BMW Wins the 24 Hours of Daytona With M8 GTE!

[Garage5]

Originally Posted by phefner

Great win for the BMW team. Their win is what goes in the books.

However, I watched most of the race and it seemed like the Porsche team was able to easily pull away from the BMWs, almost at will when challenged. It looked like Porsche led most laps.

You're 100% right. The M8 is just outgunned. This "win" was based upon being in the right position at the right time.

I was there and saw the RSR pull on a few prototypes. It is just too much car.

[Moveitsmikey]

This is awesome

[signes]

Class win, 10th overall. Great result but (Jason) they didn't "win Daytona" which implies an overall win.

[N & M]

This may have not been the straightforward victory we waiting for but a win in an epic track. Congratulations BMVee!

[N & M]

Originally Posted by phefner

Great win for the BMW team. Their win is what goes in the books.

However, I watched most of the race and it seemed like the Porsche team was able to easily pull away from the BMWs, almost at will when challenged. It looked like Porsche led most laps.

Clearly. Instead of wasting a glorious nameplate on a failed family hauler, BMW should develop a more focused and sportier 6 as its answer to the 911 and AMG GT. The 8 frees of the need to chase the GT segment and a new 6 would be an amazing base chassis for motorsport.

This is unlikely to happen though, as BMW and the world now look towards electric drive as having the more sustainable future over ICE in mainstream and motorsports.

[ItsGary]

Nice little tribute to Charly Lamm on the back of the cars.

[Igor_M5]

Would LOVE to get future notifications via Bimmerpost App or front page article with friendly reminders of the upcoming/live BMW Motorsports coverage. :/

I check the app on my phone more often than I do IG anyway.... lol

[JSP///M4C]

Watched. Was insane race! Congrats to all!

[YearOneOne]

Crazy race but good job about time

[HawkeyeGeoff]

Awesome that they won, but it was a little bit of a hallow victory with all the rain IMO.

[E9TOU]

Go BMW! They were always in the thick of the battle and with sports car racing, you never know what could happen!! The drivers and the crew were excellent in this race. Admittedly, the rain and caution periods towards the end put a damper on the race, but it's a win!

Also, Alonso cements that he is still one of the best all-around drivers in the world. Wow! What a great drive for him in all conditions! F1 will sorely miss him.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by phefner

Great win for the BMW team. Their win is what goes in the books.

However, I watched most of the race and it seemed like the Porsche team was able to easily pull away from the BMWs, almost at will when challenged. It looked like Porsche led most laps.

It's hard to judge a 24 hour race like that. You never know who is using what strategy. If you look at the fastest lap of the race, it was done in a BMW M8 GTE.

#25 BMW M8 GTE
1:42.908

Porsche was right on their heels though.

#911 PORSCHE 911 RSR
1:42.963

These were the only two cars to break into the 1:42's, but the field was incredibly well matched this year. The "slowest" car (by fastest lap) was the #67 Ford GT at 1:43.355. So basically, the entire field was separated by 0.4s when compared by fastest lap.

This was anybody's race. At times, the #911 Porsche and #62 Ferrari appeared to be leaving the field behind, but as it turns out, it was all strategy. This is a 24 hour race, after all.

IMO, two things got BMW the win:

1) A well played race strategy of keeping the car in tact, while remaining within striking distance. IMO, they took a page from Corvette racing. You don't need to lead all the laps, you only need to lead the last one.

2) Augusto Farfus' absolutely heroic drive in the rain. While the rest of the field were busy driving their cars off the circuit and smashing into each other (Porsche... again ), Augusto drove to the front of the field perfectly at the limit. The in-car camera was really something to watch. Lots of fast hands and sweating bullets. It was amazing to watch, really.

So if you ask me, this was a hard fought, and well earned win by BMW. It doesn't matter that they won under red flag, because every racer out there knew that the hammer could drop at any moment. Drivers said as much in interviews during those hectic final laps. It was basically a now or never scenario, and Augusto was one of the few to keep their nerve.

It's basically the same thing that happened in DPi. Alonso didn't win on outright pace, he drove at the limit, and not beyond it. Sometimes you win on the backs of other's mistakes, but it is a credit to have avoided making the same ones.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by HawkeyeGeoff

Awesome that they won, but it was a little bit of a hallow victory with all the rain IMO.

You don't think the conditions made it more challenging? I think you've got it backwards.

[Xrygrl23]

Darn I had to work that day, I am so glad 😎

[HawkeyeGeoff]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

You don't think the conditions made it more challenging? I think you've got it backwards.

I'm saying other vehicles were clearly faster if it wasn't a tsunami. Too many mistakes by other teams, #25 kept it in the lines....just wasn't very exciting the last 6-7 hours because of the conditions. Just my opinion.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by HawkeyeGeoff

I'm saying other vehicles were clearly faster if it wasn't a tsunami. Too many mistakes by other teams, #25 kept it in the lines....just wasn't very exciting the last 6-7 hours because of the conditions. Just my opinion.

The #25 BMW M8 GTLM had the fastest lap of the race (set in the dry). See my other post. You're welcome to your opinion, of course, but it contradicts the facts.

[bradleyland]

Originally Posted by Igor_M5

Would LOVE to get future notifications via Bimmerpost App or front page article with friendly reminders of the upcoming/live BMW Motorsports coverage. :/

I check the app on my phone more often than I do IG anyway.... lol

Originally Posted by Igor_M5

Would LOVE to get future notifications via Bimmerpost App or front page article with friendly reminders of the upcoming/live BMW Motorsports coverage. :/

I check the app on my phone more often than I do IG anyway.... lol

The best way watch BMW Motorsport race in the US is to follow the IMSA WeatherTech series. You can see the full schedule on RACER.com.

https://racer.com/2018/08/03/imsa-re...2019-schedule/

IMSA's website can be confusing, but they always have info about the next race on the series homepage:

https://sportscarchampionship.imsa.com

[phefner]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

It's hard to judge a 24 hour race like that. You never know who is using what strategy. If you look at the fastest lap of the race, it was done in a BMW M8 GTE.

#25 BMW M8 GTE
1:42.908

Porsche was right on their heels though.

#911 PORSCHE 911 RSR
1:42.963

These were the only two cars to break into the 1:42's, but the field was incredibly well matched this year. The "slowest" car (by fastest lap) was the #67 Ford GT at 1:43.355. So basically, the entire field was separated by 0.4s when compared by fastest lap.

This was anybody's race. At times, the #911 Porsche and #62 Ferrari appeared to be leaving the field behind, but as it turns out, it was all strategy. This is a 24 hour race, after all.

IMO, two things got BMW the win:

1) A well played race strategy of keeping the car in tact, while remaining within striking distance. IMO, they took a page from Corvette racing. You don't need to lead all the laps, you only need to lead the last one.

2) Augusto Farfus' absolutely heroic drive in the rain. While the rest of the field were busy driving their cars off the circuit and smashing into each other (Porsche... again ), Augusto drove to the front of the field perfectly at the limit. The in-car camera was really something to watch. Lots of fast hands and sweating bullets. It was amazing to watch, really.

So if you ask me, this was a hard fought, and well earned win by BMW. It doesn't matter that they won under red flag, because every racer out there knew that the hammer could drop at any moment. Drivers said as much in interviews during those hectic final laps. It was basically a now or never scenario, and Augusto was one of the few to keep their nerve.

It's basically the same thing that happened in DPi. Alonso didn't win on outright pace, he drove at the limit, and not beyond it. Sometimes you win on the backs of other's mistakes, but it is a credit to have avoided making the same ones.

Well stated sir. I totally respect that opinion.

[VMRWheels]

Originally Posted by bradleyland

It's hard to judge a 24 hour race like that. You never know who is using what strategy. If you look at the fastest lap of the race, it was done in a BMW M8 GTE.

#25 BMW M8 GTE
1:42.908

Porsche was right on their heels though.

#911 PORSCHE 911 RSR
1:42.963

These were the only two cars to break into the 1:42's, but the field was incredibly well matched this year. The "slowest" car (by fastest lap) was the #67 Ford GT at 1:43.355. So basically, the entire field was separated by 0.4s when compared by fastest lap.

This was anybody's race. At times, the #911 Porsche and #62 Ferrari appeared to be leaving the field behind, but as it turns out, it was all strategy. This is a 24 hour race, after all.

IMO, two things got BMW the win:

1) A well played race strategy of keeping the car in tact, while remaining within striking distance. IMO, they took a page from Corvette racing. You don't need to lead all the laps, you only need to lead the last one.

2) Augusto Farfus' absolutely heroic drive in the rain. While the rest of the field were busy driving their cars off the circuit and smashing into each other (Porsche... again ), Augusto drove to the front of the field perfectly at the limit. The in-car camera was really something to watch. Lots of fast hands and sweating bullets. It was amazing to watch, really.

So if you ask me, this was a hard fought, and well earned win by BMW. It doesn't matter that they won under red flag, because every racer out there knew that the hammer could drop at any moment. Drivers said as much in interviews during those hectic final laps. It was basically a now or never scenario, and Augusto was one of the few to keep their nerve.

It's basically the same thing that happened in DPi. Alonso didn't win on outright pace, he drove at the limit, and not beyond it. Sometimes you win on the backs of other's mistakes, but it is a credit to have avoided making the same ones.

Agreed. In order to finish first, you must first finish. Also keeping the car in one piece helps. Augusto had an amazing drive!

It was great to see Zanardi back behind the wheel at Daytona. Very inspiring!

[bradleyland]

Did anyone see the Joey Hand interview where he laid into Fred Makowiecki? Rarely do you see IMSA drivers get so direct. After having just been plowed into by Fred, Joey says something like, "Well, some of us can handle ourselves out there, while some of us clearly cannot. Although we've seen plenty of this kind of thing before out of the Porsche drivers."

If I recall, it was the 2017 season where Porsche drivers were ruining other drivers' races left and right. I'm not sure if it is just frustration, or if their team management have told them to drive elbows out, but I really hope we don't see a repeat this year. Porsche are used to winning races, but they don't get the same breaks here in the US as they do in Europe.

[marcva]

Originally Posted by BMWDavid

King of ///Monsters

I was at the Nurburgring 24 hr race in 2017 when it was unveiled and everyone knew then the M8 would be a force to be reckoned with. This is the first of many. Congrats!

This year should be interesting at the ring. Even more than last year.

[adc]

Wowzers. I’m impressed.

Does anyone know if Zanardi will drive more races for BMW? I’d love to watch him race....