Second place at Le Mans is a gigantic achievement for BMW

It is hard to believe that after 24 hours of flat-out sprinting, BMW finished just 10.9 seconds off the top spot. Returning to the overall podium at Le Mans for the first time since 1999, the BMW M Team WRT crew pushed the competition until the very last meter of the 13.626km circuit. It was a proper, intense fight that had everyone on the edge of their seats.

René Rast, Robin Frijns, and Sheldon van der Linde had a beautiful rhythm, but the race was a roller coaster. After a safety car intervention wiped out their hard-earned lead six hours from the finish, the team dropped to fourth. However, Frijns pulled off a stunning pass on Sébastien Buemi through the Porsche Curves, clawing back to second and closing the gap to Kamui Kobayashi from 23.3 seconds down to that final 10.9-second deficit.

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal of the Belgian-based squad, called it one of the strongest races they have ever had with the M Hybrid V8. While the drivers feel the sting of coming so close to the win, the sheer progress is undeniable. As Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, put it: "It was a gigantic achievement by everyone."