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BMW has officially confirmed: it will not be fielding a third Hypercar to the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. Instead, it will concentrate on its two existing entries. The decision was partially based on a dense racing calendar in June, Motorsport head Andreas Roos explained.
The 2025 endurance racing schedule presents a unique challenge with three of its premier 24-hour events occurring on back-to-back weekends: the June 14-15 24 Hours of Le Mans, the June 21-22 Nürburgring 24 Hours, and the June 28-29 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. The IMSA Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen in June 22 coincides with the Nürburgring event. This coincidence complicates logistics and resource management for teams like BMW.
“We need to be realistic,” said Roos. “With hours to go, we will not have a third car at Le Mans.” He insisted on being remained with current commitments in order not to strain resources at this critical moment.
The earlier choices had pondered taking in an entry of a third car, potentially run by Team RLL, BMW’s IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teammate, but the crowded June schedule and the need to adequately utilize the drivers meant that the attempt would stay two cars.
Driver deployment remains an issue, especially with top drivers like Philipp Eng, Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, and Marco Wittmann committed to IMSA full-season programs, which puts them out of action for events like the Nürburgring 24 Hours. “In the end, we don’t have that many drivers, and then that already restricts you on how many cars you can do,” Roos stated.
Although customer teams purchasing the Dallara-chassis LMDh cars had been discussed, nothing is in place. Roos indicated there are talks in progress but stated, “There’s nothing fixed at the moment.”
To summarize, BMW’s not going to pursue a third Hypercar entry at Le Mans in 2025 is an intelligent strategy for balancing out the busy racing schedule with a commitment to meet obligations with best possible performance and dependability.
