Robin Frijns admits BMW’s struggles in WEC: “We don’t absolutely perceive the automotive but”

Following the postponement of the Qatar 1812km, the 2026 World Endurance Championship season will get underway at Imola. It was on the Italian circuit that manufacturing facility BMW driver Robin Frijns secured his finest Hypercar end in 2025, ending second.

Throughout this week’s Prologue — additionally held at Imola because of the struggle within the Center East — the up to date BMW M V8 Hybrid confirmed sturdy tempo with the fourth-fastest time.

Nevertheless, the primary two years of BMW’s Hypercar challenge within the WEC haven’t been straightforward, significantly because the crew struggled in the course of the second half of the 2025 season. In an interview with Motorsport.com, Frijns described his first two years with the crew as “not that nice”.

“You don’t count on to be preventing on the entrance right away within the first yr,” Frijns mirrored. “However we did make good progress in that first season. In direction of the top of the yr, we had been pretty aggressive, though we additionally had points, like in Bahrain, the place we had been operating fourth earlier than a turbo downside.

“The next yr, we really began fairly strongly. However then we dropped off a bit, which was disappointing. Everybody retains growing, however I really feel like we typically stand nonetheless a bit an excessive amount of,” the 34-year-old stated, mentioning an space for enchancment for the German producer.

Frijns seems again on his first two years with BMW within the WEC with blended emotions.

Picture by: Andreas Beil

Trying to find solutions

This yr, BMW has launched an Evo replace within the hope of unlocking extra efficiency, though it stays to be seen in Imola whether or not it delivers the specified outcomes. The crew appeared “fairly good” on the Daytona 24 Hours — the opening spherical of the IMSA championship — in accordance with Frijns, however the 12 Hours of Sebring confirmed there’s nonetheless extra to realize.

“I really feel like we don’t absolutely perceive the automotive but,” stated Frijns. “And the place we have to enhance it. It’s a posh machine, however I’m right here to battle on the entrance and win races. That hasn’t actually been the case up to now.”

Requested additional in regards to the problem in figuring out the automotive’s points, Frijns admitted it’s a “tough” matter.

“It’s not a easy sport,” he stated. “If we’re sluggish, it’s not only a case of ‘we’ve got an issue, we repair it’. If it had been that straightforward, everybody would do it. It’s a posh puzzle, so it’s not straightforward to pinpoint precisely the place we have to enhance.”

Enhancing race tempo

With the up to date M V8 Hybrid, BMW has additionally made vital aerodynamic modifications to its LMDh automotive. Frijns defined that the principle focus has been on enhancing race efficiency.

“The automotive was moderately okay in qualifying, however we regularly dropped again within the races. That’s what we’ve tried to repair,” he stated. “So, I don’t actually count on us to have the identical qualifying efficiency as final yr, however I do hope we’ll be stronger by way of race tempo.”

Regardless of the work performed on the automotive, Frijns is aware of expectations stay excessive, together with from himself. He says he’s all the time making an attempt “to be taught extra” about how the automotive works.

“You all the time attempt to enhance the state of affairs you’re in and develop your self as nicely. You by no means drive an ideal lap in your life. It’s important to take advantage of what you’ve received.”

A troublesome problem
Frijns hoopt dat BMW dit jaar constanter vooraan mee kan doen om podiumplaatsen.

Frijns hopes that BMW can compete extra constantly on the entrance for podium finishes this yr.

Picture by: James Moy Pictures through Getty Photographs

Frijns does take some confidence from final yr’s second place at Imola, though there are nonetheless many query marks over this yr’s Hypercar efficiency, particularly with a number of producers introducing updates.

“I hope it will likely be the identical [as last year],” he laughed, including that the end result was not simply all the way down to luck, but additionally BMW’s technique. “We actually need to battle for a number of podiums. Over the past two years, we’ve scored two podiums in WEC. We undoubtedly need to construct on that and obtain extra.”

Frijns is obvious about his objectives and expectations for the season.

“I’m going into each race weekend aiming for the rostrum and to win,” he stated. “However you additionally must be sensible — after the primary two follow classes, you recognize roughly the place you stand. If you happen to begin the weekend within the high 5, you could have an opportunity of a superb end result. If you happen to’re not within the high ten, it’s going to be very troublesome.”