Raffaele Marciello has officially joined BMW as a factory driver after seven years at Mercedes-AMG, and will likely drive a BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercar next year.
As a prolific GT driver within the recent years, he holds two GT World Challenge Europe titles in addition with two 24 Hours of Spa victories.
Furthermore, he has gained success by winning the last week’s Macau GT World Cup race, all accomplished in Mercedes-AMG GT3 machinery.
He said: “I am very excited to be a BMW M works driver starting from the upcoming season.
“This is a significant step in my career.
“Having been a racing driver for many years, I am immensely proud to be able to compete for BMW M Motorsport in the future.”
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW M Motorsport, added: “I am very pleased to welcome Raffaele Marciello to the BMW M Motorsport family.
“When you have the opportunity to sign a top-caliber driver like him, you must seize it.
“He has consistently demonstrated his prowess for years, particularly in GT cars. But there is much more to him.
“Before his GT career, Raffaele Marciello showcased his class multiple times in open-wheel racing.
“In our view, he brings the perfect all-around package with his versatility to further strengthen our already high-quality roster of works drivers.
“The multitude of racing programmes we will undertake in the coming years with our cars provides diverse deployment opportunities.
“We will announce the specific details of Raffaele Marciello’s racing plans in the coming weeks and months.”
With Mercedes-AMG missing out on a WEC grid slot, in addition to their absence of an endurance prototype programme, Marciello was appealed to BMW’s most recent ventures in sportscar racing.
If and when he does compete in a BMW LMDh in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship or the FIA World Endurance Championship, it will mark a new chapter in his career as a maiden step into top-tier sportscar prototype racing.
