Mad 4 it

BMW says its M4 GT3 car is a step change improvement over the outgoing M6, and will be proven in competition this year before customers take over for 2022

- ANDREW COTTON

BMW has launched the M4 GT3, a car the Bavarian manufacturer hopes will win major endurance races in customer hands. The all-new challenger is the first to be built under a new rules package created by the FIA to allow for greater freedom of design. However, as the new regulations require BMW to sell 20 of the cars in the first two years in order to retain its homologation, it has been circumspect with the design.

The car replaces the outgoing M6 that was introduced in 2016 and which won the Spa 24 Hours in its first season, and again in 2018. That car had shortcomings, particularly in terms of tyre wear, and it is this feature BMW’s development team has worked particularly hard on in order to prepare the M4 GT3 for customer competition.

The base M4 GT3 is derived from the production car, with the chassis and engine being taken from the production line by the race team, and extensive development has taken place, with tests in Almera, Monteblanco and the Nürburgring in the hands of all the company’s factory drivers. Consequently, it has already developed a reputation as a car to be feared by the opposition, for a number of reasons.

Waiver saver

The length of the development phase is driven in part by a new set of regulations introduced by the FIA to make its life easier. Under the old regulation set, a manufacturer had to apply for waivers to help it reach the performance balancing windows. These were awarded on a discretionary basis by the GT Commission. The Commission nominally had three categories of car for GT3 racing, including Supercar, Sportscar and Grand Tourer, with more waivers allowed for the latter than the former.