BMW Rules Out Third M Hybrid V8 for Le Mans

Photo: Fabrizio Boldoni/DPPI

BMW has ruled out the addition of a third M Hybrid V8 for this year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans despite its new single-team LMDh approach with Team WRT.

The German manufacturer, which has aligned both its top-class FIA World Endurance Championship and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship factory programs under the Vincent Vosse-led operation, had previously left the door open for an third car in the future, even when Team RLL had operated its IMSA GTP effort.

However, Roos has dismissed any such prospects for this year’s French endurance classic.

“We always consider and check the possibilities on what is possible and what is not,” Roos told Sportscar365. “At the moment, to be honest, we focused to get everything ready in the U.S. and to get everything up and running.

“Fore sure when you know Vincent and WRT, he always likes to do the next step. But at the moment we focus on the two cars in IMSA and the two cars in WEC and two cars in Le Mans.”

Roos cited the increased budget needed to bring a third Hypercar entry to Le Mans as being one of the leading prohibitive factors, as well as the infrastructure aspect, which has been designed around a two-car team.

“First of all, thinking about the budget and the money that’s needed,” he said. “We have to be honest. At the end, running a third car in Le Mans is not only just bringing a car over.

“You need the whole infrastructure and everything in Le Mans also up for this.

“It starts with seating and office spaces for the people running this car. The mechanics, the pit box… everything. You need to increase everything.

“At the end, it’s also down to a budget topic.

“It needs planning and it can’t be decided from one day to the other.”

With BMW confirming no plans for an additional car, and the Porsche 963 being ineligible due to the car not running in the WEC, the Le Mans Hypercar grid could see only one additional entry from the full season WEC entry in a third Cadillac V-Series.R, which is likely to go to Wayne Taylor Racing.

At 18 cars, it would mark the smallest Hypercar field in the French endurance classic since 2023.

The grid, however, is expected to swell past 20 again with the launch of Hypercar programs for both Ford and McLaren next year.

Davey Euwema contributed to this report

John Dagys

John Dagys is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of Sportscar365. Dagys spent eight years as a motorsports correspondent for FOXSports.com and SPEED Channel and has contributed to numerous other motorsports publications worldwide. Contact John