BMW M Motorsport has announced that Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts will join its factory driver line-up for the 2023 season, competing with BMW M Team WRT,
BMW has also confirmed its race programmes and full works driver line-ups.
Joining the Munich marque’s line-up alongside Vanthoor and Weerts will be Rene Rast and Maxime Martin. The full factory squad now numbers 20 drivers.
“After celebrating 50 years of BMW M and looking back on the glorious history of BMW M and BMW M Motorsport in 2022, we have an exciting season ahead of us in 2023 on the road to the future of motor racing,” said Franciscus van Meel, CEO of BMW M GmbH. “Taking centre stage is the BMW M Hybrid V8, which will be the first hybrid race car from BMW M Motorsport to appear in the IMSA series. The car is the symbol of the transformation of BMW M towards electrification, meaning it also plays a crucial role beyond motorsport. I am looking forward to the races with BMW M Team RLL and the parallel test work being undertaken by BMW M Team WRT, which will start with the BMW M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2024. I will also have my fingers crossed for all the teams and drivers doing battle for victories and titles in 2023 with the BMW M4 GT3, the new BMW M4 GT4 and the BMW M2 CS Racing.”
Dries Vanthoor already has an impressive racing CV with two wins at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup champion on three occasions and GT World Challenge Europe overall champion in 2021.
21-year-old Weerts, having raced alongside Vanthoor, has also taken the Sprint Cup title three times and the overall GT World Challenge Europe title in 2021.
The company’s new BMW M Hybrid V8 is currently being tested at Daytona ahead of its debut season in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in 2023.
