Raffaele Marciello is gaining his first experience in the LMDh this year – The Italian compares the BMW M Hybrid V8 with GT3 cars and Formula 2 cars
After switching from Mercedes-AMG to BMW, Raffaele Marciello is racing in the World Endurance Championship (WEC) this year: The Italian is sharing the BMW M Hybrid V8 with Marco Wittmann and Dries Vanthoor. Marciello gained his first racing experience with the prototype at the season opener in Qatar and at the second round of the season in Imola – and the 29-year-old is delighted!
“It’s really fast”, “It’s a real race car compared to the GT cars. So it’s a challenge, but it’s also fun.” LMDh and GT3 also have a few things in common: “At low speeds, it’s not that different.”
“In the fast sections, you have to take the high speeds with you, but in the end it’s like a big GT car,” reveals the BMW driver. “So if you compare it to a GT3, it’s just faster, so you don’t have to change your driving style that much.”
However, the difference to the Formula 2 car that Marciello was allowed to drive from 2014 to 2017 is huge. “It’s a different car,” says the Italian, drawing an interesting comparison: “It’s like comparing a blonde woman with a brunette. “
BMW “not so different” from Mercedes-AMG
Marciello, who raced in the Mercedes-AMG GT3 for many years, completed his first races in the BMW M4 GT3 this year. “I still have to get used to it,” although the two GT3 cars are similar: “[The BMW] is also a front-engined car, so it’s not that different from the AMG.”
“But of course there is still a lot to do and the teams also need to work on improving the car set-up,” reveals the 29-year-old. “But things are going well.” In the first race at Bathurst, Marciello shared the car with Maxime Martin and MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi