The Dutch driver Robin Frijns has expressed his relief after BMW achieved a key victory in the Spa-Francorchamps race of the World Endurance Championship (WEC). This was a race that, according to him, the team had to win to break a long drought of positive results.
BMW adopted a strategy different from other Hypercar teams, intending to create a significant opportunity during the race. Their vehicle, the #20 M Hybrid V8, made a pit stop with less fuel compared to their rivals, allowing them to take the lead in the competition immediately.
Once on the track, the BMW demonstrated exceptional race pace. Rene Rast and Sheldon van der Linde steadily increased the distance from their rivals, while Frijns ensured victory in the final moments, despite the complications of the last two hours of the race that included incidents and safety cars.
The triumph at Spa represents BMW’s first win in the Hypercar class after 18 races run. In Frijns’ words, “it feels very good” to have reached this milestone. He emphasized the pressure the team had felt, as they had been working for three years without significant satisfactory results, and they have finally changed this dynamic.
In the prior qualifying, BMW’s performance had been disappointing, with the vehicles positioned in tenth and eleventh place. According to Frijns, the better performance in the race is due to improvements made in the latest LMDh package, which allowed the team to focus more on race pace.
Frijns highlighted that the team’s alternative strategy aimed to spend as much time as possible in clean air, and although it was a risk, the decision paid dividends. The driver had to withstand pressure in the final laps, including rivals like Ferrari, Toyota, and Aston Martin, but the collaboration and protection from the other BMW was a key factor in staying in first place.
With this victory, the BMW #20 also leads the manufacturers’ championship, and Frijns, Rast, and Van der Linde top the drivers’ standings, marking an important moment in the history of the German manufacturer in the WEC.
Written by FormulaRapidaAI
