How BMW redeemed itself at the Daytona 24

After qualifying, BMW’s “heavily revised aero package” hadn’t proven itself successful yet. The two BMW M Hybrid V8s occupied the fifth row of the grid, despite being on pole the year prior. 

Changes needed to be made and solutions found quickly if the BMW team wanted to leave Daytona Beach with a good result. By the end of the 24 hour race, the No.24 car had covered the third most distance, claiming the new car’s first trophy.

Credit: BMW Group

As fans of motorsport, we watch an ensemble of racing teams perform at the race track, and see every member of the team applying levels of concentration and commitment which we cannot fathom. However we only see the tip of the ice berg. 

You’d be excused for thinking BMW’s year started at the Daytona ROAR, however it actually began in the factory at Munich - last year. The engineers at BMW applied their efforts to making the car quicker, more specifically, by renovating the aero package. 

Despite conducting extensive testing of the new updates at the Circuit Paul Ricard before going to Daytona, the ROAR Before the 24 was disappointing for BMW and Team WRT, who admitted they still had to unlock the performance in their revised car. 

The No.24 (driven by Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns and René Rast) qualified in ninth place, from 11 competitors, the only cars slower were the No.25 BMW (driven by Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, Kevin Magnussen and Raffaele Marciello) in tenth place, and the No.23 Aston Martin Valkyrie. 

As with the nature of 24 hour racing, qualifying plays no real role towards the race. The main disadvantage to qualifying last is being prone to an incident on lap one in the brute of the pack. This is exactly what happened to Dries Vanthoor who started the No.24. He never actually made contact, but dropped it on the curb in turn two.

Fortunate not to get damaged, Vanthoor rejoined the track, and then the back of the field during a full course yellow (FCY) bought out by LMP2 carnage. Chipping away at the cars ahead, the BMW gradually made places, the No.24 reaching the podium spots a few hours in and staying competitive for the top five positions through to the night.

The No.25 received an unconventional penalty during the night, for improper attire in the pit lane, scuppering that cars progress before the Nürburgring-style fog fell on the track forcing a six hours and 30 minute FCY.

The long FCY reset the race, as teams such as Porsche took the opportunity to fix the damage on their cars without losing a lap. In the grand scheme of things, BMW came out well from the FCY, as they nailed the strategy game and jumped to second and third at the restart, the No.25 from the No.24.

As the race played out, the German cars found themselves leading at one of the restarts, but were unable to hold the lead due to the Porsche’s unconquerable pace.

Credit: BMW Group

At the restart from the final FCY, both BMWs were inside the top five. A win looked unlikely, but a consolidating result for their pre-race struggles was on the table. A strategy risk for the No.6 Porsche which didn’t pay off promoted Wittmann’s No.25 up to third with three quarters of an hour remaining. 

Vanthoor’s No.24 was fifth at this point, but he had greater pace, overtaking the Porsche which had seemed unbeatable a few hours earlier, and then overtaking the sister BMW to claim a podium spot. 

Vanthoor would not relinquish the third position, bringing the No.24 home with its first Daytona 24 hour podium - and the updated car’s first silverware. After the race, Vanthoor said: “To be honest, this is a very unexpected podium. After the Roar, the practice sessions and qualifying, we weren't particularly optimistic and never thought that we could even fight for victory. 

“Hats off to everyone who worked so hard to make this podium possible. For the first race for BMW M Team WRT in the IMSA GTP class, this is a fantastic result.” 

Vanthoor’s fellow No.24 driver, Sheldon van der Linde agreed: “I'm very, very happy. This is one of the most surprising podiums of my career. I don't think anyone expected us to be able to fight for victory before the race. Everyone was a bit unhappy about the pace the car had.

“We prepared all the strategy options we needed for the race and it paid off perfectly for us.”

The No.25 car was set to finish fifth, or even fourth, but was forced to make a late pit stop and fell to eighth. Wittman said: “When you're in a good position as a team with two cars, you split the strategy. We had gambled on a late yellow phase, which might even have brought us victory. Unfortunately, this poker didn't work out. 

“Nevertheless, we can all be proud of how we completed this race.”

The No.24’s third place GTP trophy wasn’t the only one the marque claimed at Daytona. The No.1 Paul Miller BMW won the GTD Pro class, proving once again how strong the M4 GT3 can be. 

While they may not have had the pace to fight for an overall win, BMW started the week on the back foot, saying they needed to take advantage of every practice session to optimise their car. A poor qualifying might have suggested it would be a difficult race, but consistent driving and good strategy calls kept both cars on the lead lap, giving them a chance to fight right at the end.