BMW confirms line-up WEC 2024: Frijns joins Rast and Van der Linde

BMW M Motorsport has announced its driver line-ups for the 2024 season of the World Endurance Championship. Robin Frijns will have Sheldon van der Linde and René Rast as teammates in the BMW M Hybrid V8, while the sister car is also well-staffed.

Last year, it was announced that Robin Frijns, also active in Formula E, would join BMW as an LMDh driver. The 32-year-old Dutchman has been racing for WRT since 2015, initially in the class now known as GT World Challenge Europe and since 2021 in the LMP2 class of the WEC. In the first year, Frijns and WRT immediately secured the title and won their class at the 24 Hours of Le Mans. In his first season in the Hypercars, he will have formidable teammates as Sheldon van der Linde and René Rast join him in car number 20. In the sister car with number 15, Dries Vanthoor, Marco Wittmann, and new addition Raffaele Marciello share the cockpit. 

"I have worked successfully with BMW M Team WRT for many years," says Frijns. "I gained experience in the LMP2 class of the FIA WEC, always with the goal of moving up to the Hypercar class. Now, I have the opportunity with BMW M Motorsport, and I am thrilled about it. Everyone is working hard on the project to ensure that we have a solid foundation at the beginning of the season, and hopefully, we can secure a few podium finishes. I am particularly looking forward to the mega-event at Le Mans. My teammates René and Sheldon are both great guys whom I know well from the DTM. I'm driving alongside two champions - what could go wrong?" says Frijns. 

Vincent Vosse, team manager of BMW M Team WRT, refers to it as a 'dream team'. "We have worked with Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor, Robin Frijns, and René Rast for many years, and we know them very well. Marco Wittmann and Raffaele Marciello are new to us, but the initial joint tests have gone very well. Now, as a team, we will be under considerable pressure because with these drivers, speed in the cockpit is definitely not lacking." 

After representing Mercedes in GT racing for years, Raffaele Marciello moves to BMW to try his luck in the top class of the endurance championship. The successful Swiss driver looks forward to this 'great challenge'. "Competing for race wins and titles in the FIA WEC, with so many major manufacturers, is exactly the challenge I was hoping for. I have been a competitor on the circuit for years, and it's fantastic to now drive alongside Dries Vanthoor. And it's fantastic to have a BMW M Motorsport legend like Marco Wittmann by my side. I hope to learn from both of them." 

The WEC season kicks off with the 1812 kilometers of Qatar on March 2. This year, circuits like Monza, Spa-Francorchamps, and Fuji will be visited. The highlight of the season, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, takes place on the weekend of June 15 and 16.

 

Source: BMW bevestigt line-up WEC 2024: Frijns teamgenoot van Rast en Van der Linde (motorsport.com)