Munich. The sixth round of the FIA World Endurance
Championship (WEC) Super Season and the second round of the 2019
IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IMSA Series) share the same
Sebring (USA) event next weekend (14th to 16th
March) with several BMW entries competing in three races.
On Friday 15th March, BMW Team MTEK will contest the WEC
“1000 Miles of Sebring” with its pair of BMW M8 GTEs. The #81 BMW M8
GTE regular drivers, Nick Catsburg (NED) and Martin Tomczyk (GER),
will be supported by Alexander Sims (GBR). Augusto Farfus (BRA) and
António Félix da Costa (POR) share duties in the #82 sister car with
BMW DTM driver Bruno Spengler (CAN), who will debut in WEC. It will be
the first time that the Munich-based outfit will race in the USA, but
after achieving over 2,300 kilometres of testing at the weekend the
team is feeling prepared.
On Saturday, BMW Team RLL, which won the GTLM class in January’s IMSA
season-opening prestigious 24-hour race of Daytona (USA), will contest
the IMSA Sebring 12 Hours. After finishing the race second in 2018 on
the BMW M8 GTE’s second outing, the team is aiming for the top-spot
this year. The Daytona winning #25 BMW M8 GTE will be driven by Tom
Blomqvist (GBR), Connor De Phillippi (USA) and Colton Herta (USA).
Their team-mates Jesse Krohn (FIN) and John Edwards (USA) will share
duties with BMW DTM driver Philipp Eng (AUT) in the #24 sister car.
In the 12-hour endurance race GTD class, Turner Motorsport will
return to Sebring with its BMW M6 GT3. The team will also field a BMW
M4 GT4 in the Michelin Pilot Challenge, with Bill Auberlen (USA) doing
double-honours and driving in both. BimmerWorld Racing and Stephen
Cameron Racing will also compete in this series with their BMW M4 GT4s.
Comments ahead of the “BMW M Motorsport Super Weekend” at Sebring.
Jens Marquardt (BMW Motorsport Director):
“It’s a big weekend for BMW M Motorsport and, in particular, the BMW
M8 GTE. Since we launched it at the start of last year, both BMW Team
RLL and BMW Team MTEK have had great podium results, including the
victory at Daytona and a second-place finish at Sebring last year. To
see four BMW M8 GTEs compete in two events across two days is a unique
opportunity and we’re looking forward to taking on the challenge. The
BMW M6 GT3 and the BMW M4 GT4s complete the big BMW array at Sebring.
This weekend will be a great BMW family meeting at a venue that plays
a very special role in BMW Motorsport history as we all remember the
fantastic Sebring overall wins with the BMW 3.0 CSL in its debut
season 1975 and with the BMW V12 LMR exactly 20 years ago in 1999.”
Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK):
“In terms of preparation, we are pretty happy. We had a very good
test and covered over 2,300 kilometres with both cars. It was very
productive in terms of getting to know the car on this track which is
still a special track for us because we have never been here before.
In general, we are happy to be back on track as it was a long break
after Shanghai. Our BMW M8 GTE seems to work quite well here at
Sebring. We are also working well together with BMW Team RLL and
trying to learn as much as we can in a short amount of time to get the
car set up properly. Now we are looking forward to a good race. It’s
always nice to be at a venue like Sebring with a lot of history and a
very special track in terms of layout and bumps and quite a hard
challenge, but the whole team is motivated and looking forward to it.”
Bobby Rahal (Team Principal, BMW Team RLL):
“Sebring is a whole different story (to other endurance races such as
Daytona) but we have always had a pretty good car there regardless of
which chassis we were running. We have won there before which, to me,
is equally satisfying as winning Daytona given the difficulties of the
circuit and the challenges the circuit presents the teams with. That’s
not to diminish Daytona because anytime you win a 24-hour race, it’s
something really special. I think we have a good opportunity to do
well in Sebring. It’s interesting that with the WEC race the previous
day, we may be able to learn some things from those guys based on what
happens in their race, and hopefully it’s a good one for them. I
always look forward to Sebring because it’s always such a fabulous and
historic event. For me personally, it has so much meaning. I think we
have a good chance and of course we have a good line-up of drivers.”
Martin Tomczyk (WEC #81 BMW M8 GTE):
“It’s so great to come back to Sebring after I raced here in IMSA in
2017, and now to come back with for the WEC ‘1000 Miles of Sebring’ is
very exciting. It’s a special track – the oldest in Florida – and a
favourite with every driver. It’s going to be a challenging event with
both championships running side-by-side but I’m looking forward to
being a part of it and showing what the BMW M8 GTE can do.”
Nick Catsburg (WEC #81 BMW M8 GTE):
“Sebring is incredibly bumpy and there are still concrete areas in
some places, which means it is tough on the cars and the tyres. We
always say that if you can survive an endurance race here, you can
survive anywhere. The BMW M8 GTE finished the 12-hour race here in
second place last year so we know it can go the distance. I look
forward to the inaugural 1000-mile race and hope we can repeat its success.”
Alexander Sims (WEC #81 BMW M8 GTE):
“I am really excited to go back to the BMW M8 GTE. I got to know the
car very well last year, driving it in the full IMSA season and at Le
Mans. It is great doing Formula E but at the same time I am looking
forward to getting back to the BMW M8 GTE and the historic, bumpy
Sebring circuit. I have some good memories from the last two years there.”
António Félix da Costa (WEC #82 BMW M8 GTE):
“I am really looking forward to Sebring. Our last time out with the
BMW M8 GTE was at Shanghai, which wasn’t a strong one, but we came out
of Fuji with a podium and a really strong qualifying, so I am really
looking forward to getting back to it. I actually missed the car, the
team and the series a lot and it’s a great thing that BMW enables us
to race in both the WEC and Formula E so I can really balance things
out. Sebring looks like a really challenging track. It will be my
first time there, but I have really good team-mates who know the track
well and we have BMW Team RLL there as well in IMSA – these guys drive
this track a lot and I am sure they can help me.”
Augusto Farfus (WEC #82 BMW M8 GTE):
“Sebring is an incredible track. It has a good mix of slow and medium
speed corners, and then the last corner that is very special. It’s one
of the bumpiest tracks in the world and is a legendary track where
many of the greats have won. I hope that we can do that this weekend
with the BMW M8 GTE.”
Bruno Spengler (WEC #82 BMW M8 GTE):
“I’m really looking forward to my WEC debut and my first appearance
in the BMW M8 GTE. Sebring is a track I like very much. I drove here
in 2016 in the IMSA series and that time we took second place in the
12-hour race. I am looking forward to the challenge and to starting
with Augusto and António as well as with BMW Team MTEK, which I raced
with in DTM.”
Jesse Krohn
(IMSA #24 BMW M8 GTE):
“Sebring is one of the toughest races of the season. It’s really a
challenge for the car and for the drivers, although its ‘only’ 12
hours. It’s the same as a 24-hour race on any other track. Last year
was really good for us even if we weren’t quite there with the car
development at that time. This year, we are miles ahead, so I am
really looking forward to seeing what we can do this year with those
big steps we have made with the car since last year. It should be a
really good event for us, and I hope for a strong result.”
John Edwards
(IMSA #24 BMW M8 GTE):
“We had a good test at Sebring, and I feel we are ready. In the last
four IMSA races (2018 and 2019) we have won three times and finished
third-twice so with the combination of the momentum the team has and
the progress we’ve made with the BMW M8 GTE I believe we can continue
our winning ways.”
Philipp Eng
(IMSA #24 BMW M8 GTE):
“I’m really looking forward to my first start at Sebring. I practiced
a lot of laps in the simulator and now I can’t wait to compete there.
Our Daytona victory of course gives great extra momentum for Sebring.
I hope we can repeat this fantastic success.”
Tom Blomqvist
(IMSA #25 BMW M8 GTE):
“Sebring is quite a challenging track – especially the first and last
corners, which are very high-speed and very bumpy. I must admit
though, that even after only one day of testing, I am quite enjoying
it. The team had a great result at Daytona this year and finished
second here at Sebring last year, so I look forward to contributing to
another good finish.”
Connor De Phillippi
(IMSA #25 BMW M8 GTE):
“We scored the first podium for the BMW M8 GTE program at Sebring
last year, so we have shown what we are capable of. With our strong
finish to the 2018 season and the Daytona win this year we are aiming
for nothing short of a podium – if not the win. For me the 24-hour win
was really special because it was my first major endurance racing
victory with BMW and that it was also the first big race and win my
family was able attend.”
Colton Herta
(IMSA #25 BMW M8 GTE):
“Winning the Daytona 24 hours in my first race with BMW Team RLL was
certainly a confidence boost. The test went well, but I know it will
be very different when there are many more cars on the track. Like
Daytona, we race into the night, but unlike Daytona the circuit is not
covered by the Speedway lights. Driving with only the headlights will
be new for me, but these are the challenges I like.”