The brand-new BMW M4 GT3 EVO could not have wished for a better start to its FIA World Endurance Championship life, as Team WRT's #69 crew of Dan Harper, Parker Thompson and Anthony McIntosh won the LMGT3 class at the 6 Hours of Imola.
The debut victory came at one of the most atmospheric venues on the calendar, with crowds estimated at close to 92,000 lining the banks around the Enzo e Dino Ferrari circuit — a backdrop that made the BMW success sweeter still for a team principal well used to Italian pressure.
Harper, for his part, was almost disbelieving at how quickly everything had come together.
"For it to happen in the very first race is incredible," he said, crediting the team's strategic calls throughout the race.
Thompson, a full-time arrival in the WEC for 2026, was equally buoyant after his maiden outing in the German marque's endurance racer.
"Victory on my debut with Team WRT and the BMW M4 GT3 EVO in the FIA WEC. This is an incredible day!" Thompson said.
It was a weekend of mixed fortunes at the top of the grid for BMW M Motorsport. While the LMGT3 entry converted strong pace into a trophy, the BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercars finished fifth with the #20 car and seventh with the #15 — a step forward on reliability from the start of 2025, but a notch short of the podium the Munich manufacturer had targeted on one of Europe's highest-profile endurance stages.
Team principal Vincent Vosse, who has overseen the WRT programme across its BMW era, acknowledged the split.
"Fifth and seventh place with our two Hypercars are strong results. Of course, we would have preferred to be on the podium," Vosse said, pointedly shifting attention to the headline number: the LMGT3 class cup.
The win gives BMW a commanding start to the 2026 LMGT3 battle, a class in which Ferrari, Porsche, Lexus, Aston Martin, McLaren, Chevrolet and Ford are all making serious long-term programme commitments. A debut victory for the M4 GT3 EVO at a circuit this well-attended, against that level of opposition, is a statement of intent well beyond the points tally it earned the crew on Sunday evening.
The WEC circus now has three weeks before the Spa-Francorchamps round, the traditional dress rehearsal for Le Mans. BMW arrives there as a team that already knows how to win in 2026 — a useful psychological weapon as Europe's endurance summer builds toward its June climax.
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*Originally published on [Motorsports](https://motorsports.global/article/bmw-m4-gt3-imola-lmgt3-debut-2026). Visit for full coverage.*