The triple DTM champion believes that the victory achieved by Laurens Vanthoor, Kevin Estre and Andre Lotterer for Porsche Penske Motorsport within the Qatar 1812km season-opener offers BMW “hope” within the first 12 months of its WEC programme with the M Hybrid V8 run by WRT.
However he careworn that following a greatest results of tenth on the Losail Worldwide Circuit, promoted into the factors by Cadillac’s disqualification, BMW nonetheless has work to do.
Requested by Motorsport.com for his views on the impression Porsche’s victory has had on the BMW camp, Rast stated: “It positively offers hope as a result of you may see that the LMDh automobile really can combat for total victory, we’re the identical automobile class kind of, so the potential is there.
“However most likely we want a bit extra time.
“Our take a look at programme within the winter or final 12 months for this season was a bit compromised as a consequence of lots of climate. I’m not saying that that is the explanation, however we weren’t very fortunate with the climate situations and didn’t do lots of dry working.
“Each take a look at we get now in dry situations helps loads to simply make one other step.
“Though it’s only for driver consolation or extra consistency within the automobile, that helps already. We simply want extra time and extra testing to get on that degree.”
Picture by: JEP / Motorsport Images
BMW Motorsport boss Andreas Roos additionally urged warning on the Bavarian marque’s first WEC programme since its M8 GTE contested the GTE Professional class within the 2018-19 ‘superseason’ with the MTEK squad.
The M Hybrid V8 makes use of the same-spec rear axle hybrid system as Porsche’s 963, and was raced within the IMSA SportsCar Championship final 12 months by the Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing squad, however Roos pointed to the a number of operational variations between IMSA and the WEC to justify a necessity “to be sensible”.
“We now have all of the components that we want,” he stated.
“However whether or not we will extract every thing from these components, that’s the query. We nonetheless have lots of work to do, we’re not the place we wish to be.
“Qatar for certain didn’t go as everybody needed, however it was our first race within the championship. It was additionally the primary time WRT was working the vehicles underneath race situations.
“We realized loads, however we nonetheless have to enhance loads.”
WRT boss Vincent Vosse expressed optimism that the staff is “moving into the appropriate path” following its commencement as champion of the LMP2 class that was dropped from the championship this 12 months.
“In case you got here to the field in the course of the race at Qatar, it was a standard race, nothing hectic,” he advised Motorsport.com.
“The drivers weren’t complaining concerning the automobile, it was not like we have been having large points. I’ve to say it’s a part of the method.
“I keep in mind a kind of groups that I’ve lots of respect for, Penske is an efficient instance, the primary three or 4 races [in 2023], they struggled.
“We have been saying that’s not what we have been anticipating from Porsche and Penske. That proves it takes time.”