Exactly 40 years after the first victory of BMW at the 24 Hours of Daytona back in 1976, two new BMW GT cars will make their race debuts at this year’s iconic event. BMW Team RLL will field the BMW M6 GTLM in the GTLM class, while Turner Motorsport sends two BMW M6 GT3s into action in the GTD category. The two new cars replace the BMW Z4 GTLM and the BMW Z4 GT3 respectively, both of which claimed numerous victories in North America.
BMW Team RLL enters its eighth season with BMW Motorsport, and it promises to be a historic year: not only will the BMW M6 GTLM make its debut, but BMW is also celebrating its 100th anniversary. To mark this occasion, one of the two BMW M6 GTLMs will line up in the new IWSC season with the number 100. Like the number 25 car, it will feature a special livery, which will be unveiled at a press conference in Daytona on 27th January.
In order to ensure that the new car is able to compete at the head of a high-class GTLM field, featuring the likes of Chevrolet, Ferrari, Ford and Porsche, BMW Team RLL has opted for continuity in its driver line-up. The regular crews for the two BMW M6 GTLMs remain unchanged from last year. Bill Auberlen (US) and Dirk Werner (DE) share the cockpit of the number 25 car. They will be supported in Daytona by BMW DTM drivers Augusto Farfus (BR) and Bruno Spengler (CA). As in 2015, John Edwards (US) and Lucas Luhr (DE) are the regular drivers at the wheel of the number 100 car. They will receive back-up in Daytona from Graham Rahal (US) and the only new face in the squad, Kuno Wittmer (CA).
Turner Motorsport will field two new BMW M6 GT3s in the GTD class. BMW works driver Jens Klingmann (DE) and Bret Curtis (US) will contest the entire season in the number 96 BMW M6 GT3. The duo will be supported in Daytona by Ashley Freiberg (US) and BMW DTM driver Marco Wittmann (DE). Like last year, the number 97 car will be shared by Michael Marsal (US) and Markus Palttala (FI). They will be joined at the Daytona International Speedway by BMW DTM driver Maxime Martin (BE) and BMW Motorsport Junior Jesse Krohn (FI).
