A big name is set to join the squad of drivers at BMW M Motorsport in 2023: René Rast (GER) will be in action at the wheel of BMW M racing cars from next season. A host of opportunities to go racing await the three-time DTM champion and winner of the 24-hour races at Spa-Francorchamps (BEL) and the Nürburgring (GER). Details of which cars, series and individual events Rast will race in will be announced together with the programmes of all other BMW M works drivers.
“I know René Rast very well from my time at Audi and I am delighted that we will work together now at BMW M Motorsport,” says Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport. “René is a very versatile racing driver and a fantastic addition to our squad of drivers. His success speaks for itself. He has immediately been fast in every car he has driven so far. He also has a meticulous approach to his job, which has always impressed me. I am confident that he will be a great help to us in many areas, whether it be racing or developing our cars.”
René Rast was crowned DTM champion in 2017, 2019 and 2020. He won the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps in 2012 and 2014, and the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2014. He also claimed the title in the ADAC GT Masters in the same year. Prior to that, Rast had won many prestigious titles in the major Porsche one-make cups. The 35-year-old has also enjoyed success in LMP1, LMP2 and DPi prototypes, as well as in Formula E. Some of these successes came with Team WRT, with which BMW M Motorsport will be preparing to enter the Hypercar class in the FIA World Endurance Championship from 2023.
This is not the first time that Rast has been a part of the BMW family. In 2003 and 2004, he cut his teeth in Formula BMW. In 2011, he attended tests in the BMW M3 DTM ahead of the return of BMW M Motorsport to the DTM.
“After so many successful years at Audi, I am looking forward to a new challenge,” says Rast. “I followed what has been going on at BMW M Motorsport in the past years and a long time ago, I took my first steps in motor racing in Formula BMW. Returning to BMW now, almost 20 years later, is a great story and a logical step for me.”
Source. BMW
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