BMW V12 LMR - 1999

The first version of the BMW V12 LM was built using the engine which had made the McLaren F1 so successful. But unlike the latter and its most credible rivals (such as the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM and Porsche 911 GT1-98), the BMW is not a GT1, but rather an LMP1 prototype. For its production, BMW turned to Williams, with whom it had a collaborative agreement to access Formula 1 from 2000 onwards. This British factory developed a car with some attractive basic features, but with a few flaws, so its debut at the 1998 24 Hours of Le Mans was a semi-disaster, with both cars dropping out after just a few dozen laps. However, despite this setback, the partners gathered valuable experience for the following year and prepared the V12 LMR, a car that had been almost completely redesigned, especially in terms of its bodywork, and which rewarded their efforts. Taking part in the American Le Mans Series, the car started by winning the 12 Hours of Sebring with J.J. Lehto, Tom Kristensen and Jörg Müller, while the second car, driven by Yannick Dalmas, Pierluigi Martini and Joachim Winkelhock, was forced to retire following an accident.

In May, during the Le Mans test sessions which assessed qualifying positions ahead of the June race, BMW entered three cars which finished 4th, 7th and 24th. Two months later, during the 24 Hours, the two BMW V12 LMRs secured the 3rd and 6th places on the grid during qualifying. In the meantime, the GT1 category was discontinued because the cars, thanks to very permissive regulations, were more like prototypes than the street-legal models they were intended to be based on. As a result, the ACO created the LMGTP category for closed-body cars derived from GT1 models. Initially, these cars proved to be the fastest, especially the Toyota GT-One, claiming pole position. Its direct rival, the Mercedes-Benz CLK LM, experienced serious aerodynamic problems and, following a series of frightful take-offs during qualifying and at the start of the race, fortunately leaving the drivers unharmed, the team opted to withdraw. Victory was therefore limited to a duel between BMW and Toyota, which seemed to be turning in BMW's favour before it encountered technical problems. A few hours before the finish, Kristensen, Lehto and Müller's V12 LMR had to retire due to an accident; the second car, now in the lead, had to withstand attacks from the Toyota driven by Ukyo Katayama, who was gaining seconds lap after lap. In the final stages, the two teams battled it out for the win, but while BMW opted to put their fastest driver, Pierluigi Martini, in charge, Toyota chose to reduce the length of their pit stops by eliminating wheel changes. That decision proved fatal, as tyre wear, with one of them exploding a few laps from the finish, prevented Katayama from continuing his recovery on Martini's V12 LMR, and condemned him to second place.