BMW will need to make changes to its controversial V8-powered M3 if it is to achieve its target of racing in the Le Mans 24 Hours in 2010.
BMW announced plans last weekend to contest the French endurance race with the GT2-spec M3 that Rahal Letterman Racing ran in the 2009 American Le Mans Series. That car is homologated for use in U.S. and Asian series that run under the Automobile Club de l’Ouest rules, but is not cleared to race in the 24 Hours or the Le Mans Series in Europe.
ACO sports manager Vincent Beaumesnil said significant changes would have to made to the car before it could be homologated for Europe. He said it “would have to be a different car.”
Asked about the extent of any changes, Beaumesnil said: “We have had a request from BMW, but it is too early to speak about it.”
A BMW statement declared that it was “in positive discussions with organizers and governing bodies regarding the approval of the car.” But a company spokesman acknowledged the likelihood of the M3 undergoing revisions before it was cleared to race in Europe.
“The car will have to be modified,” he said. “It will not be a new car, but there will be changes that have a little bit of an influence on performance.”
The BMW has been granted a number of waivers designed to overcome the unsuitability for racing of key components on the standard M3. Most controversially, these include an allowance to use a double wishbone suspension.
BMW has announced a European program for the M3 that includes the 24 Hours and starts in the Le Mans Series. It also wants to contest the Spa 24 Hours, a round of the FIA GT2 Championship. The Nurburgring 24 Hours and the associate long-distance championship on the Nurburgring-Nordschleife, in which the M3 has already raced, are also part of its 2010 campaign.
Famed BMW team Schnitzer Motorsport is moving over from the World Touring Car Championship to spearhead the sports-car assault. Jorg Muller and Dirk Werner have been named as BMW's regular sports car drivers.
source: autoweek
