BMW to Field M4 GT3 at 24H Spa Test Days

The new BMW M4 GT3 will take part in the official TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa official pre-event test days next week, the German manufacturer announced on Friday.

BMW will send its next-generation GT3 product, the successor to the double Spa-winning M6 GT3, to the two-day event on June 22-23 ahead of its race debut in round four of the Nürburgring-based NLS next weekend.

Factory drivers Augusto Farfus, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly will take turns at the wheel in Belgium, while Jens Klingmann and Sheldon van der Linde have been named as the drivers for the Nordschleife outing which is billed as a test in race conditions.

BMW is set to use the Spa test days as an opportunity to gather data on its new car in the SRO Motorsports Group environment ahead of its global customer rollout next year.

The brand has previously stated a desire to run the car in SRO sessions this season to get the car’s Balance of Performance ready in time for the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour early in the calendar.

The vehicle will not take part in the 24H of Spa next month, with BMW’s hopes of a fourth victory in seven years pinned on the outgoing M6 GT3 model.

“It is fantastic to have been given the opportunity to take part in the tests at Spa-Francorchamps with our new BMW M4 GT3,” said Mike Krack, Head of BMW M Motorsport.

“Like the Nordschleife, this circuit has its own particular features, making it an optimal and very demanding test facility for us in the final stage of development of our car.

“The days at Spa will also be used to prepare for the race debut of the BMW M4 GT3, which we are all excited about. This test, under race conditions on the Nordschleife, is the next big step on the way to our first season in 2022.”

The BMW M4 GT3’s upcoming NLS race appearance will be made in the SP-X ‘specials’ category, due to the car’s homologation not starting until next year.

The upcoming visit to Spa will mark the ninth different track on the car’s test schedule.