Le Castellet. BMW Team MTEK and the new BMW M8 GTE officially
launched their 2018 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) campaign
at the “Circuit Paul Ricard” near Le Castellet (FRA). On Friday and
Saturday, the number 81 and 82 cars covered a total of 5,075
kilometres. Seven BMW works drivers – Tom Blomqvist (GBR), Nick
Catsburg (NED), António Félix da Costa (POR), Philipp Eng (AUT),
Augusto Farfus (BRA), Alexander Sims (GBR) and Martin Tomczyk (GER)
– were on duty over the course of the 30-hour test at the
5.861-kilometre circuit.
Reactions on The Prologue in Le Castellet:
Ernest Knoors (Team Principal, BMW Team MTEK):
“We’re happy to get closer to the real start of the FIA World
Endurance Championship Super Season, as we have put in a lot of hard
work and effort to get to this point. There are some very positive
things to take away but we also have lots to do ahead of Spa. We have
a busy few weeks.”
Martin Tomczyk (#81 BMW M8 GTE):
“It was the first time for us to hit the track in the FIA World
Endurance Championship with all of the competitors and set-up as we
would go to into a race weekend. It is useful to have such an official
test and get used to the procedures. We worked through the full
programme, including race simulations, and I hope we are now prepared
for the season-opener.”
Nick Catsburg (#81 BMW M8 GTE):
“It was a very successful test but it’s hard to judge where we are
we. The car is running like clockwork and I’m really looking forward
to my first FIA World Endurance Championship event.”
Philipp Eng (#81 BMW M8 GTE):
“It was an important test for all of us because it was the first time
we were facing our direct competition in the FIA World Endurance
Championship. It was also good to go through all of the operations and
develop our strategies. It was, in that respect, a more serious test
than previously when we were running alone.”
Augusto Farfus (#82 BMW M8 GTE):
“The test has been very positive. Once again, we managed to get some
good kilometres. It was the first time that we have had the full FIA
World Endurance Championship line-up of car number 82 test together. I
therefore think the highlight has been that we all share the same
opinion and feedback of the car, which will allow us to work well
together this season.”
António Félix da Costa (#82 BMW M8 GTE):
„It’s great to finally get the FIA World Endurance Championship
season started. This project has been a long time in the making and
it’s good to finally see the BMW M8 GTE hitting the track with all of
our competitors. Next time on track is in the Six Hours of Spa and I
can’t wait to get back out there and go racing.”
Alexander Sims (#82 BMW M8 GTE):
„We were able to complete our quite extensive and ambitious test
programme, which is always nice. The car ran for a good distance and I
found it very useful from a driver point of view to understand the
Michelin tyres before we head to Spa-Francorchamps.”