BMW.SG | BMW Singapore Owners Community The Ultimate BMW Community – Established Since 2001
Engines have fired up in Florida as BMW M Motorsport began the run-in to the 24 Hours of Daytona with the ‘Roar Before the 24’. Across six test sessions, BMW M Team WRT clocked roughly 450 laps around the Daytona International Speedway in its pair of BMW M Hybrid V8 prototypes, banking vital numbers on tyre behaviour, traffic management and stint consistency. The cars also rolled out in BMW’s bold Inception-style livery for their first IMSA outing ahead of the season opener.
Those miles mattered. With an aerodynamically updated package, every kilometre is a chance to sharpen the set-up window, refine energy deployment and settle the car over Daytona’s mix of high-speed banking and heavy-braking infield. The team will now comb through the telemetry to pinpoint where lap time is hiding and where the chassis needs a calmer balance for long runs.
BMW’s GT machinery also put in solid work. Paul Miller Racing circulated for around 180 laps with the #1 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in GTD PRO, while Turner Motorsport logged a very similar distance with the #96 BMW M4 GT3 EVO in GTD. The emphasis was on reliability, repeatability and completing the programme rather than chasing headline times—exactly the sort of groundwork that pays off once the race turns into a round-the-clock stress test.
Next comes the real measuring stick. Practice begins on Thursday at 10:05 local time, with the green flag for the 24 Hours of Daytona on Saturday at 13:40 local time. Friday also features the BMW M Endurance Challenge, and the supporting IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge opener will field nine BMW M4 GT4 EVOs for a four-hour contest—plenty of track time to prove that the preparation has translated into straight-line punch, stable braking and a set-up that stays in its groove as conditions evolve.
