iRacing announced the Porsche and Audi LMP1 cars more or less when they were already being phased out in real racing. Even though those cars are amazing to drive with lots of power and a crazy fast ERS boost, they never became very popular on the service. We've been waiting for a while for the LMP1 replacement to be announced, and iRacing finally announced it today.
The BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh
The BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh is a prototype race car developed to race under the new Le Mans Hypercar regulations. Hypercar essentially replaces the old LMP1 and is the category that's one up from the LMP2 cars. The car features a V8 engine combined with a Motor Generator Unit producing a total of 500 kW. This modern power unit is coupled to a high downforce chassis that will see the car being faster than LMP2 but a good amount slower than the old LMP1 hybrid specification.
BMW will be competing in both the USA-based IMSA Sportscar Championship and the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) in 2024.
iRacing hasn't given an official release date, but we assume it will be available during the first half of next year.
Final thoughts
It's fantastic that iRacing is bringing this car to their service, and we're sure it will be very popular, initially. However, iRacing needs to bring a few more Hypercars to the service with a good balance of performance to make the entire series successful. The are several manufacturers that are either already racing Hypercars or announced Hypercars that could make the transition to iRacing. Toyota, Peugeot and Glickenhaus are currently racing Hypercars in the WEC, and those cars joining the BMW LMDh on iRacing would ensure that the Hypercar category won't quickly die out like the LMP1.
