BMW Team MTEK has confirmed that it will not return to the FIA World Endurance Championship for the 2019/2020 season.
The team, which joined the championship with the BMW M8 GTE in 2018, will make their last appearance at next month's 24 Hours of Le Mans.
“We will not compete in WEC going forward," said BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt. "Therefore, the 24 Hours of Le Mans in June will be another highlight for us in drawing to a close – just like in 2018, when we celebrated the successful world premiere of the BMW 8 Series Coupe there."
"But in light of us sharpening our focus as part of our strategy for the future, continuing our WEC involvement in the coming years does not fit with our direction. The global presence of BMW M Motorsport is safeguarded by customer racing and the DTM in Asia and Europe, as well as the IMSA series in North America, even without competing in a world championship."
"We would like to thank BMW Team MTEK for its dedication over recent years and we wish WEC all the best and hope that it makes good progress.”
With one round in the championship remaining, BMW remains the only manufacturer not to have won a race this season, although it did pick up podiums in Fuji and Shanghai.
While BMW's WEC programme will come to a close, the team will continue to partner with Team RLL to field a factory entry in the IMSA Weathertech Sportscar Championship:
“The IMSA series plays a central role for us in North America and is developing well," Marquardt said. "The USA is the most important market for BMW M cars, so it is very fitting to build a direct bridge to our production models there with the BMW M8 GTE.”
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