BMW M TEAM WRT CLAIMS VICTORY AND A PODIUM AT FUJI IN THE FIA WORLD ENDURANCE CHAMPIONSHIP

BMW M Team WRT returned to Fuji Speedway with its two BMW M Hybrid V8s and two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs, including the #69, sporting its now-iconic Jägermeister-inspired livery, in front of 72,400 Japanese fans. After a hectic race from start to finish, the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Darren Leung, Sean Gelael and Augusto Farfus scored a first, hard-fought win, while the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 rounded off the celebrations with P3. A great result after a weekend which started on the back foot.
 
After a completely dry Friday, Saturday turned wet, disrupting the qualifying sessions. With visibility deteriorating and standing water on track, organisers cancelled all qualifying sessions, and the grid was instead set based on each car's best lap across the three free practice sessions. It was an unfavourable twist for Team WRT, who had focused on long-run pace rather than outright speed despite strong qualifying potential. The BMW M Hybrid V8s #15 and #20 started P14 and P17 respectively, while the #69 and #32 lined up P13 and P14.
 
In the Hypercar class, the #20 Shell BMW M Hybrid V8 of Sheldon van der Linde, Robin Frijns and René Rast endured a tough race. The crew had the pace to finish in the points, but got hit and had a puncture which cost them a lap and left them fighting an uphill battle for the remainder of the race, eventually finishing P13. This result also cost them the lead in the drivers' championship. It was a different story for Raffaele Marciello, Dries Vanthoor and Kevin Magnussen on BMW #15, who turned a P14 starting position into a well-earned P3 thanks to a strong recovery drive and a great strategy.
 
In LMGT3, the winning #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO endured a bumpy ride, losing ground repeatedly throughout the race, before an unfortunate pit stop, where the entire field pitting simultaneously, added extra drama in the closing hour. Following a long Safety Car period late on, a superb final stint with a series of spectacular overtakes from Augusto Farfus who carried the car from P6 all the way to the lead, sealing a fully deserved victory. The sister #69 also had a shot at glory, fighting back from P13 to lead the race courtesy of a well-timed Virtual Safety Car, only for the same pit stop chaos to deny Anthony McIntosh, Dan Harper and Parker Thompson a better result than P6.
 
BMW M Team WRT now sits third in the Hypercar Drivers' Championship and second among manufacturers, with two rounds still to come, Barcelona in mid-October and Monza in November. The team heads to the GT World Challenge Sprint Cup finale in Barcelona, closing out a demanding stretch of 8 races in 6 weeks, with more titles potentially within reach.

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal BMW M Team WRT: "It was a tough weekend as usual here in Fuji. Starting far back with the Hypercars put us on the backfoot, of course. Unfortunately, we had contact with car 20, which put us one lap behind. We came back, but we were too far off as we had lost too much time. Great strategy from car 15, great drive from the drivers, and finally we got to P3. Considering where we started, that looks very good. In LMGT3, we had a very strong race until the last pit stop, where we had an issue which made us lose time on both cars. But then we had a flying stint from Augusto, who drove from P6 to the lead. That was an incredible drive. Thanks to him for giving us the victory!"