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BMW Confirms First Evo Joker for M Hybrid V8

BMW confirms use of first Evo joker for brake updates on M Hybrid V8 for 2025 seasons…

Photo: Brandon Badraoui/IMSA

BMW has confirmed the first use of an Evo joker on its M Hybrid V8 car, becoming the third LMDh manufacturer after Porsche and Cadillac to publicly declare joker usage.

Andreas Roos, the German brand’s head of motorsport, told Sportscar365 that a single Evo joker has been used for an upgrade that focuses on the brakes of the Dallara-chassised car.

Roos, however, declined, to reveal further details about the changes made when asked.

BMW first revealed the rollout of brake upgrades, as well as further drivability tweaks, at November’s Daytona test, although at the time it did not yet know whether the changes would warrant a joker.

Porsche rolled out a second round of suspension-related updates to its 963, while Cadillac used its first joker for an updated control system electronics package.

BMW, meanwhile, has also already trialled its brake upgrades during a post-FIA World Endurance Championship test in Bahrain that was conducted by Team WRT.

Roos expressed cautious optimism about the changes, noting that this weekend’s Rolex 24 at Daytona will be the first major test.

“We will see after the race,” said Roos. “For sure we did our development and worked on on the topics, but at the end the final check you get in in race conditions.”

BMW had a solid showing during last weekend’s Roar Before the Rolex 24, with Dries Vanthoor setting the fastest outright time of the weekend aboard the No. 24 car.

“Definitely, when you just look on the numbers and the results we can be super happy with the Roar,” said Roos.

“But we also know that at the end everybody is concentrating on his [own] program and then you don’t know who ran which weight and which tires and what time and so on.

“At the end we focused on doing our test program to work on our topics.

“We were happy with the trouble free running more or less and so this was at the end perfect to get a lot of information, a lot of mileage

“When you are then on top of the timing list, for sure it feels better and it gives you confidence and makes life always easier.

“But on the other hand, we will see on Sunday at the end of the race when the checkered flag is there.”

Davey Euwema is Sportscar365's European Editor. Based in The Netherlands, Euwema covers the FIA World Endurance Championship, European Le Mans Series and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS, among other series.

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