WEC – A painful 7th place for BMW on the grid at the 6H of Imola

This is a small surprise of these qualities at Imola: behind the untouchable Ferraris and the unstoppable Porsches, the BMW did well to take 7th place during the Hyperpole, a performance that will be credited to René Rast at the wheel of #20. The German hypercar revealed itself this Saturday, and got a beat we didn’t suspect based on the demos shown in Qatar. It’s no surprise to the WRT team running the BMW M Hybrid V8, which was hoping to gain momentum in Italy.

“The bad surprise was in Qatar. Of course, we tried here, which we didn’t do in Qatar. With that track it was probably better (for us), explained Vincent Vosse, Head of the WRT Team. We are still learning and we still need to understand if this is our position (in leadership). We don’t want to be 7th or 8th, we want to win the race. Our goal is to have the best LMDh. (…) With BMW, we have worked very hard since Qatar made progress. We were surprised by our position there. Let’s say that here, it is more in line with reality. »

However, the story is not so pleasant about the other car, number 15. Just two minutes from the end of the first qualifying session, Dries Vanthoor made a mistake in leaving Piratella. A harmless spin on the car… but with serious consequences, as the race officials quickly decided to show a red flag, probably to clear the track of scattered gravel. The red flag also meant the end of hope for the Belgian driver, who was not allowed to restart.

BMW questions the red flag

If the commissioners showed lenience to the situation, by not erasing the best time set by Dries Vanthoor and leaving the No. 15 in 13th place on the grid, the pain is there for BMW. The German-Belgian team questions the relevance and timing of the red flag for this incident, when the driver of the No. 15 was able to leave immediately afterwards. “(Not being able to) join the session is one thing. Rules are rules. But the red flag… You could have had a red flag for Toyota (spin to Tosa, Editor’s note) and for (Porsche) No. 5… But that’s the way things are. If it’s the law, it’s the law”revealed Vincent Vosse after qualifying.

The general manager of the WRT team also explained that his team was “in discussion” together with the race commissioners to get the details of this decision. Despite the frustration, BMW and WRT are already focused on racing, and they are aiming “finish the race without a problem” and “in points”. “We will see tomorrow how the first round will be. Whether it’s wet, dry, wet… As we know, the race is long. On the other hand, we know it will be difficult to pass here. It’s hard to maintain your position, that’s one thing. You will have to stay clean. It’s Patience! »

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