24h Daytona: Dries Vanthoor drives to the first pole position for the BMW M Hybrid V8.

• Dries Vanthoor achieves the fastest time in qualifying for the 24 Hours of Daytona with a time of 1:33.895 minutes.
• It is the first pole position for the BMW M Hybrid V8 since the start of the LMDh programme in 2023.
• Video interviews with Andreas Roos and the BMW M works drivers for editorial use: https://f.io/bX42CP2u.

Daytona. A perfect season opener for the BMW M Hybrid V8 and BMW M Team RLL. In qualifying for the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA), Dries Vanthoor (BEL) drove to first place with a time of 1:33.895 minutes, securing the first pole position since the start of BMW M Motorsport’s LMDh programme. The BMW M4 GT3 EVO also impressed in qualifying. Dan Harper (GBR) drove the #48 Paul Miller Racing car to third place on the starting grid in the GTD PRO class with a time of 1:46.005 minutes.

While the crew of the #24 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Vanthoor, Philipp Eng (AUT), Kevin Magnussen (DEN), and Raffaele Marciello (SUI) celebrated, the team of the sister car was less fortunate. The #25 BMW M Hybrid V8 driven by Sheldon van der Linde (RSA), Marco Wittmann (GER), Robin Frijns (NED), and René Rast (GER) encountered a technical issue with the high-voltage system and was unable to set a lap time.

The opening race of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship begins on Saturday at 13:40 local time (19:40 CET) and will be streamed live on www.imsa.tv.

Note to editors:
Video interviews with Head of BMW M Motorsport Andreas Roos and the BMW M works drivers for editorial use can be found at the following link: https://f.io/bX42CP2u.

Comments after qualifying:

Andreas Roos (Head of BMW M Motorsport): “We are thrilled about the first pole position in the LMDh programme of BMW M Motorsport. To achieve it at a major event like the 24 Hours of Daytona is simply fantastic. Congratulations and thank you to Dries Vanthoor, BMW M Team RLL, and everyone at BMW M Motorsport involved in this success. Now, we need to translate our strong performance into the race, because that’s where it really counts. It’s unfortunate that car #25 couldn’t set a lap time due to an issue with the high-voltage system. Congratulations to Dan Harper and Paul Miller Racing for securing a strong third starting position in the GTD PRO class. A very good result for our BMW M4 GT3 EVO.”

Dries Vanthoor (#24 BMW M Hybrid V8, BMW M Team RLL): “I am very pleased to have secured the first pole position with the BMW M Hybrid V8. It’s a great result and a deserved reward for the hard work of everyone involved in this project. It’s a good start to the season that we can be proud of. But for the race, pole position doesn’t say much. We will continue to give our all to have a reason to celebrate on Sunday as well.”