WRT set to expand on WEC and replace RLL as BMW’s IMSA team in 2026

The Belgian WRT team is in the running to expand its programme with the BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh into the IMSA SportsCar Championship next season. 

BMW’s representative in the World Endurance Championship has revealed that it is in negotiation to take over Rahal Letterman Lanigan’s IMSA programme, after the German manufacturer opted against renewing its partnership with the US operation. 

“I think BMW is talking to different teams and we are one of them,” said WRT boss Vincent Vosse. “I have always been interested to race in IMSA when an opportunity is coming.”

Asked if WRT could put the necessary structure in place to run a GTP campaign in 2026, Vosse replied: “We could do it for next year if the opportunity is coming.”

BMW is yet to elaborate on its IMSA plans for what would be the fourth season for the M Hybrid in North America. All that is confirmed is that it is ending a relationship which started in 2009 with the team of three-time CART champion Bobby Rahal.

A brief statement from BWM read: “We confirm that we have decided not to extend our contract with BMW M Team RLL for the GTP programme. 

“At the moment we are not at the point where we are able to announce our 2026 programme, because we are still in the process of defining it. We will make an announcement in due course.”

The decision to drop Rahal, which has only won twice in two-and-a-half seasons with the M Hybrid, comes against a backdrop of rumours that BMW could downscale or even axe its GTP programme.

But BMW M Motorsport boss Andreas Roos stressed at the Le Mans 24 Hours WEC round in June that the marque remains committed to racing in the top class of the IMSA series.

“Clearly we want to continue in IMSA and at the moment there is no reason why we wouldn’t continue there,” he said. 

He stressed that nothing should be read into its failure to announce a firm programme and that it was going through the “normal processes”. 

BMW has already brought its twin LMDh programmes closer together for 2025 with the placement of WEC regulars Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde at Rahal for the full season. 

#24 BMW M Team RLL BMW M Hybrid V8: Philipp Eng, Dries Vanthoor

Photo by: Jake Galstad / Lumen via Getty Images

Roos stated on the announcement of its 2025 line-ups: “The goal is to intensify the development of the BMW M Hybrid V8 in collaboration with the specialists at the teams and at BMW M Motorsport.” 

He added that having two of the drivers racing in both arenas would “improve the exchange of information”.

WRT’s previous IMSA appearances came at the Daytona 24 Hours in 2019 and 2020 when it finished third in GT Daytona fielding an Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo in conjunction with Canadian entrant Speedstar Motorsports.

Rahal’s relationship with BMW stretches back to 2009 and a campaign with the M3 GT2 in the American Le Mans Series.

The partnership straddled a further four models – the Z4 GTE, M6 GTLM, M8 GTE and M4 GT3 – prior to the move up to the prototype ranks with the M Hybrid. 

BMW stated that it is in talks with Rahal over other projects, which are understood to include looking after its heritage fleet of racing cars.