Next year, BMW will return to the most famous endurance race in the world, the 24 Hours of Le Mans. But in a way, the marque was already there in 2017: For the first time since 2011, BMW cars took to the track at the endurance classic on the Sarthe river this year. As partner of the race organizer, the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO), BMW provided the official fleet of cars on the race track in Le Mans.
The fleet, headed by the BMW M2 Coupé Safety Car, was in action this past weekend at the 2017 running of the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The fleet of cars consisted of a total of 26 high-performance cars, from safety cars, medical car and extrication cars, to emergency cars for track officials.
ACO President Pierre Fillon told SportsCar365, “The ACO was particularly eager to set up a partnership with BMW. We have great pleasure in announcing that the German manufacturer will be the supplier of the official vehicles used at the Circuit des 24 Heures."
The president referenced BMW's past successes at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, which included an overal win in 1999 with the V12 LMR, "BMW and Le Mans go back a long way and this new partnership is the first step in a long and fruitful relationship.”
