The successful partnership between BMW M Motorsport and the leading iRacing simulation platform goes into the next round in 2023. BMW M Motorsport is set to become the first manufacturer in the world to make the new LMDh car, the BMW M Hybrid V8, available to the sim racing community. As with the BMW M4 GT3, the real and virtual development of the car are 'running' simultaneously. The partnership was officially announced at the BMW SIM Live event.
"When it comes to bringing real BMW M racing cars into the virtual world, BMW M Motorsport and iRacing have been close and fully coordinated partners for many years," said Maurizio Leschiutta, project leader of the LMDh division at BMW M Motorsport. "As the head of such an important project, confidentiality is my No.1 priority. It would be devastating if the competition found out the technical details of our car that we want to keep secret. In this respect, I was really impressed by iRacing's professionalism. We are making available to iRacing CAD data and findings from our simulator and track testing. These are used as the basis on which a realistic virtual version is created. As a result, every sim racer has the opportunity to experience the performance of a state-of-the-art prototype, and the allure of BMW M Motorsport."
"We are incredibly excited to confirm that the BMW M Hybrid V8 will be joining iRacing in the coming months," said iRacing Executive Vice President Steve Myers. "We've been looking forward to the LMDh class for a few years now, and BMW M Motorsport's support has been essential in order to bring both its participation and the new class to iRacing. Building this car in the simulator has been a joy for our team, and we look forward to seeing the community's response after its release."
BMW M Motorsport and iRacing have already collaborated on several car projects. The BMW M8 GTE was also moved from reality to the virtual world, as well as the BMW M4 GT4 and later the BMW M4 GT3. The LMDh class project now offers the next opportunity to take a car to the track in two different worlds.
The race premiere of the BMW M Hybrid V8 at the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) in January 2023 is fast approaching. The car is now undergoing intensive testing in the USA. While wearing a special camouflage for testing, the BMW M Hybrid V8 will be adorned with the iconic BMW M Motorsport factory colours from the beginning of next year. The BMW M Hybrid V8 was unveiled in Los Angeles (USA) in September 2022 and is now available in a virtual version.
