BMW Motorsport has reportedly completed an ‘intensive’ three days of testing at Circuit Paul Ricard, as part of preparations for the race debut of the BMW M8 GTE in 2018. An intensive 24-hour run was the main focus of the testing for the new GT car, with testing duties shared between the four BMW works drivers.
Work included a performance test to evaluate a new development level for the aerodynamic components, and set-up work ahead of the cars long run.
The programme of preparations now continues with more testing in the USA, including the official test for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship (IWSC) in Daytona (USA), at the start of December. The new BMW M8 GTE will then make its race debut at the end of January, in the Daytona 24-hour race.
“This 24-hour endurance test marks another important step in the preparation of the new BMW M8 GTE. This test confirmed that our development of the car is on track,” explained Jens Marquardt, BMW motorsport director. “We have seen that we can complete a marathon test without any major issues. Of course, when developing a new race car there are always areas with a little more room for improvement. Our engineers will now work hard on those in Munich, and during the tests in the USA. Overall, we are pleased with what we have achieved so far and we can hardly wait to experience the BMW M8 GTE in its first race at Daytona in January.”
