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Munich (GER), 4 April 2024. Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, GTWC, BMW M4 GT3, ROWE Racing, MultiBank Group, Dan Harper, Max Hesse, Augusto Farfus, design, livery.

GT World Challenge Europe: Six BMW M4 GT3s at Endurance Cup season opener.

Jeff Seabrook 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Thursday April 4, 2024

The new season of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS kicks off this coming weekend, with BMW M Motorsport once again well-represented. At Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA), BMW M Motorsport teams WRT, ROWE Racing, and Century Motorsport will field a total of six BMW M4 GT3 cars and more than a dozen BMW M works drivers.

Le Castellet. The new season of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS kicks off this coming weekend, with BMW M Motorsport once again well-represented. At Circuit Paul Ricard (FRA), BMW M Motorsport teams WRT, ROWE Racing, and Century Motorsport will field a total of six BMW M4 GT3 cars and more than a dozen BMW M works drivers.

The works-supported teams WRT and ROWE Racing will each compete with two cars in the Pro Cup for overall victories. Both teams have only one personnel change from last year. In the #46 BMW M4 GT3, Raffaele Marciello (SUI) will be the third driver alongside Maxime Martin (BEL) and Valentino Rossi (ITA), as he was already at Bathurst (AUS) in February. The #32 BMW M4 GT3 line-up remains unchanged with Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Dries Vanthoor, and Charles Weerts (both BEL).

The same applies to the ROWE Racing #98 BMW M4 GT3, where Philipp Eng (AUT), Marco Wittmann (GER), and Nick Yelloly (GBR) will compete, among others, to defend the title at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL). In the #998 BMW M4 GT3, Augusto Farfus (BRA) – who was with BMW M Team WRT in 2023 – will be the third driver alongside Dan Harper (GBR) and Max Hesse (GER). The car will feature a new design from BMW M Motorsport partner MultiBank Group in 2024.

BMW M Motorsport, Schubert Motorsport, DTM 2024, #33 BMW M4 GT3, René Rast (GER), RoboMarkets.

DTM 2024: RoboMarkets, Schaeffler and Shell continue to be strong partners on the BMW M4 GT3 this season.

Jeff Seabrook 2024 DTM Thursday March 21, 2024

When the three DTM champions René Rast (GER), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Marco Wittmann (GER) kick off the 2024 DTM season with Schubert Motorsport at the end of April, long-standing BMW M Motorsport partners RoboMarkets, Schaeffler, and Shell will also be on board again. These three partners will continue to shape the designs of the three BMW M4 GT3s.

Munich. When the three DTM champions René Rast (GER), Sheldon van der Linde (RSA) and Marco Wittmann (GER) kick off the 2024 DTM season with Schubert Motorsport at the end of April, long-standing BMW M Motorsport partners RoboMarkets, Schaeffler, and Shell will also be on board again. These three partners will continue to shape the designs of the three BMW M4 GT3s.

Wittmann, with car number 11 and the green Schaeffler design has been a successful combination familiar to DTM fans for a long time and will again be seen on the DTM circuits this season. Van der Linde will compete in the #31 BMW M4 GT3 in Shell’s classic colors, as in previous years. Rast enters his second DTM season as a BMW M works driver, and his #33 BMW M4 GT3 will once again feature RoboMarkets’ blue design, as it did last year.

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Munich, 19th March 2024. BMW M Motorsport, Gen2K, Logo, young drivers, Generation 2000.

Gen2K: BMW M Motorsport unveils new logo for its “young guns” – Start at the 24h Nürburgring.

Jeff Seabrook 2024 Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Tuesday March 19, 2024

Nurturing young racing talent has been one of the cornerstones of BMW M Motorsport’s programme for decades. Most recently, BMW Junior Team made waves in GT racing for several years, nurturing Dan Harper, Max Hesse, and Neil Verhagen into BMW M works drivers. They now join forces with Charles Weerts to form the group born after the turn of the millennium. For the 2024 season, BMW M Motorsport has given them a name and a new logo: Gen2K.

Munich. Nurturing young racing talent has been one of the cornerstones of BMW M Motorsport’s programme for decades. Most recently, BMW Junior Team made waves in GT racing for several years, nurturing talents such as Dan Harper (GBR), Max Hesse (GER), and Neil Verhagen (USA) into accomplished BMW M works drivers. In a high-profile line-up, they join forces with Charles Weerts (BEL) to form the group born after the turn of the millennium. For the 2024 season, BMW M Motorsport has given them a name and a new logo: Gen2K.

“Generation 2000”, comprising the three members of the BMW Junior Team and Weerts, who has already achieved numerous successes in GT racing at a young age with Team WRT in recent years, embodies BMW M Motorsport’s approach to infuse its line-up with not only experience but also youthful dynamism making it as versatile as possible.

The Gen2K racing programme is also diverse. Harper, Hesse, and Weerts will contest the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (GER) in June in the BMW M Team RMG BMW M4 GT3. While Harper and Hesse have grown up on the Nordschleife as part of their training and have contested many races there, Weerts will make his debut at the endurance classic in the Eifel region. The trio will hit the track for the first time in the BMW M4 GT3 this coming weekend during test sessions ahead of the start of the Nürburgring Endurance Series (NES) season.

Moreover, all three drivers will compete in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, albeit for different teams. Harper and Hesse for ROWE Racing, Weerts for BMW M Team WRT. Additionally, Hesse will undertake race outings for BMW Team Italia Ceccato Racing in the Italian GT Championship, while Harper will participate in selected events of the British GT Championship, where he clinched the driver’s title in 2023. Verhagen will contest the entire season of the Fanatec GT World Challenge America powered by AWS for ST Racing in North America, as well as the IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup races for Paul Miller Racing.

Sebring (USA), 14-16 March 2024. IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, Sebring International Raceway, BMW M Team RLL, GTP, LMDh, #25 BMW M Hybrid V8, Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly, Maxime Martin.

Sebring 12 Hours: BMW M Team RLL narrowly misses the podium.

Jeff Seabrook 2024 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Tuesday March 19, 2024

Strong performance, but lacking the necessary racing luck – that's how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) can be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line in fourth place after a race that was exciting until the end.

Sebring. Strong performance, but lacking the necessary racing luck – that's how the 12 Hours of Sebring (USA) can be summarized for the BMW M Team RLL. In the second race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA series) season, the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 crossed the finish line in fourth place after a race that was exciting until the end. The sister car with number 24 finished sixth. In the GTD-PRO class, Paul Miller Racing narrowly missed the podium with the #1 BMW M4 GT3, finishing in fourth place. Turner Motorsport took sixth place in the GTD class with the #96 BMW M4 GT3.

In a balanced race in the top GTP class, Connor De Phillippi (USA), Nick Yelloly (GBR), and Maxime Martin (BEL) in the #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 stayed at the front of the pack throughout the race distance. They even led the race at times. However, after the last of numerous yellow phases, they just missed out on a podium finish in the final sprint. Jesse Krohn (FIN), Philipp Eng (AUT), and Augusto Farfus (BRA) in the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 were unlucky with a slow puncture and a damaged rear wing. Nevertheless, they scored important points by finishing sixth and even fought their way back from a lap down.

In the GTD categories, the BMW M Motorsport teams also lacked the necessary racing luck to celebrate on the podium. In the #1 Paul Miller Racing BMW M4 GT3, Madison Snow, Bryan Sellers, and Neil Verhagen (all USA) finished fourth in the GTD-PRO class. In the GTD category, Robby Foley, Patrick Gallagher, and Jake Walker (all USA) took sixth place. During the race, both cars had led their classes.

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