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BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT have put the aerodynamically revised BMW M Hybrid V8 through its paces at Imola ahead of next weekend’s 6 Hours of Imola, the opening round of the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship. The two Hypercars racked up 345 laps across the official test day, while the pair of BMW M4 GT3 EVOs added another 310 laps to the tally, giving every crew ample mileage to fine-tune car setups and pit processes before the first green flag of the season drops. Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello shared the cockpit of the #15 machine, while Robin Frijns and René Rast split duties in the #20 entry, with both crews gathering valuable data in changeable conditions that swung between wet and dry tarmac throughout the day.
The day was not without its hurdles. A technical issue forced the team to swap the engine in the #15 car during the morning session as a precautionary measure, costing Magnussen and Marciello significant track time. The pair regrouped in the afternoon and banked enough laps to salvage their programme, while the #20 crew completed its full schedule without interruption and posted a competitive fourth-fastest time. Magnussen noted that despite the lost running, the team gathered crucial information across both conditions, though he cautioned against reading too much into test day positions with the Ferraris setting a fierce benchmark. Rast struck a similarly measured tone, acknowledging the disrupted plan but expressing confidence that the squad had extracted enough learning to carry into the race weekend.
On the LMGT3 side, the two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs look well placed to challenge at a circuit that has suited the machinery in recent seasons. The #32 car reunites Augusto Farfus, Sean Gelael and Darren Leung after a year apart in the WEC, with Farfus describing the reunion as a homecoming and reminding onlookers that the trio’s last race together at Imola ended in victory. The #69 entry pairs Dan Harper with Parker Thompson and Anthony McIntosh, a line-up that built chemistry through the Asian Le Mans Series over the winter. That car will carry a fresh, unique livery at every round this season, drawing on motorsport history for each design and giving fans a new visual identity to look forward to at each circuit.
BMW M Motorsport arrives at the WEC grid bolstered by a strong roster of partners fuelling the campaign. The #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 carries the Inception design in the iconic BMW M colours, while its sister car races in Shell livery reflecting the partnership with the Premium Technology Partner. Long-standing collaborators Akrapovi?, Champion, H&R, OZ Racing, KYB and PUMA return alongside newcomer XPEL, the global leader in automotive protective films, whose involvement extends to the spectacular BMW M3 Touring 24H community project at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Champion deepens its commitment in the third year of the relationship by supplying high-performance racing spark plugs and ignition coils to BMW M Team WRT.
Head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos set the target clearly, pointing to the Hypercar’s third-place finish at Daytona and the GT3 car’s class victory as proof of the machinery’s potential and declaring that regular podium contention and race wins are the benchmarks for the season ahead. Team Principal Vincent Vosse acknowledged the gap to Ferrari on outright pace but expressed confidence in the foundation laid during the test, particularly on the LMGT3 side, where the squad has been a consistent front-runner. With 655 laps of hard-earned data now loaded into the engineering laptops, BMW M Team WRT heads into the race weekend with its engines primed and a clear target locked in the crosshairs.
