![\"#24](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/germany\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/24-bmw-m-team-wrt-bmw-m-hybrid.jpg\")
<\/p>\nBuilding a championship-caliber sports car program from scratch in four months is a daunting task, but Dries Vanthoor is helping steer BMW\u2019s top-class GTP effort through a rapid operational evolution in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.<\/p>\n
Now in his second full-time\u00a0IMSA season, the 28-year-old Belgian driver finds himself at the center of a major transition for the manufacturer. Following last year\u2019s campaign with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as BMW\u2019s factory partner, which featured three podiums and a win (Road America), the German brand shifted its efforts to Team WRT – the outfit it already built a Hypercar relationship with in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the same outfit Vanthoor has extensive history with. The revamped squad made an immediate statement with a podium at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, but turning fast starts into long-term dominance is requiring more patience.<\/p>\n
Building a full-scale\u00a0IMSA program from scratch in just four months required significant adjustment, a reality Vanthoor acknowledged when comparing the transition between RLL and WRT’s infrastructure as BMW\u2019s factory partner.<\/p>\n
\u201cObviously, I think it’s always very different,\u201d said Vanthoor, co-driver of the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 alongside Sheldon van der Linde. \u201cIt’s a completely new program for us. It’s a lot of new people. A completely new structure. We’ve always been used to having our structure in Europe and now we have to do a completely different structure in the\u00a0U.S., which is different. Also, the way of working, working with people. And this takes time.<\/p>\n
\u201cI do think we’ve seen some signs of it (working), which is very positive, but we’ve also seen already some things which aren\u2019t really positive, which we have to work on. But I think that’s also normal. You can’t expect to build up \u2013 I don’t know, they did it in four months \u2013 I think they built up the whole thing. So, I don’t think you can expect it to be working from the first race onwards.\u201d<\/p>\n
Despite the operational growing pains, speed and execution have surfaced across key events this year. In addition to the #24 entry’s third-place result at Daytona earlier this year, the #25 sister car has snagged two more podiums, including a runner-up finish in Detroit.<\/p>\n
\u201cGood things take time, they always say,\u201d said\u00a0Vanthoor, who also captured a victory in last month\u2019s Six Hours of S\u00e3o Paolo with the program\u2019s arm in WEC. \u201cSo hopefully in some more time it will get together. I do think it is, obviously, we’ve got good people, and I do believe that it will get better, and we will be able to fight for victories. I do think we are. We\u2019ve had good races already this season where we showed good pace and good strategy from the guys. So, we just have to keep working and keep making sure to get all the little, little mistakes out of our system.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n
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#24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde<\/p>\n
Photo by: Brandon Badraoui \/ Lumen via Getty Images<\/p>\n
The cross-continental synergy between\u00a0WRT\u2019s WEC and IMSA efforts has yielded tangible progress on track compared to previous seasons, with the BMW M Hybrid V8 regularly challenging near the front of the grid in both championships.<\/p>\n
When asked about the program’s distance from its ceiling and the refinements required moving forward,\u00a0Vanthoor noted the global progress while highlighting the remaining details needed to fine-tune the package.<\/p>\n
\u201cOn a global aspect, or looking into the involvement of the car, also on the\u00a0WEC side, I think this is positive,\u201d Vanthoor said. \u201cI think if you look now in WEC and IMSA, we are both sometimes or most of the time, trying to fight at the front, compared to last year. That was a bit more difficult, so that is positive.\u201d<\/p>\n
The focus now turns toward polishing operational consistency and vehicle refinement as the team builds toward long-term contention.\u00a0<\/p>\n
\u201cAnd I think it’s just the main things. We used to have small issues with getting things right on the car, making sure that communication is well within the team and small things like that, which are normal in a new setup,\u201d\u00a0Vanthoor said.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think we are not far away, but I do think we still have some points to improve. We still have some points on the car to improve. So, I think we still have to work hard and maybe by the end of the year or for sure next year, I think we have a complete package where we can say that we can fight for something nice.\u201d<\/p>\n
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