Augusto Farfus: The BMW M8 leaves no room for compromise

2018 will see Augusto Farfus continue outings in his BMW M4 DTM but also in the new M8 GTE, which debuted in IMSA last January at the 24 Hours of Daytona.

An event which certainly did not favor the German GTs, with in particular a Balance of Performance considered unfavorable in the Munich clan, but which showed the reliability of the latest addition to the Motorsport department, with the two examples at the 'arrival.

Associated with BMW for many years, Farfus thus has serious points of comparison with the German brand's former competition cars. For the Brazilian, the M8 marks a step forward, especially compared to the M6.

“After the M3 GT2, BMW designed two GT3s (Z4 and M6) which were converted to GTLM or GTE, whatever you want to call them, explains Farfus. This M8 GTE is therefore more similar to the M3 with which we came to the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2010 and 2011 than the two models mentioned above.

Like the M3 GT2, it was designed by BMW with the sole purpose of being a GTE and therefore leaves no room for compromise. When a group of engineers starts working on a car which will be used by the factory and which meets specific regulations, their philosophy is necessarily different from that which is theirs when designing a car intended for teams. private.

Compared to its ancestors, the M8 GTE is a real racing car, it is not a “GT3 plus”. There is less roll, fewer superfluous elements intended to facilitate the work of customer teams, etc. It clearly corresponds more to what I like and my style.

It reminds me of the old M3. And to a certain extent also the DTM, because we have significant adjustment ranges. There is still a lot of work to do, but we are moving in the right direction. »

Augusto Farfus will also make his return to the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he distinguished himself during his last appearance in 2011 with pole position.

Find the full interview with Augusto Farfus, in issue 2152 of AUTOhebdo, always available in digital version and on newsstands.