FIA WEC: The spell is broken! BMW M Team WRT celebrates a one-two result at their Spa-Francorchamps home race.

Spa-Francorchamps. Home victory for the BMW M Team WRT at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL)! The #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8 won the second race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) season. Robin Frijns (NED), René Rast (GER), and Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) triumphed after a six-hour thriller ahead of their teammates Kevin Magnussen (DEN), Raffaele Marciello (SUI), and Dries Vanthoor (BEL). It was the first overall victory for BMW M Motorsport since entering the World Endurance Championship for the 2024 season.

The season highlight, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, is just around the corner in June, and after the celebrated one-two finish at their home race in Spa-Francorchamps, the BMW M Team WRT could not be heading to Le Mans with more momentum.

After a disappointing qualifying session on Saturday, the two BMW M Hybrid V8s started the race from only tenth and eleventh positions, but Magnussen made up important places right after the start, putting car #15 in a good position. Car #20 was initially stuck in eleventh place, but a bold strategy with a shorter first pit stop brought Rast to the front. From that point on, Rast, van der Linde, and Frijns showed impressive pace, built up a lead, and were able to take the lead during a yellow flag period, even after pit stops were accounted for. Frijns brought the car safely to the finish. Behind him, Magnussen put up a fantastic fight and defended second place in style. The crew of car #15 made a strong comeback after Vanthoor spun following an unavoidable collision.

BMW M Team WRT currently leads both the drivers’ and manufacturers’ standings of the FIA WEC after two out of eight races.

In the LMGT3 class, things did not go as hoped after the season-opening victory at Imola (ITA). The #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Dan Harper (GBR), Parker Thompson (CAN), and Anthony McIntosh (USA) struggled with the success ballast from Imola and finished eleventh. The #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Augusto Farfus (BRA), Sean Gelael (INA), and Darren Leung (GBR) was running well for a long time but dropped back to 14th place after a collision and a penalty.

Quotes after the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps:

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “Both cars at the very front, all six of our drivers on the podium – it doesn’t get any better than that! Congratulations to both crews! This is a fantastic success with the BMW M Hybrid V8 and also a huge relief after all the hard work we’ve put in over the past years. I can only say a big thank you to everyone involved in this project. Everyone can be very proud of this one-two finish. With our update for this season, our goal was to make the car more consistent. We achieved that, and that was the key to victory today, because as soon as we had a clear track ahead of us, we were able to set very fast lap times and pull away. We have to celebrate this win.”

Vincent Vosse (Team Principal BMW M Team WRT): “We couldn’t have dreamed of a better home race. I’m super happy and incredibly pleased for the whole team. The drivers did a perfect job, and the team was fantastic with the right strategy calls at the right time. Next up is the big highlight at Le Mans. We couldn’t go there with a better feeling.”

René Rast (BMW M Team WRT, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “This is a really great story for us. We’ve waited more than two years for this first win in the FIA WEC. Everyone at BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT has worked unbelievably hard for this. We were close before, and now it finally worked out. If someone had told me before the race, I wouldn’t have believed it, because we were still lacking a bit of pace in qualifying. I was stuck in traffic at first, but the team worked a miracle with its strategy and brought me to the front. With a clear track, our car just flew. This victory is something very special not only for BMW M Motorsport but also for Team WRT, after all, it’s their home race.”

Sheldon van der Linde (BMW M Team WRT, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “This is like a fairy tale for us. For the team, the win came at just the right time after more than two years in this project. And for me, it was my first victory in a WEC race – that’s incredible! Many thanks to my teammates, who always kept calm and did a perfect job. Our strategy was risky, because if the next yellow period had come at the wrong time, we would have dropped to the back of the field but it worked out perfectly.”

Robin Frijns (BMW M Team WRT, #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8, 1st place): “As the final driver, I definitely felt the pressure to bring home the first victory. That’s why I was a bit more cautious than usual when lapping the GT cars. We’ve all worked a very long time for this moment. Now we’re at the front with both cars, and I’m very happy and especially proud of everyone who worked behind the scenes to make this happen.”

Kevin Magnussen (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “It’s definitely the best second place I’ve ever had. Usually you’re not that happy about second place, but today – wow. A one-two for BMW M Team WRT. On the home track of WRT, a one-two for BMW – the first one in the Hypercar class in WEC. It’s just amazing. What a day, and what an effort from everyone! I’m so proud, and I’m so motivated to keep working from here, keep improving things, and getting more of this.”

Raffaele Marciello (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “It’s an amazing day. It was a great race for the team. The sister car had a very good strategy. We were a bit lucky with a virtual safety car, but in the end we were quite quick in the race, so we’re very happy with this one, too. We finally won a race. We finished 1-2, and it also looks good in the championship now, even if it is still early in the season.”

Dries Vanthoor (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place):
“Kevin did an amazing job; I think he’s the hero of the day. He had a great start and a great finish. Imola showed that we were doing a good job, and here we improved again. We’re making more steps. We still need to work hard, but we’re progressing well, especially in the race. And of course, the sister car winning, that’s what we were waiting for. It’s really nice to get a 1-2 and build from here – to give everyone in the project, the mechanics, everyone, a confidence boost. I’m super happy for everyone. A big thank you to everyone at BMW for always pushing forward and keeping going. It’s been tough at times, but we always kept going – and the team as well. When you keep working hard, the results will come, and I think that’s what we saw today.”

Dan Harper (Team WRT, #69 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 11th place LMGT3): “Spa was probably one of the trickiest weekends I’ve had, to be honest. I really struggled from the beginning of the weekend to get the car into as good a window as we could. Obviously, the success ballast from Imola was hurting, especially at Spa. It’s a very weight-sensitive track, and I think that hurt us a lot and made everything very tricky. We tried our best to get some points. A big shout-out to the boys for giving it everything. Big congrats to the other side of the garage – 1-2. It’s a very special weekend for them. First victory and a 1-2. Unbelievable. They definitely deserve it, because I know they’ve had a lot of hard times, and it’s not easy. I’m very happy for them.”

Augusto Farfus (Team WRT, #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 14th place LMGT3): “We didn’t have the speed this weekend. We tried everything we could, and unfortunately it didn’t turn out the way we wanted. In the end, I got a push from behind, which caused the Ferrari to retire, and I feel extremely sorry about that. So there were a lot of negatives in LMGT3, but we can still smile because the Hypercars did an incredible job. We definitely have to celebrate that one. A 1-2 in WRT’s home race is something very special. Now we have important weeks ahead of us, and we’ll try to capitalise on this.”