The car stunned at the Nurburgring with first in its class and fifth outright, which led BMW to hint at future appearances for the car.
BMW M Motorsport had declared a top 10 result to be a dream outcome for the M3 Touring prior to the race.
Run by Schubert Motorsport, the driver line-up of Jens Klingmann, Connor De Phillippi, Ugo de Wilde, and Neil Verhagen quickly established the car as a contender in the lead group.
At times, an overall podium finish was in sight, the quartet settled for fifth place, one spot behind the leading outright BMW entry from Rowe Racing.
Originating from an April Fool’s joke in 2025, overwhelming positivity from fans led BMW to build the car in just eight months.
BMW stated its goal was not to create a showpiece, but a car capable of competing at a GT3 level.
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Following the Nurburgring success, BMW said that “the car will appear at selected events in the future.”
Team WRT’s BMW entries have been front-runners in recent years at the Bathurst 12 Hour; whether the Touring project is slated to appear in Australia remains to be seen.
The car could conceivably compete in the invitational class, should plans hatch for the car to venture Down Under.
“First of all, congratulations to everyone at Team Schubert, ROWE Racing, and BMW M Motorsport for their great effort,” said Andreas Roos, head of BMW M Motorsport.
“The 24 Hours is always very tough, but we had an intensive preparation and, as a result, a great race.
“It became clear to us relatively quickly that, unfortunately, we didn’t have the speed this year to fight at the very front.
“That makes the result all the more satisfying – three out of four cars finished in the top ten.
“Our BMW M3 Touring 24H even made it to fifth place. The best car, the #99, finished fourth – just missing the podium, but that’s how it goes sometimes.
“I think we can take away many positives, especially that our Touring project was certainly one of the big fan favourites here at the Ring.
“The car definitely showed that it is a serious competitor and can run at the front.”
Klingmann described the sense of pride in the top five result, and noted the team feels “overjoyed”.
“The 24-hour race at the Nurburgring was the big highlight and the climax of our BMW M3 Touring 24H project,” said Klingmann.
“I think we can all be extremely proud, every single person involved and also the brand, that we got the project started and then finished it successfully.
“We saw that the car was not just an April Fool’s joke in the end, but a competitive vehicle that was consistently in the top five.
“Accordingly, I am very proud of the whole team and BMW M Motorsport. We are very happy with the result – a top ten would have been a dream, and it turned into a top five finish.”
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