BMW could walk back its involvement in the IMSA SportsCar Championship next year to just the 4 long distance races as questions continue over the future of the GTLM class.

The Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing-run M8 GTEs are one of three full-time GTLM participants along with Corvette & Porsche in 2020, but the latter's impending withdrawal at the end of this season has given BMW cause to consider its future in the category too.

Earlier this year, outgoing BMW motorsport boss Jens Marquardt suggested that a two-way battle against just the factory Corvette C8.Rs would not be of interest.

It has now emerged that following the termination of BMW's World Endurance Championship GTE-Pro assault last year; it could also reduce its IMSA commitment to the Daytona 24 Hours, the Sebring 12 Hours, Watkins Glen 6 Hours & 10-hour Petit Le Mans race that make up the Michelin Endurance Cup.
That would leave Corvette as the only GTLM manufacturer committed to the full schedule.

Asked by Autosport about the prospect of BMW contesting just the enduros in 2021, Marquardt said:
"I cannot not rule it out, but obviously it is something we are discussing at the moment with our colleagues in the US.

"As you know COVID has definitely had a fairly big impact on all of us and also on the budgets.
"& we need to see how the set-up is next year, is it just Corvette and us running there or are there other competitors, the overall package, & then make a decision on that.

"I know that Daytona is just around the corner, so we are already in November, end of January is right here.
"But as we all know this year has been shifted by at least two months backwards. I mean, we are still racing in the US, Sebring is still coming up.

"So a lot of the decisions we would have had normally looked into earlier in the year have sort of been postponed and we are still discussing in that respect.
"I would expect in the next three, four weeks we should be clear what exactly the package in the US will look like.

"But for sure we will be at the Roar [Before the 24 Test] and Daytona."
BMW won the 24 race for a second year in a row at the start of the season, but it has only picked up one further win since the campaign restarted during September's six-hour Road Atlanta race.

It heads into this weekend's season-concluding Sebring 12 Hours second in the manufacturers' race behind Corvette, but with the American marquee only needing to start the Florida classic with one of its two cars to put that prize beyond reach.
Corvette pair Jordan Taylor & Antonio Garcia won the drivers' championship with a round to spare last time out at Laguna Seca.

BMW is currently unsure on the scale of its factory IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship program next year, with the Rolex 24 at Daytona so far the only confirmed race for the pair of M8 GTEs according to BMW North America motorsports manager Victor Leleu.

The German manufacturer in partnership with Team RLL has campaigned full-season factory entries in top-level IMSA competition since 2009 although could face a reduced 2021 schedule due to budget cuts stemming from the ongoing China pandemic.

“You have to face an economic reality & have this reality in mind,” Leleu told Endurance-Info.
“Daytona is already tomorrow and we are lagging behind in the planning.
“We are working for 2021 and what I can say is that we will be at the 24 Hours of Daytona with two BMW M8 GTLMs.
“For the rest, we will see.”

While BMW Team RLL will be seeking its third consecutive GTLM class win in the Florida endurance classic,
Leleu said that “different scenarios” are currently at play for the remainder of the season.

“BMW has a long history in the U.S.,” he said. “The country represents the biggest market in the world for the M brand.
“I’ve seen everything about the rest of the program, but there is nothing finalized.

“Different scenarios are on the table. The decision is not just about ‘do or don’t do.'”
Should BMW not commit for a full-season GTLM program, it could leave just C8R Corvette Racing as the only full-time entrant in the class.
A handful of teams, including Scuderia Corsa, however, have been evaluating a potential move from GTD.

Lexus, meanwhile, has denied that it would enter the GTLM ranks with its RC F GT3, despite multiple rumors indicating that it was an option for 2021.
Leleu stressed that manufacturers like BMW have to look at the long-term sustainability of the class, with the prospects of GTLM being replaced by GT3-spec machinery by as early as the 2022 season in the WeatherTech Championship.

“With six cars & three brands, the [class] was holding up,” he said. “Two, it becomes more complicated.
“We will have to look at the aftermath.
“BMW has always been a supporter of GT convergence.
The GT3 category is a global platform with many brands ready to join the premier GT category. In addition, justifying a GTE and GTD program becomes complicated.”

He said having a Pro and Pro-Am class for GTD would be the “easiest solution” moving forward.
“We can see that there are a lot of GT3s in the U.S.,” Leleu said. “To divide the GTD category in half is in my opinion a good idea.
“This would also re-motivate teams that have GT3s.

“The GTD grid also tends to be reduced in IMSA, but also in GT World Challenge America.
On the other hand, we are fully satisfied with the commitment of our customers to GT4 in such a difficult period.”

When asked if LMDh could be in BMW’s vision, Leleu said the manufacturer always had an “eye on everything” that’s happening.
“2021 will already be a year of transition for BMW pending the arrival of the M4 GT3,” he said.
“We hope that it will be an advantage to be the first brand to offer a new GT3 [car].”