BMW Motorsport boss Andreas Roos believes the credentials of occasion newcomers Raffaele Marciello, Marco Wittmann and Sheldon van der Linde will negate their lack of expertise within the Le Mans 24 Hours on 15-16 June and says the WRT-run programme may have the “good mixture”.
Marciello and Wittmann have each gained the Spa 24 Hours, whereas van der Linde has twice completed second within the Nurburgring 24 Hours and is like Wittmann a champion within the DTM.
“Our driver line-up is a really robust driver line-up and there we put lots of effort in, and likewise there we had lots of talks between WRT and us, to have the sensation we have now one of the best driver line-up we might,” Roos instructed Autosport in an unique interview.
“Now we have very skilled drivers who’ve carried out Le Mans already even with LMP1 vehicles; we have now younger, quick drivers who proved already to have the ability to win 24-hour races, I feel we have now the proper mixture of younger weapons but in addition our skilled drivers.”
WRT boss Vincent Vosse agrees that the Le Mans rookies is not going to be missing a lot to the three BMW Hypercar drivers who’ve contested the occasion earlier than.
Robin Frijns (2021, LMP2) and Dries Vanthoor (2017, GTE Am) are earlier class-winners, whereas Rene Rast has 5 earlier begins courting again to 2014 and completed second in LMP2 in 2016.
“Le Mans after all, it’s completely different than every other observe, however you shouldn’t take Le Mans as a tough observe,” he instructed Autosport.
“It’s not technical, it’s not tough. [It’s] all the time good to have expertise in Le Mans, however [it’s] not the tip of the world not figuring out the observe.”
Race motion
Picture by: Marc Fleury
Van der Linde has been positioned with Rast and Frijns within the #20 M Hybrid V8 LMDh, which claimed BMW’s finest end result thus far of its WEC return with sixth at Imola, whereas Wittmann and Marciello are teamed with Vanthoor within the sister #15 instance.
Chatting with Autosport, the South African stated BMW deserved credit score for giving an opportunity to drivers with none earlier Le Mans expertise.
“It’s very thrilling, simply to have the possibility from BMW to take us with out expertise I feel is already hats off to them,” he remarked.
“We all know lots of producers saying ‘you want expertise to be right here, we will’t take you proper now, we’d reasonably take somebody who’s a bit older and extra skilled, who has carried out it earlier than’ and BMW has clearly gone for youth, which is superb to see and never the case very often.
“I don’t suppose it’s probably the most tough observe to be taught, so it’s largely in regards to the racing, the multi-class and getting by way of the night time with none points.”
Van der Linde reveals he’s “coaching a bit greater than normal” to arrange for the occasion, as he’s extra accustomed to sharing a automobile with three different drivers in 24-hour occasions.
Frijns maintains that BMW’s mixture of occasion rookies and skilled Le Mans palms “should not be” a speaking level, and believes his class win on debut in 2021 demonstrates that drivers who’re confirmed in different classes will be instantly efficient on the Circuit de la Sarthe.
#31 Crew WRT Oreca 07 – Gibson LMP2, Robin Frijns, Ferdinand Habsburg, Charles Milesi
Picture by: Nick Dungan / Motorsport Images
The Dutchman had been a mainstay of WRT’s GT3 programme since 2015, however says he was repeatedly denied alternatives to race at Le Mans earlier than WRT stepped into LMP2 as he was unproven on the occasion.
“I had some contact with groups [saying] that I wish to do Le Mans and everyone got here again to me, ‘yeah, however you don’t know Le Mans so we don’t take you as a rookie’,” he instructed Autosport.
“However then I went there in 2021 and I gained it straight. So for me, if as a driver you’re fast, you’re fast, it doesn’t matter the place you go.
“Le Mans clearly is 24 hours, everyone needs to do very nicely, nobody needs to make errors, however on the finish of the day when you’re a superb driver, you’re a superb driver in every single place.”