Le Mans: This is how BMW enters the race for the EWC 2024 / World Endurance Championship title

The BMW Motorrad World Endurance Team finished the 2023 season in third place in the overall FIM Endurance World Championship standings behind Yamaha Racing Team Austria and Yoshimura SERT Motul (Suzuki). This year, Werner Daemen’s team was strengthened with the addition of 2014 World Superbike Champion Sylvain Guintoli. The Frenchman moved from SERT to the German motorcycle manufacturer.

In addition to Guintoli, who also works as a test rider for BMW in the World Superbike Championship, Ukraine’s Ilya Mikhalchik and Bavaria’s Markus Reiterberger will once again race on the M1000RR. The experienced trio will no doubt want to use the start of the season at the Circuit Bugatti to collect important points; Last year the team finished third in the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

At the beginning of the week, the Belgian team presented the new season version and at the private test on Tuesday, Guintoli, Reiterberger and Mikhalchik were ready to prepare for the weekend.

“Our goal this season, like every year, must be to fight for the world championship,” team boss Werner Daemen said. “Of course you also need luck in endurance racing. Last year we had a really good season, we were on the podium in all three 24-hour races and finished a strong sixth place in Japan. I think if we can repeat that this year, and maybe win one or two races and be on the podium in the others, then we can fight for the title. Everything looks good, we are well prepared and the feeling is very good.

Marc Bongers, Director of BMW Motorrad Motorsport, is also excited about the start of the season in France. “We enter the 2024 EWC season in a very strong and confident position. Over the winter, our engineers, together with our technical partners, have further improved the BMW M1000RR as a total package in many areas, from the motor to the chassis. and electronics on the exhaust system, brakes and tyres,” said the 53-year-old Dutchman. “In terms of drivers, we have one of the best trios in the field in Markus, Ilya and Sylvain in the World Endurance Team of BMW Motorrad. Together with the experienced team around Werner Daemen, they form the best team to achieve our goal. And that means fighting for the world title.”

The race weekend starts on Thursday at the 4.185 km Le Mans track with free practice, qualifying 1 and night practice. On Friday, the second qualifying session will finally focus on pole position. After warm-up on Saturday morning, the 24-hour race will start at 3 am.

BMW M1000RR technical data (EWC factory bike):

Displacement / engine: 999 cc, four-cylinder four-stroke engine with four titanium valves per cylinder and variable BMW ShiftCam 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
Front brake: Motomaster 320 mm dual disc, Nissin Radial 6-piston caliper
Rear brake: Motomaster 220 mm single disc, Nissin 2-piston caliper
Wheels: PVM forged aluminum wheels, front 17” x 3.5”, rear 17” x 6.0”
Tires: Dunlop