BMW Motorrad Motorsport begins its title hunt in the FIM Endurance World Championship at Le Mans.

Le Mans. The long-distance racing heroes are off to a great start: with the 24 Heures Motos in Le Mans (FRA) on 20/21. The 2024 season in the FIM Endurance World Championship (FIM EWC) starts in April for BMW Motorrad Motorsport. In the highest class, Formula EWC, the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is once again chasing the overall victory and the world championship title with the #37 BMW M 1000 RR. The usual three this year are Markus Reiterberger (GER), Ilya Mikhalchik (UKR) and newcomer Sylvain Guintoli (FRA). The fourth driver is Mestonian Hannes Soomer. In the Superstock class, the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team is BMW’s hot metal in the fire. The French team has already proven in its first season in 2023 that it is one of the best in the field.

Detailed information on BMW Motorrad Motorsport’s commitment to FIM EWC 2024 can be found online at:

BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team.

Continuation and new additions: This applies to the three regular riders of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team for the 2024 season The two BMW Motorrad riders Reiterberger and Mikhalchik have been an important part of the team next to team manager Werner Daemen (BEL. ) since the season of the first of 2019/20. Together they secured a podium finish from starting number 37, followed by their first victory in 2021. In the 2022 season they celebrated victory at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and became their second world champion. Last season, the team with Reiterberger and Mikhalchik finished on the podium in all three 24-hour races, took sixth place in Suzuka (JPN) as the best European team and eventually finished third in the world championship standings.

A notable new addition to the trio is Guintoli, who has already celebrated world championship titles in the FIM Superbike World Championship (WorldSBK) and FIM EWC. The Frenchman is one of the most experienced and renowned pilots in international motorcycle racing. As a BMW Motorrad rider, he is also part of the BMW Motorrad WorldSBK Test Team and is closely involved in the further development of the BMW M 1000 RR.

Another new member of the BMW family is Soomer. The 26-year-old Mestonian will strengthen the BMW Motorrad Endurance World Team as well as the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team as a fourth rider next season.

Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team.

The Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team participated in its first full season in the FIM EWC Superstock class, the FIM Endurance World Cup, in 2023. The team around team boss Arnaud Sassone (FRA) is a collaboration between the Racing Team of Tecmas of France, Werner Daemen’s Motorcycle Racing Parts and BMW Motorrad Motorsport. The Tecmas Racing Team has long been successful in the French Superbike Championship (FBSK) and has competed in the EWC class in selected FIM EWC races in previous years.

The Superstock debut of the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team last year could not have been more perfect. In the season opener, the 24 Hours of Le Mans, the team with three drivers Kenny Foray (FRA), Jan Bühn (GER) and Loïc Arbel (FRA) celebrated their first victory in the Superstock class. The team also showed a satisfactory performance in the following race with the #9 BMW M 1000 RR. However, technical failures prevented further high results.

Foray, Bühn and Arbel will also be competing for the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team this season. The cast is completed by Soomer as the fourth driver.

24 Hours Motorcycle.

In the run-up to the start of the season, there will be an opportunity to take part in private testing on Tuesday, April 16. The race weekend around the 24 Hours of Le Mans begins on Thursday, April 18, with free practice, first qualifying sessions and training of the night. The final decision on the starting positions will be made in the second round on Friday morning. The race itself, the 47th edition of the 24 Heures Motos, starts on Saturday at 3am CEST.

In addition to the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team and the Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team, there are two other BMW teams at Le Mans: the Japanese Team Étoile and the T2C Racing team from France. They all compete in the Superstock class.

Sounds ahead of the season opener at Le Mans.

Marc Bongers, Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport: “We enter the FIM EWC 2024 in a good position and very confident. During the winter, our engineers, together with our technical partners, have further improved the #37 BMW M 1000 RR as an overall package in many areas, from driving to chassis and electronics for the exhaust system, brakes and tires. In terms of drivers, we at the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team probably have one of the best trios in the field in Markus, Ilya and Sylvain. With an experienced team around Werner Daemen, they form the best team to reach our goal. And that means fighting for the world title. Everyone knows how strong the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team is, and now we want to take the next step forward. In the Superstock class, the Tecmas Racing Team -MRP-BMW already showed last season that it is top class. During the winter we worked hard on the technical side to correct the deficiencies identified in 2023. Now we are looking forward to Le Mans – we are ready! Of course, long distances have their own rules and a lot can happen in 24 hours of racing. But our starting position gives us hope.”

Werner Daemen, Team Manager of the BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team: “Our goal for the season must be, like every year, to fight for the world championship. Of course, you also need a bit of luck in endurance races. Last year we had a very good season, we were on the podium in all three 24-hour races and finished a strong sixth in Japan. I think if we can repeat that this year, and maybe win one or two races and be on the podium in others, then we can fight for the title. That is the main goal. Everything looks good, we are well prepared and the feeling is good very much.

Sylvain Guintoli (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “We are going to the 24 Heures Moto at Le Mans with high hopes because we have completed some tests and things have been going better and better. The most successful test was the initial test at Le Mans, where we all had a good feeling for the bike and also the rhythm good race. We prepared for the race in all conditions. We are prepared and of course the goal is to win the race. We are confident that we will go into this race and the bike is riding very well. It is a new bike for me this year and I am very happy with it, everything is going well. For so there are high hopes – for this Le Mans race and for the whole season. But we have to think from race to race and now focus 100 percent on Le Mans. I can’t wait and I’m looking forward to it.”

Ilya Mikhalchik (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “I am looking forward to the race week at Le Mans and I am very confident. It also looks like the weather will remain dry and very good. This also contributes to my positive feelings. In free practice we have to focus on finding the final settings before going to qualifying and the race. But overall we already have a very good base. We will start from there and improve the little things that still need to be done. I think we will have a good day at Le Mans. Let’s enjoy our progress and ride this bike and have some good experiences there. We can’t wait for the season to start!”

Markus Reiterberger (#37 BMW M 1000 RR, BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team): “After a good initial test at Le Mans, we obviously set ourselves high goals. We want to take the next step this year and get closer to our goal of the World Cup. After last years, we are now aiming for a better position. We are well prepared for Le Mans . We still need to improve a few things, but we have everything we need and we will do our best, from the team and the drivers’ side. In free practice we will try to adjust the bike better for us as riders and get used to the new structure so that we can really attack in qualifying and get results good for all three riders in the 24 hours. a race to have a solid and fast bike – with the aim of being at the top on Sunday. It will be a long and hard race, a long and hard season, but I think we are all in good spirits and have a chance to indeed.”

Arnaud Sassone (Teamchef Tecmas-MRP-BMW Racing Team):
“We really believe in ourselves. We proved last season that we can win the title. Performance was there, along with strategy. We only had reliability issues at Spa and Bol d’Or after taking the best position and fastest lap in both races. BMW has done a lot of work on reliability in Germany, and that should pay off. We haven’t changed anything on the driver side, and that’s a plus. We know we have a strong team, strong bikes and strong riders and our clear goal is to win the FIM Endurance World Cup.”

Technical data #37 BMW M 1000 RR.

Displacement / engine: 999 cc, four-cylinder four-stroke engine with four titanium valves per cylinder and BMW ShiftCam variable camshaft control, liquid-cooled, titanium connecting rod, 2-ring piston

Transmission: 6-speed manual gearbox with straight claws and teeth

Performance: > 215 HP at over 14,000 rpm

Bore x Stroke: 80 x 49.7mm

Fuel system: Electronic injection, variable intake length

Tank capacity: 24 l

Lubrication: wet sump

Dry weight: 168 kg without tank

Wheelbase: approx. 1,450 mm (variable)

Height: 2,080 mm

width: 538 mm

Front wheel steering: ZF telescopic fork under CFRP and pressurized damping system

Rear wheel steering: BMW lower swingarm, ZF twin-tube fully floating center spring