This Saturday will mark a pivotal moment for fans of BMW and its racing outfit. That’s because, after four years of successful racing in IMSA-backed competitions, the BMW M8 GTE will be retired. The last race for the BMW M8 GTE will take place at the iconic Petit Le Mans endurance classic at Road Atlanta, in Georgia. It will hopefully be a successful race, so that the M8 GTE can exit with its head up high.

Since 2018, when the GTE model entered IMSA racing events, it managed to pull together a series of very successful runs. BMW Team RLL claimed five wins and a total of 25 podium finishes with the car. The undisputed highlights were the two back-to-back GTLM victories at the 24 Hours of Daytona in 2019 and 2020. They also won the Driver, Team and Manufacturer titles in the GTLM class in last year’s IMSA Michelin Endurance Cup.

For this final race, BMW Team RLL will be running two M8 GTE cars in the 10-hour endurance classic at Petit Le Mans. The #24 car will be co-driven by John Edwards, Jesse Krohn and Augusto Farfus. Their team-mates Connor De Phillippi, Bruno Spengler and Philipp Eng will alternate at the wheel of the #25 BMW M8 GTE. The MOTUL Petit Le Mans is the fourth and final endurance race of the 2021 IMSA season.

“Our racing program with the BMW M8 GTE certainly was a great project for us. Winning the 24 Hours of Daytona not once, but twice has to be the highlight. And to be able to win it two years in a row is a tremendous comment about the BMW M8 GTE. We’ve had a lot of really good races with it. The M8 has been a fabulous car for us to race and it was really well done in terms of the design of it to begin with which I think is why it has been successful. All in all we have to look back fondly at our program history with the BMW M8 GTE and would like to end on a high note with victory at Petit Le Mans.”

The BMW M8 GTE will be replaced by the new BMW M4 GT3. Starting next year, the M4 will take over in every competition where BMW will continue racing. The new model will be on display at the race track this weekend, in the dedicated Fan Zone.