BMW M6 GTLM in Build; 2016 TUSC Effort Being Finalized

Photo: Sam Cobb/BMW North America

While BMW has yet to make an official announcement that it will continue with a factory effort in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship next year, the build of a GT Le Mans class variant of its new M6 GT3 racer is already underway.

Multiple sources have confirmed to Sportscar365 that a IMSA specification car is being constructed by a partner team in Europe, ahead of next month’s mandatory FIA Balance of Performance test in Ladoux, France for all 2016 GTE cars.

BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt has downplayed that a final decision has been made for M6 GTLM variant but has reaffirmed the German manufacturer’s intentions to continue in the category with the next-generation car.

“We are working intensively on this but it’s not a done thing,” Marquardt told media during last month’s 24 Hours of Spa. “We’re in a dialogue with IMSA with all people involved.

“The ACO is involved and we’re also involving all of the other competitors over there. But it’s a work in process.”

As previously reported by Sportscar365, BMW has been pursuing IMSA-only homologation for its all-new GT3 car, which is expected to make its competition debut early next year.

Marquardt said it will be tight to meet the deadline for the GTLM car’s debut in January’s Rolex 24 at Daytona, should the green light be given.

“As long as we can have something [in GTLM] that is reasonably close enough that you don’t have to develop a new car, [we’ll do it],” Marquardt added.

“The Z4 GTE is a completely different car from the GT3 and that was a painful exercise we had to go through. That was the reason BMW was fully in favor of [GT] convergence.

“That’s something that I’m really disappointed that this really fell through. That’s something, for me, that was a huge mistake.”

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