With Dwight Merriman out the race due to a back injury, Idec Sport bring Porsche driver Patrick Pilet in to save the day

24H Le Mans

24 Heures du Mans

The BMW M Hybrid V8 will benefit from an overhauled aero design for next year's FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) and IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship seasons.

A new front end, smaller grille, improved aerodynamics: the BMW M Hybrid V8 is getting a new look for 2026. BMW M Motorsport is modifying&nbsp;the car&#39;s aerodynamics (subject to homologation) in response to&nbsp;experience gained in competition since 2023.

The biggest change is to&nbsp;the front end of the German Hypercar.&nbsp;A slightly smaller grille,&nbsp;revised splitter and redesigned headlights aim to&nbsp;optimise&nbsp;airflow.&nbsp;

<h2>Aerodynamic Modifications for More Consistency and&nbsp;performance</h2>

These improvements offer&nbsp;two main advantages. Firstly, they ensure more consistent performances across all the circuits on the calendar. The data collected over&nbsp;the last two WEC and IMSA seasons revealed weaknesses that needed to be overcome. Secondly, the new air&nbsp;circulation around the car woll&nbsp;aid in cooling.

The new aerodynamics were executed in&nbsp;a close collaboration between&nbsp;the engineers at&nbsp;BMW M Motorsport and its chassis partner,&nbsp;Dallara. Private testing sessions have been&nbsp;conducted the last few weeks and now the BMW M Hybrid V8 will make its first public appearance for a collective shakedown&nbsp;at&nbsp;Lone Star Le Mans, the sixth round of the 2025 WEC. Suject to final homologation, the car&#39;s first race will be the Rolex&nbsp;24 at&nbsp;Daytona at the end of January 2026.

Head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos: Since we began racing in the IMSA series in 2023 and the FIA WEC in 2024, we have learned a great deal about our BMW M Hybrid V8. After optimising the brakes for the current season, it is now time for an aerodynamically improved version of the car. With these updates, we are responding to the insights gained from our previous race outings. Following the tests we&rsquo;ve already conducted, we are confident that the changes to the BMW M Hybrid V8 will allow us to compete more consistently at the front on all types of tracks, taking another step toward the top. A big thank you to everyone involved for their hard work. In the coming months, we will continue to work intensively to ensure we are optimally prepared for the start of the 2026 season at Daytona in January.

BMW is currently fifth in the&nbsp;2025 WEC Hypercar Constructors standings behind Ferrari, Cadillac, Porsche and&nbsp;Toyota. At the Qatar&nbsp;1812 km, the #15&nbsp;BMW M Hybrid V8 finished fourth overall.

The BMW M Hybrid V8's new aerodynamics for 2026

The no48 VDS Panis Racing crew of Oliver Gray, Esteban Masson and Charles Milesi took their second win in a row at the end of an exciting 4-hour race in Belgium and head to Silverstone as championship leaders.

The no20 Algarve Pro Racing topped the LMP2 Pro/Am standings at the chequered flag with Kriton Lentoudis, Olli Caldwell and Alex Quinn finishing ahead of United Autosports. The LMP3 victory went to the n&deg;8 Team Virage Ligier crew of Julien Gerbi, Rik Koen and Daniel Nogales.

Aston Martin become the fourth different LMGT3 manufacturer to win in the ELMS this season when Valentin Hasse Clot in the no59 Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man Vantage held off the challenge from Fabien Schiller in the no63 Iron Lynx Mercedes-AMG on the final lap after a quick late pitstop by the Swiss team put Hasse Clot into the lead. The two cars were just 0.9 seconds apart at the chequered flag. 
 
VDS Panis Racing leads the provisional overall standings. The team holds a 20-point advantage over Inter Europol Competition and 26 over IDEC Sport. In LMP2 Pro/Am, the battle is tighter, with Algarve Pro Racing three points ahead of AO by TF, while Proton Competition trails by 13 points. In the LMP3 category, CLX Motorsport enjoys a comfortable 31-point lead over Inter Europol Competition. Finally, in LMGT3, Racing Spirit of Leman capitalizes on its victory and Spirit of Race&rsquo;s misstep to take the lead. However, the French squad holds only a one-point advantage over Iron Dames and five over Richard Mille AF Corse. Having led prior to the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, Spirit of Race has dropped to fourth place.

The next race is the Goodyear 4 Hours of Silverstone on Sunday 14 September, Round 5 of the 2025 European Le Mans Series. 
In the meantime, relive the best moments of the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with the video below.

Race Highlights | 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps 2025 | ELMS

ELMS : revivez les 4 Heures de Spa-Francorchamps 2025

Photo credit : Twenty-one creation

Victory for VDS Panis Racing in drama filled 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

The second half of the 2025 European Le Mans Series (ELMS) kicks off with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps at the iconic Belgian circuit on 22-24 August. This 10th running of the race is sure to deliver high suspense thanks to a total of 44 cars across the LMP2, LMP2 Pro-Am, LMP3 and LMGT3 categories.

All eyes will be on VDS Panis Racing&#39;s #48 ORECA 07-Gibson in Belgium this weekend. The winning trio&nbsp;at Imola, Ollie Gray/Charles Milesi/Esteban Masson are currently leading&nbsp;the championship with&nbsp;51 points, a small advantage on this season&#39;s two-time winner&nbsp;IDEC SPORT Racing&#39;s #18 ORECA driven by&nbsp;Jamie Chadwick/Mathys Jaubert/Daniel Juncadella.

Third in the standings, Inter Europol Competition&#39;s #43 ORECA shared by Jakub Smiechowski/Nick Yelloly/Tom Dillmann only trails the leaders by&nbsp;13 points after securing&nbsp;two consecutive podium finishes.

The race will see two driver line-up changes: only Manuel Espirito Santo and&nbsp;Enzo Fittipaldi will take the wheel of CLX Motorsport&#39;s&nbsp;#47 ORECA, and&nbsp;Benjamin Pedersen is set to replace&nbsp;Francesco Simonazzi in Duqueine Team&#39;s #30 ORECA.

<h2>Everything Still on the line&nbsp;in LMP2 Pro-Am</h2>

AO by TF&#39;s victory at the&nbsp;4 Hours of Imola has reignited the title fight&nbsp;in LMP2&nbsp;Pro-Am. The American team and drivers PJ Hyett/Dane Cameron/Louis Del&eacute;traz hold&nbsp;the top spot in the classification with 48 points, but, it&#39;s neck and neck: Proton Competition&#39;s #77 ORECA driven by&nbsp;Roda/Binder/Viscaal has&nbsp;44 points closely followed by TDS Racing&#39;s #29 ORECA and Algarve Pro Racing&#39;s #20 ORECA.

Defending champions&nbsp;Fran&ccedil;ois Perrodo/Matthieu Vaxivi&egrave;re/Alessio Rovera of the AF Corse team are hoping&nbsp;to make up ground after two races without a podium finish.

<h2>CLX Motorsport Headed For The&nbsp;titLe in LMP3</h2>

After three wins in as many races. the&nbsp;LMP3 category seems all but clinched by CLX Motorsport.&nbsp;Paul Lanch&egrave;re/Adrien Closmenil/Theodor Jensen boast&nbsp;78 points, a staggering&nbsp;45-point advantage on their immediate rivals. Victory in Belgium would earn the Swiss team the 2025&nbsp;title with two races still to go, an unprecedented feat.

Inter Europol Competition&#39;s #88&nbsp;Ligier driven by Douwe Dedecker at his home track is aiming for a positive result as M Racing, Racing Spirit of L&eacute;man and&nbsp;Eurointernationastent are all looking to earn a place on the championship podium.

<h2>Consistency is crucial in LMGT3</h2>

Three constructors have monopolised this season&#39;s&nbsp;wins in the&nbsp;LMGT3 category: Porsche, Ferrari andt Corvette. However, consistency has paid off for Spirit of Race&#39;s #55&nbsp;Ferrari 296 LMGT3 shared by&nbsp;Matt Griffin/Duncan Cameron/David Perel, leading the 2025 standings with&nbsp;39 points.

TF Sport&#39;s #82&nbsp;Corvette Z06 LMGT3.R&nbsp;isn&#39;t far behind with&nbsp;33 points, equal to&nbsp;Iron&nbsp;Dames&#39; #85 shared by&nbsp;Bovy/Gatting/Martin. At her home race, Belgian&nbsp;driver Sarah Bovy will welcome&nbsp;the crowd&#39;s support as she and her teammates look&nbsp;to score a podium finish with the all-female crew.

Among the win contenders, keep an eye on AF Corse&#39;s #51&nbsp;Ferrari as well as&nbsp;Formula Racing and Lilou Wadoux&#39;s #50&nbsp;Porsche&nbsp;(winner at Imola). Also, don&#39;t miss&nbsp;Antares Au in Proton Competition&#39;s #60&nbsp;Porsche&nbsp;alongside former ELMS champions Alessio Picariello and Matteo Cressoni.

The&nbsp;4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps has turned into&nbsp;a key round in this year&#39;s European Le Mans Series. Drivers and teams are&nbsp;looking to earn&nbsp;precious championship points at one of the world&#39;s most legendary circuits this weekend.

The 2025 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps&nbsp;<a href="https://storage.googleapis.com/doc-prod/j5mD6aZYyEA9TdAplT_9dMY-.pdf" target="_blank">entry list</a>.

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ELMS – the 2025 season starts back up with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Earlier this month, Oreca’s south of France workshop was the stage for the successful fire-up of the GMR-001, the Genesis Magma Racing hypercar. This represents a key phase in the South Korean manufacturer’s programme that is expected to lead to a FIA World Endurance Championship entry in 2026. The final construction phase is now underway, ahead of the first track tests in August.

Genesis Magma Racing reached a crucial stage in its Hypercar programme on 9 July, with the first fire-up of the <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/fr/actualites/genesis-magma-racing-devoile-la-livree-de-sa-gmr-001-hypercar-59514" target="_blank">GMR-001</a> at Le Castellet site in the south of France. This landmark step launches the final phase of the development chassis build process carried out at partner Oreca&rsquo;s premises. The maiden track outing is slated for late August and that will in turn signal the start of an intensive testing programme with a view to homologation in time for the 2026 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) season.

<h2>The GMR-001 springs to life</h2>

The initial fire-up was completed smoothly and on time, underlining the efficiency of a schedule that has been planned for several months. &ldquo;In a project like this, you have certain dates circled and this was one of them,&rdquo; said Genesis Magma Racing Team Principal Cyril Abiteboul. &ldquo;The car fire-up was the GMR-001 coming to life &ndash; a huge step in the story of Genesis Magma Racing. To reach this point on schedule is already a huge achievement and a perfect way to start the next stage of the development process.&rdquo;

The entire powertrain, including the hybrid system, was tested on this occasion. Engineers ran the engine through its full rev range in each of the seven gears while testing battery recharging from the engine and the transfer of energy to the rear driveshafts &ndash; the set-up that will be used on the track.

Development work on the powertrain began in June 2024. It is based on an engine designed initially for the FIA World Rally Championship (WRC). It was first fired up in February 2025 and has since undergone several bench tests to bring it up to the expected performance levels. Its successful integration into the chassis paves the way to the next phase of full-scale testing, starting with the first track run planned for late August.

<h2>Teamwork involving Genesis Magma Racing, Hyundai Motorsport and Oreca</h2>

Work on building the GMR-001 chassis began immediately after the 2025 24 Hours of Le Mans. It is conducted by Oreca, with engineers from Genesis Magma Racing and Hyundai Motorsport involved at key stages.&nbsp;Close three-way collaboration has been vital in ensuring that the tight development schedule required to be on the grid in 2026 is not derailed.

&ldquo;The car build has been about bringing everything together &ndash; all the expertise we have within Genesis Magma Racing and at ORECA,&rdquo; said Genesis Magma Racing Technical Director Fran&ccedil;ois-Xavier Demaison. &ldquo;It&rsquo;s now when we can start physically connecting all the different strands of development work that we&rsquo;ve been following for the last year with our Powertrain and Design teams. The successful GMR-001 fire-up is confirmation of our work so far, but also the start of the next stage of the development that comes with testing.&rdquo;

<h2>Now for track testing</h2>

The final construction phase is now in progress. Once finalised, this development chassis will be rolled onto the test track before additional chassis builds are produced to ramp up the technical validation process. The target is to prepare the GMR-001 for homologation for its d&eacute;but FIA WEC season&hellip; with Genesis Magma Racing&rsquo;s sights firmly set on <a href="https://www.24h-lemans.com/en/news/the-94th-24-hours-of-le-mans-will-take-place-from-10-14-june-2026-59796" target="_blank">the 2026 24 Hours of Le Mans</a>.

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Genesis fires up the GMR-001 for the first time

24 Heures du Mans 2020

The American driver Dwight Merriman is out of the race after sustaining a back injury when his car came off the track during yesterday&rsquo;s second practice session. It&rsquo;s not the end of the road for the #17 Oreca 07- Gibson though, as Idec Sport are drafting in an illustrious replacement. Porsche factory driver Patrick Pilet will step in to help the French team out for this weekend&rsquo;s race at Le Mans. It will be the French driver&rsquo;s first time in a prototype!

24H LE MANS

Patrick Pilet steps in to replace Dwight Merriman at the last minute

Related News

The BMW M Hybrid V8's new aerodynamics for 2026

Victory for VDS Panis Racing in drama filled 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

ELMS – the 2025 season starts back up with the 4 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps

Genesis fires up the GMR-001 for the first time

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