BMW driver Dries Vanthoor believes the German producer must improve its LMDh automotive with a purpose 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 handle over the winter with a purpose to make the automotive extra aggressive within the WEC subsequent 12 months.
“I do suppose it is necessary [to use evo jokers] however we’re utilizing them properly as we solely have a number of within the homologation of the automotive,” the Belgian advised 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 finest as we will. We actually use them for the massive features of our automotive.”
Previous to BMW’s breakthrough end in Japan, the WRT-run manufacturing facility group had achieved a finest end of sixth on the Imola spherical of the championship in Could.
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Requested if he was assured about often combating on the entrance subsequent 12 months if the BMW LMDh remained in its present specification, Vanthoor replied: “No, I do suppose we want some upgrades to have the ability to do this and that’s what we have now to work on now.
#15 BMW M Staff WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Pictures
“Let’s have a look at which [upgrade] we have now to do first however I do suppose we have to do this.
“The people who find themselves working in these areas along with us as drivers, doing suggestions forwards and backwards, know nicely sufficient which areas we have now to enhance on and possibly 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 automotive counts in direction of an evo joker, and producers aren’t required to reveal using their allocation publicly.
Within the WEC, evo jokers must be utilized for to the rulemakers, the Car 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 large subject for us, which hurts us quite a bit particularly within the races.
“I believe on one lap in qualifying, you do not actually really feel this concern as a result of nothing occurs.
#15 BMW M Staff WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann
Picture by: Andreas Beil
“However in the long term it at all times tends to harm us quite a bit. This for positive is the highest three of which we must 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 with a purpose 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 group can extract earlier than it could take into account bringing any updates.
He stated: “You see that we nonetheless make progress. Whenever 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 automotive.
“That is what I at all times stated when there comes up a subject about jokers. So long as we do not extract the complete potential of the automotive there isn’t any have to take a joker.
“I nonetheless imagine we have now potential within the automotive which we nonetheless must get out of it. So long as we will do that [there is no need for evo jokers]. We in the meanwhile nonetheless have arduous 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.
