BMW has decided not to apply the updates allowed by 'evo jokers' to its LMDh car before the end of the 2024 World Endurance Championship and IMSA SportsCar Championship seasons. Andreas Roos, BMW's motorsport boss, confirmed this decision before the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The BMW M Hybrid V8, which debuted at the 24 Hours of Daytona in January 2023, has had limited success in IMSA, with only one victory at Watkins Glen. In the WEC, BMW's program with WRT is still new, having expanded to this championship at the beginning of 2024.
All LMDh and LMH manufacturers can use up to five 'evo jokers' for performance improvements. Peugeot has already used one to upgrade its 9X8 LMH in Imola in April, while Porsche was close to upgrading the engine of its 963, which would count as one of its jokers.
Roos noted that there are no immediate plans to use a joker. "We investigate and evaluate areas for improvement, but we haven't identified the need for a joker at this moment," said Roos. BMW is observing how its performance develops in the 24 Hours of Le Mans before making any decisions.
Roos commented on the difficulty of maintaining a precise Balance of Performance (BoP) system if constant updates are introduced. "The BoP should balance the cars, but if everyone uses jokers to develop their cars, it becomes expensive and complicated to adjust the BoP," he explained.
BMW will evaluate if it really needs to use a joker or if there are other ways to equalize performance without relying on these updates. BMW has considered introducing a third car at Le Mans next year, possibly managed by its IMSA partner, Rahal Letterman Lanigan. This strategy has already been used by Porsche and Cadillac to gain a numerical advantage at Le Mans.
Roos highlighted the benefits of having more cars on the grid but stressed that it must be operationally feasible. "It's good to have more cars, but they must be competitive and properly managed," said Roos.
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