Kevin Magnussen and BMW Ready for WEC Season Opener at Imola

Kevin Magnussen is looking forward to kicking off the world championship season and returning to Imola, where the Danish BMW factory driver was in contention for a podium finish last year.

After an unexpectedly long winter break, Kevin Magnussen and the rest of BMW M Motorsport are ready for the 2026 edition of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The original season opener was scheduled to take place in Qatar in March but was postponed due to the conflict in the Middle East. As a result, the Italian round has become the opening event of this year’s championship.

Kevin Magnussen will compete in the same line-up as last year and will once again share the #15 BMW M Hybrid V8 with Dries Vanthoor and Raffaele Marciello. However, at Imola it will only be Magnussen and Marciello handling driving duties, as Vanthoor is unavailable due to the IMSA race at Long Beach.

Imola is also a circuit where Kevin Magnussen already has good memories from last season. The former Formula 1 driver started last year’s world championship race and handed over the car in third place, while BMW M Team WRT looked like a strong contender for a podium finish for much of the race. However, a technical issue in the closing stages dropped the team out of podium contention, leaving them to settle for sixth place.

– Imola is a technically tricky circuit where overtaking is difficult, so it is very much about getting the maximum out of qualifying and the opening stints. Last year we had a strong race and were right at the front until we unfortunately ran into a problem and had to settle for sixth place, says Kevin Magnussen.

The factory BMW M Hybrid V8 has already seen action earlier this year, when Magnussen’s team-mates in the sister car secured a podium finish in the 24 Hours of Daytona. Preparations for the world championship opener began earlier this week with the official prologue at Imola, which took place in difficult conditions with cool temperatures, alternating wet and dry weather, and a technical issue on Magnussen’s car. Despite the challenges, BMW M Team WRT gathered valuable data that is now being analysed ahead of race weekend.

– We managed to complete quite a few laps during the prologue – both in wet and dry conditions – and I have the impression that we learned a lot and gathered important information for the weekend. It is still difficult to say exactly where we stand after the test, but Ferrari look quite strong. Apart from them, however, I feel that we are in a good position, adds the Dane.

Magnussen and Marciello will face a strong Hypercar field this weekend, with 16 cars entered for the 2026 season. Alongside the established competition from Ferrari, Cadillac, Toyota, Porsche, Peugeot and Aston Martin, the Korean manufacturer Genesis will also make its debut with a new factory team.

Qualifying for the opening round of the FIA World Endurance Championship at Imola Circuit takes place on Saturday 18 April, while the six-hour race goes green on Sunday 19 April at 13:00. The race can be followed live on FIA WEC TV.