BMW’s Rast, Vanthoor ‘Collecting Experience’ Ahead of WEC

Rene Rast says the Rolex 24 at Daytona is the “probably the last chance” for he and Dries Vanthoor to gain experience racing the BMW M Hybrid V8 before they head into a FIA World Endurance Championship Hypercar campaign with BMW M Team WRT.

The German racer was confirmed last week as part of WRT’s Hypercar lineup in WEC, teaming with Sheldon van der Linde and Robin Frijns for the eight-round globe-trotting series.

At Daytona, Rast has been added as the fourth driver for BMW M Team RLL’s GTP lineup alongside Connor De Phillippi, Nick Yelloly and Maxime Martin.

Meanwhile in the sister No. 24 machine, Vanthoor has been paired with Philipp Eng, Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus for the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season opener ahead of a WEC season that will see the Belgian race alongside Marco Wittmann and Raffaele Marciello.

Rast compared the setup for himself and Vanthoor to the program that teammates Van der Linde and Wittmann ran last year, where the two drivers ran partial schedules in the WeatherTech Championship before joining the WEC team.

However, as Rast points out, he is yet to turn racing laps at the wheel of the Dallara-chassised car, something that the outing at Daytona will provide.

“Sheldon and Marco, they have done last year’s endurance races in the IMSA championship, so they have been already in the race trim with the car,” Rast told Sportscar365.

“We haven’t, so probably that’s the last chance for us to get some race experience before the WEC season kicks off.”

Rast said Daytona will be a significant opportunity to get a greater understanding of the M Hybrid V8 in race trim, something that he has so far lacked.

“Just driving, getting to the rhythm of the car,” he said. “Obviously we have done some testing last year for WEC, but it wasn’t a lot for me personally.

“So I think the most important is just to figure out how the car actually behaves in race conditions, on double stint tires, also what the systems and software actually do when you’re racing.

“These kind of things for me are just important. Just collect experience to start fresh into the season.”

Vanthoor, for his part, added that the Daytona outing is “good preparation” before the world championship season, but stressed that that should not take away from the aim of achieving a strong result in the Florida endurance classic.

“I think it’s a good preparation to get into a 24-hour race, to do some laps, to get used to the car as good as possible for our season in WEC,” Vanthoor told Sportscar365.

“But nevertheless, of course every race we want to compete, we want to win. For sure, I look at it as to get prepared as well as possible for the rest of the season.

“But also, of course, I was lying to say if I wouldn’t try to win. But it’s difficult to say. Let’s see how it goes.”

Rast ‘Doesn’t Feel Like a Rookie’ in WEC’s Top Class

Among BMW’s six Hypercar drivers, Rast is notably the only driver that has experience racing in WEC’s top class.

The 37-year-old formed part of Audi’s LMP1 effort in 2015, racing an Audi R18 e-tron quattro alongside Marco Bonanomi and Filipe Albuquerque in the 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

“Originally I was planned for the Audi LMDh program, which then got canceled and I backed off for a couple of years,” Rast recalled.

“I mean, 2015 I was with Audi in LMP1, which was nice and they pulled out, so it feels like ages ago that I’ve been in the highest class in WEC.

“It doesn’t feel like I’m a rookie. It feels more like I’m coming back to something which I have been in already, but obviously it’s going to be a cool championship this year.

“We have [19] cars fighting for the win. Being part of that, I think, is very unique and it’s cool.”