BMW M Team WRT Entering Kyalami With “Higher Hopes”

Photo: BMW

BMW M Team WRT is entering the Kyalami 9 Hour with increased expectations after ‘a bit of a disappointing’ outing at the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour according to drivers Sheldon van der Linde and Augusto Farfus.

The Belgian squad is coming off its first official outing as a factory BMW outfit, which saw the No. 32 BMW M4 GT3 of van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts finish fourth at Mount Panorama, although unable to challenge the Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evos or lone factory-supported Porsche 911 GT3 R for the win.

Kyalami marks another new track for the M4 GT3, which was launched last year but had not seen action in the early season Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli races.

“We obviously have some data with the M6, which is quite a similar car in terms of the wheelbase and stuff,” van der Linde told Sportscar365.

“The general trends are quite similar. We try and use a lot of what we’ve learned on the M6 that I raced here in 2019 and won in 2020.

“I’m kind of using that experience to bring the setup forwards, especially now in the beginning when the track is still very green.

“The grip seems to be pretty low at the moment but I’m pretty sure throughout the weekend, because we have so much driving time, that we’re going to progress a lot in grip and it should help us as well.”

Farfus, who spearheads the team’s No. 33 entry alongside Maxime Martin and Philipp Eng, said a Balance of Performance adjustment for this weekend, which sees the M4 GT3 get a 10 kg weight break and increased turbo boost levels compared to Bathurst, has come as a step in the right direction.

“At the end, the race we want to see is a race where we all have a chance and that’s why the BoP is there,” the Brazilian told Sportscar365.

“I know it’s a very sensitive topic to bring up. At the end we just want to be in the mix. At Bathurst, we were just behind the mix.

“I understand how difficult it is for the series to issue BoP, especially when it’s a new car going to a new track.

“We have the Mercs, which have been around for so many years. It makes Claude’s [Surmont, SRO technical director] life a lot easier.

“This correction here means that he’s understanding. And that’s what we need. We just need a little help.

“We’re also making steps ourselves with the car in terms of setup and so-on. I think this race we’re going to be a lot closer.”

Bathurst also marked a number of other firsts for the WRT-BMW partnership, which will grow as the IGTC and Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS seasons progress.

“It was the first time for me in WRT and WRT’s first time with the M4 in Bathurst, so there was a lot of new things to come together,” Farfus explained.

“We executed well in Bathurst. There was not much more we could have taken from our package.

“The level the team operates is very good. Of course the first session is always about trying to measure ourselves, to understand the big picture. From then on, we move.

“It would be a little like this whenever we go overseas. Because when we go back to Europe, we might do some testing here and there.

“When we go race in Barcelona, it will be a lot easier, first of all because I drove the car in Barcelona last year, we have some knowledge so it makes our lives easier.

“But these are the places for us to learn. Luckily there is enough track time, so by Saturday we will be on top of the game.”

Van der Linde, meanwhile, is also hopeful for improved pace this weekend on the South African’s home soil.

“To be honest, Bathurst was a bit disappointing,” he said. “We really executed a clean race without any mistakes. To then miss the podium after such a clean race was disappointing.

“Naturally we come here with higher hopes to get back on the podium. We scored good points, nevertheless; I think we made the most of the race.

“Obviously you come here to win and I’d love to win my home race again. I did it in 2020 and to do it twice would be even better.

“Given that there’s not many cars, I think there’s not going to be many safety car phases, which means it’s going to be a very fast race without any chances to really bring the field back together.

“You’re going to have to have really good pace throughout the race, for sure. You can’t rely on a good strategy as much as we have in Bathurst, for example.

“Here, you really have to have the pace to be up front.

“Qualifying is also going to be important if you start fifth, you already lose so much lap time to the guy in front in the first stint, even though you’re just in a train.

“You really want to stay up in the top three, ideally, and work yourself up to the front throughout the race.”

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