New Aero Kit For BMWs

BMW’s return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans delivered mixed results, but the Bavarian automaker has taken some of the lessons learned from the development of its European-spec M3 GT2s to strengthen its American Le Mans Series program.

While the revised cars, which fully conform to ACO regulations, won’t be seen in the hands of BMW Rahal Letterman Racing Team this year, the Ohio-based team is evaluating the use of the M3’s new bodywork package that was seen on the Schnitzer-run cars in the early season Le Mans Series races and at Le Mans.

Since the car’s ALMS debut last year in GT2, BMW has struggled to find the perfect aero balance with its V8-powered machines. A late change from IMSA’s outgoing GT2S regulations to GT2 resulted in the loss of front and rear downforce as BMW of North America’s motorsports manager Martin Birkmann explains:

“One of the car’s weaknesses we had last year was the removal of the dive planes. It was OK on the GT2S, but not on the GT2 and the waiver was not granted to keep those," said Birkmann. “So we struggled a little bit on getting the car aero balanced. We hope that the Le Mans aero package will improve that."