What a spectacular finale at the “6 Hours of Imola”, the second race of the FIA World Endurance Championship (FIA WEC) season! Thanks to a tactical masterclass by BMW M Team WRT, the #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, driven by Robin Frijns, René Rast, and Sheldon van der Linde, finished in second place. The crew of car #20 celebrated their first-ever podium in the FIA WEC – despite an early collision with another car and a repair in the pits. In the LMGT3 class, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, starting from pole position, battled for the win. After a penalty and a fantastic comeback at the end, drivers Ahmad Al Harthy, Valentino Rossi, and Kelvin van der Linde celebrated a second-place finish on the podium.
The 6-hour Imola race was turbulent for all BMW M Motorsport crews. The #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 started from 13th place but steadily moved up the order on the tight course. However, Rast collided with another car during an overtaking attempt, which was not his fault, severely damaging the rear wing. This required a complete rear section change during the subsequent pit stop, which the BMW M Team WRT crew accomplished in an extremely short time, thus limiting the time lost. Nevertheless, the journey from ninth place to the podium was long. To gain positions on the track, the team decided to shorten the penultimate refuelling stop, allowing them to take the lead. Van der Linde drove laps at qualifying pace to build enough time to overtake most competitors during their later final stops and cross the finish line in second place. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, with Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Dries Vanthoor, started from third place and maintained that until the final hour of the race. However, the crew fell back due to performance issues and finished in sixth place.
In the LMGT3 class, the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO fought for the win right up to the finish line after an emotional rollercoaster. Al Harthy started from pole position and defended the lead during his double stint. Subsequent shifts in positions due to different strategies saw Rossi battling for first place with a Ferrari. During an overtaking attempt, he hit his opponent at the rear, for which the team received a stop-and-go penalty. That was followed by an impressive comeback by final driver van der Linde, who made up place after place and even closed the gap to the leading Porsche in the final laps. In a spectacular duel, he tried everything to snatch the victory but ultimately had to settle for second place. It was the second podium for the BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the second race of the season. The #31 crew with Augusto Farfus, Timur Boguslavskiy, and Yasser Shahin, who had finished third in Qatar, experienced a troubled race this time and finished twelfth after several incidents and penalties.
Congratulations to Team WRT, the drivers, and everyone involved at BMW M Motorsport on the double podium at Imola! The #20 crew did a fantastic job and, thanks to flawless performances by the drivers and perfect strategy, earned their deserved first podium in the FIA WEC. The podium for the #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the LMGT3 class is also impressive.
A great race weekend with a second place in both the Hypercar and LMGT3 classes! A double podium in the FIA WEC is always very satisfying.
Driver statements.
René Rast (BMW M Team WRT, #20 BMW M Hybrid V8, 2nd place): “A fantastic result – finally a podium! We didn't expect this after finishing 13th in qualifying, which didn't go as planned. But in the race, we showed how good our car and our team are. We made almost no mistakes, stayed calm, and executed well. In the end, a bit of luck was also involved, but we had so much bad luck in the last races that we now deserve to celebrate.”
Raffaele Marciello (BMW M Team WRT, #15 BMW M Hybrid V8, 6th place): “I'm happy for the #20 crew that they made it to the podium. They had a lot of bad luck last season. On our side of the garage, we can't be satisfied. Things were going well for a long time, but as the race progressed, we lost performance. Now we need to look at and understand how this happened. We all know how fast Dries is in the car. When I handed over to him, I thought it could be our day but then the problem occurred.”
Valentino Rossi (Team WRT, #46 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 2nd place LMGT3 class): “I have mixed feelings because a podium is a good result, but we could have won. It's very unfortunate because the team did a fantastic job, the car was very fast, and we managed the tyres well. Ahmad and especially Kelvin at the end drove brilliantly. Kelvin fought until the end and brought the podium home. Unfortunately, I made a mistake and hit the Ferrari in front of me during an overtaking attempt. The subsequent penalty cost us the win. I am sorry for that.”
Augusto Farfus (The Bend Team WRT, #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, 12th place LMGT3 class): “There are races where everything just goes wrong. This was one of those races. We had a great car with great speed, but we just couldn't capitalise on it. That's hard to accept because it doesn't happen every time that you have such a strong package available. We made too many mistakes – and luck was also not on our side but the championship is still open. We now need to focus on the next race.”