BMW Working On Additional Pro Entries for 24H Spa

The head of BMW M Motorsport says the manufacturer is “working on” having additional Pro-class M4 GT3s on the grid for this summer’s TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa.

BMW is represented on the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup grid by a pair of M4s run by ROWE Racing, but they could be joined by more entries from a different team, according to Andreas Roos.

BMW won the 24 Hours of Spa in 2018 with Tom Blomqvist, Philipp Eng and Christian Krognes driving a Walkenhorst Motorsport-run BMW M6 GT3.

That was the last time that more than two BMWs went for the overall win, and also the last time that the manufacturer finished in the top ten.

This year’s Spa edition marks the first for the new M4 GT3 model, which took part in the official Spa test days last season and came away with the fastest lap overall.

When asked if BMW M Motorsport is considering additional Pro entries for the race, Roos told Sportscar365: “We are working on that.

“At the moment, we are definitely working on having some more cars at Spa.

“We are also thinking about some races in Intercontinental [GT Challenge powered by Pirelli]. But there is nothing fixed yet.”

Roos explained that it would be beneficial for BMW to be represented by multiple M4s, to maximize its chances of victory

The last three Spa editions have seen only two Pro-class BMWs, from Walkenhorst and Schnitzer Motorsport in 2019, then Walkenhorst in 2020 and ROWE in 2021, although the last two years both entries failed to reach the checkered flag.

“It is always best for us when the car is in the Pro category, because it gives you the best chance to go for victory,” Roos said.

“In endurance racing, you just increase your chance of winning with the more cars you have in the field.

“It has to be competitive cars. In the 24-hour race, a problem or accident can happen, so the more cars, the higher the chances. for sure the more cars, the better the chance.”

Roos believes that a four-car entry “would be ideal” and that this is something BMW M Motorsport is “trying to work on.”

Walkenhorst and Schubert Motorsport are prominent teams currently running the M4 GT3 in Europe, with the former carrying 24H Spa experience as well as DTM and Nürburgring programs, and the latter racing in the DTM, NLS and GT Masters.

Spa marks the second round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge, a championship that Roos has acknowledged as “definitely interesting” for BMW.

However, he suggested that the manufacturer’s involvement with a single-team program akin to the 2020 commitment from Walkenhorst would depend on a full global recovery from coronavirus measures.

GT3 manufacturers have largely shied away from providing direct team support to this year’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour season-opener due to its coronavirus-enforced postponement into the European season.

“The Intercontinental GT is definitely interesting,” said Roos. “But with the corona situation, it is also difficult. Bathurst is just not possible.

“I think in the future, when everything goes back to normal, it should be a target to be again in the Intercontinental GT. Because it’s a great championship.

“I think we have to get the corona situation sorted so that it can return to a normal championship.”