BMW might slash its motorsport finances in 2025, with paddock sources suggesting that it may cut back manufacturing unit assist from three automobiles to only two within the DTM.
These rumours observe BMW asserting an 84% drop in revenue within the third quarter of 2024, pushed primarily by a decline in gross sales in China and an costly automobile recall programme.
BMW Motorrad, its two-wheel division, has already admitted that it must cope with a smaller finances within the World Superbike Championship subsequent 12 months. Now the query stays if these price cuts will even apply to the marque’s four-wheel racing actions.
“Funds reduce is the fallacious time period,” stated Frank van Meel, the managing director of BMW M. “We all the time negotiate exhausting [with the BMW bosses to get more money for motorsport].”
BMW expanded its manufacturing unit motorsport programme in 2024, coming into a pair of M Hybrid V8 LMDh automobiles within the World Endurance Championship’s Hypercar class with WRT.
Requested particularly if BMW’s motorsport division could have roughly cash obtainable to spend in 2025, van Meel stated: “Undoubtedly no more cash, as a result of we added the WEC for the primary time this 12 months.
“We have gone up once more as a result of we’re now doing GT4, GT3 and WEC. And there is a good automobile [BMW M2 one-make] out right here that will likely be added subsequent 12 months. We are going to stay loyal to motorsport. There isn’t a want to fret.”
Marco Wittmann, Schubert Motorsport BMW M4 GT3
Picture by: Alexander Trienitz
BMW fielded three earlier champions within the DTM this 12 months, with Rene Rast, Sheldon van der Linde and Marco Wittmann all racing for the factory-supported Schubert workforce.
Schubert received the groups’ championship this 12 months forward of Audi’s Abt Sportsline, whereas BMW completed third within the producers’ standings behind Mercedes and Lamborghini.
BMW motorsport director Andreas Roos stated the German marque remains to be finalising the make-up of its DTM programme subsequent 12 months when requested if it may cut back its involvement to 2 automobiles.
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“We’re nonetheless utterly open about that in the meanwhile,” he stated. “We even have sponsors connected to the automobiles and so forth.
“These are the matters that we at the moment are discussing after the season and we need to guarantee that we’re correctly positioned for subsequent 12 months.
“We need to orient ourselves on what we have now accomplished in recent times.”
Amid the latest disaster in Germany’s auto trade, BMW is probably not the one automobile producer that must take into account price cuts subsequent 12 months. Volkswagen’s troubles have been nicely documented, with speak of the corporate reportedly shutting down no less than three vegetation in its house nation.
Nonetheless, BMW’s van Meel confused that the marque’s high-performance M division is performing nicely regardless of the general decline in gross sales.
Franciscus van Meel, Managing Director BMW M GmbH
Picture by: BMW
“It helps that M GmbH stays on the street to success,” he stated.
“We communicated that in September of this 12 months our gross sales had been nonetheless barely above the earlier 12 months.
“Motorsport is and can stay related, it’s our DNA. In fact you all the time have to take a look at the cash, however that does not simply apply to subsequent 12 months.
“That applies to this 12 months and to the final a long time. This can be a success story, let’s proceed it.”
