BMW driver Dries Vanthoor believes the German producer must improve its LMDh automobile in an effort to be a constant frontrunner within the World Endurance Championship in 2025.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh has achieved restricted success because it made its debut within the IMSA SportsCar Championship in 2023, whereas an enlargement to the Hypercar class of the WEC this 12 months has additionally been solely modestly fruitful.
BMW has to date been reluctant to utilize the so-called evo jokers on the M Hybrid V8, with motorsport boss Andreas Roos ruling out any updates for the foreseeable future at Le Mans 24 Hours in June.
Nevertheless, Vanthoor believes there are some weaknesses which BMW wants to deal with over the winter in an effort to make the automobile extra aggressive within the WEC subsequent 12 months.
“I do suppose it’s a necessity [to use evo jokers] however we’re utilizing them properly as we solely have a number of within the homologation of the automobile,” the Belgian informed Motorsport.com forward to the Fuji race, the place he completed second together with team-mates Marco Wittmann and Raffaele Marciello.
“We simply wish to use them as greatest as we are able to. We actually use them for the large features of our automobile.”
Previous to BMW’s breakthrough end in Japan, the WRT-run manufacturing unit crew had achieved a greatest end of sixth on the Imola spherical of the championship in Might.
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Requested if he was assured about usually combating on the entrance subsequent 12 months if the BMW LMDh remained in its present specification, Vanthoor replied: “No, I do suppose we’d like some upgrades to have the ability to try this and that’s what we’ve to work on now.
#15 BMW M Crew WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor
Photograph by: JEP / Motorsport Photos
“Let’s have a look at which [upgrade] we’ve to do first however I do suppose we have to try this.
“The people who find themselves working in these areas along with us as drivers, doing suggestions backwards and forwards, know effectively sufficient which areas we’ve to enhance on and doubtless will go in that space.”
As with different LMDh and LMH producers, BMW is allowed a complete of 5 evo jokers over the preliminary five-year lifespan of the M Hybrid V8.
Not each change made to the automobile counts in direction of an evo joker, and producers aren’t required to reveal using their allocation publicly.
Within the WEC, evo jokers should be utilized for to the rulemakers, the Vehicle Membership de l’Ouest and the FIA, and are allowed at their discretion.
Vanthoor recognized brakes as one space the place BMW must work on over the winter to enhance efficiency in race trim.
“We have now had fairly some brake points the entire season,” the two-time Nurburgring 24 Hour winner revealed. “It is a huge matter for us, which hurts us lots particularly within the races.
“I feel on one lap in qualifying, you do not actually really feel this difficulty as a result of nothing occurs.
#15 BMW M Crew WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann
Photograph by: Andreas Beil
“However in the long term it at all times tends to harm us lots. This for certain is the highest three of which we should always do first. Will probably be one in all them.”
BMW, nonetheless, maintains that it doesn’t want to make use of any evo jokers in an effort to enhance its prospects within the WEC. Its motorsport chief Roos insists that there’s a lot of untapped potential within the M Hybrid V8 that the crew can extract earlier than it may possibly contemplate bringing any updates.
He mentioned: “You see that we nonetheless make progress. While you see the place we have been in Qatar [in March] and the place we at the moment are getting, you clearly see that there’s a lot of potential within the automobile.
“That is what I at all times mentioned when there comes up a subject about jokers. So long as we do not extract the complete potential of the automobile there is no such thing as a have to take a joker.
“I nonetheless consider we’ve potential within the automobile which we nonetheless should get out of it. So long as we are able to do that [there is no need for evo jokers]. We in the intervening time nonetheless have laborious work to do and we are going to get higher and higher.”
BMW managed to comply with up its podium on the Fuji WEC spherical with a 1-2 end within the six-hour IMSA enduro at Indianapolis on 22 September.
It marked the second success for the German marque with the M Hybrid V8 after inheriting victory at Watkins Glen final 12 months following disqualification for on-the-road winner Porsche.
