BMW eager to temper GTP expectations after Daytona podium

Did a surprising result for BMW M Team WRT at the Rolex 24 At Daytona raise expectations ahead of this weekend’s Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring?

WRT’s revamped No. 24 BMW M Hybrid V8 finished third overall in the Rolex 24 At Daytona to start the team’s first full-time venture into the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. Those within WRT and BMW M were keen to temper expectations of the Belgian-origin team’s outstanding pedigree of success and experience running the M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship.

But the outlook hasn’t changed according to Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, following that third-place run at Daytona. BMW M Team WRT is still managing expectations against the more established GTP runners from Porsche, Acura, and Cadillac. “In the end, we are there to win races,” said Roos, “and we still have a step to go to also win on the GTP side.

“But it was a good first race in the 2026 season with, let’s say, our Evo car, with WRT taking over all the duties in the US.” In just a few months, WRT laid the foundation of its North American operation in time for Daytona.

“Because of the timing, when we took the decision to move everything to WRT and to ramp everything up, we knew it would be challenging,” Roos admitted. “In the end, we love challenges – and we managed to end up on the podium.

“But also, we have to be realistic. We are running in a super-competitive championship, and there are a lot of very good competitors in terms of brands, teams, drivers. We said we did everything we can do, and ended up on the podium. We are happy. And if not, then we have to look at what we have to do better for the next one.”

“You have to also keep your feet on the ground and be realistic with what you can do,” he adds. “We go to every race having in mind, we want to win the race.”

This weekend, Dries Vanthoor, Sheldon van der Linde, and Robin Frijns will try and make it back-to-back podiums in GTP in the No. 24 BMW, while on the opposite side of the garage, the No. 25 of Philipp Eng, Marco Wittmann, and Kevin Magnussen will want to kick things into high gear after finishing eighth.

The GTP podium wasn’t BMW’s only success of the Daytona weekend of course: Paul Miller Racing won GTD Pro, and Turner Motorsport put in a strong showing in GTD before getting itself embroiled in late-race incidents.

“I mean, if you would have asked me before Daytona that we would win GTD Pro and be on the podium in GTP, I would have immediately signed – clear!” Roos said of the weekend.

“It’s one of the biggest 24-hour races, and to win there with our M4 GT3 EVO and being with the Hypercar on the podium was really good for sure.”