #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 9th place LMGT3 class): “We finished P9. That reflects our potential this weekend, given the pace we had. It was still a good race overall: we fought hard in the beginning of the race, we gained positions and even battled for the podium. Unfortunately, a drive-through penalty set us back, and we took a strategic gamble to try and move up the order, knowing we couldn’t gain much on outright pace. In the end, it didn’t play out in our favour. We’ll keep pushing and hope to be more competitive next time.”

Augusto Farfus (The Bend Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, DNF LMGT3 class): “It’s disappointing to come away with zero points. The incident with Yasser was unfortunate and not how we wanted our race to end. The team always put in so much hard work and effort and I wish we could reward them. Hopefully next time, at Le Mans, we will do just that.”