BMW Set to Forgo Factory-Supported Entries at Suzuka

Photo: Gruppe C Photography/SRO

BMW looks set to forgo factory supported entries for the remainder of the Intercontinental GT Challenge season according to motorsport boss Andreas Roos, who cited it as a “strategic decision” within the brand.

The German manufacturer’s factory commitment in SRO Motorsports Group’s globe-trotting GT3 series has traditionally always been on a race-by-race basis following the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, which serves as a round of GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup.

The defending IGTC manufacturers’ champion remained third in the GT3 title race following a challenging Spa, which Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse was critical of SRO’s Balance of Performance.

Speaking with Sportscar365, Roos insisted that neither its position in the championship, nor Vosse’s BoP complaints, played a factor in the reduced effort for the Suzuka 1000km and Indianapolis 8 Hour presented by AWS.

“It’s down to some restrictions we’ve put on ourselves because we also have to see where we are with the budget and what we are doing,” he clarified.

“There will definitely be BMW cars competing there. This we will have. But for now, it’s not planned to see there like we had in the past, two WRT factory-supported cars.”

WRT’s No. 32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Kelvin van der Linde, Raffaele Marciello and Charles Weerts won last year’s revival of the event, which helped propel the South African to the end-of-year IGTC drivers’ title.

Roos, however, indicated the Belgian squad, which has only missed three IGTC races — all at the Nürburgring 24 — since its switch to BMW in 2023, could still be present in Suzuka but as a customer effort.

“I know WRT is in discussions with possible customers,” he said. “We will also try to support, as good as possible, if factory drivers are needed.

“For sure we’re happy to send factory drivers there. And if we send one, for sure, we’ll send the ones, if the schedule allows, the ones best-placed in the Intercontinental GT Challenge.”

In addition to the possible WRT customer entries, Sportscar365 understands that Taiwanese squad KRC is likely to again mount an entry for the Japanese leg of the IGTC season, having finished fifth overall in its Meguiar’s Bathurst 12 Hour debut in February.

That result has put Max Hesse as the top-placed BMW factory driver in the IGTC points standings, although 30 points back from leader Maro Engel, who won the opening two rounds.

“We still hope and try to fight for the championship and there’s still possibilities,” said Roos.

“We have to say the spirit of IGTC is to use local teams and local cars in the different countries. We just couldn’t really do it in the past.

“For example with Bathurst, we don’t even have a GT3 in the Australian championship so we had to send cars from us there.

“We are also super happy to work together with the local teams and support them with drivers and know-how, how we can.

“This makes our life easier and it’s also a very nice opportunity for the local teams to prove what they can do and to have us, in the end, fight for the championship.”

The Suzuka race will mark the first IGTC round BMW has not supported with factory entries since 2022.

BMW Likely to Rely on GTWC America Entries for Indy 8H

When asked about its plan for the final edition of the Indy 8H, Roos said it will “most likely” be similar to Suzuka, in utilizing customers and local teams.

Unlike Asia, though, BMW has a number of U.S.-based outfits running the M4 GT3 EVO in GT World Challenge America powered by AWS, which doubles as the domestic championship’s season finale.

It includes a Pro class entry from Turner Motorsport and Pro-Am efforts by Random Vandals Racing and Riley Motorsports.

“It’s not defined yet but most likely there will be a similar approach [to Suzuka],” said Roos on BMW’s Indy 8H plans.

“As you know from the last year, we already have quite some customer cars running there where we always have a close relationship to.

“Most likely we’ll also see how we can help there.

“Also already in the last years, we always helped the local teams there to fill up with factory drivers for the endurance race. This is something I guess we’ll do quite similar this year.”

Source: Sports Car 365