“Obviously it’s something I been looking forward to for some time now,” Robin Rrijns says straight away. The driver, born in Maastricht 32 years ago, is getting ready to step up to the premier league of Endurance racing with BMW and the M Hybrid V8, the German manufacturer’s hypercar. For Frijns, this is something of a homecoming, as he was part of the BMW family when he first embarked on his racing career. In 2010, he won the Formula BMW Europe title. In 2024, however, he’ll be facing a very different challenge. “As a driver you always want to be in the top class of motorsport. It's a great feeling knowing that BMW is pushing hard behind the project. It’s a privilege sitting in the car knowing what effort they put in to be there and to be competitive.”

Robin Frijns has had the chance to drive the BMW M8 Hybrid V8 during private testing at Spa-Francorchamps.  Asked whether he’s now getting to grips with the new car, Frijns admits that the switch from LMP2 to Hypercar is a challenge: “The car is quite a bit different from the LMP2 car which I’ve been driving now for 3 years.  The P2 car is small and also lighter than the Hypercars, because of the hybrid system we have. This was something I needed to get used to, especially in the dry. In the wet, I feel really good from the first lap onwards. In the wet, I give it a 10 out of 10!"

Let’s not forget that Frijns has already savoured the joy of a 24 Hours of Le Mans win. In 2021, he triumphed in LMP2 with Team WRT, on his first outing in La Sarthe. He reminisces about that unforgettable experience. “This memory is something which will stick with me for a long time. You will never forget your first time, especially winning Le Mans. We were leading from the night onwards. But it was a big rollercoaster at the end, as we had issues with the air jack in the last 3 hours of the race.  It was stressful.  But we won with, I think, what was the closest margin in an LMP2 finish: only 0.7 seconds.”

As the 2024 FIA WEC season and the 92nd 24 Hours of Le Mans (12-16 June 2024) draw closer, Robin Frijns is feeling confident and keen to tackle these new challenges with the same passion and commitment he brings to the track. Watch this space – his story with BMW at Le Mans and in the WEC is likely to be a gripping one!