BMW has revealed that the official safety car for the 2024 MotoGP championship will be the new XM Label Red, its most powerful vehicle but also one of its least track-focused models. Plus, they’ve handed over the keys to another XM Label Red to Francesco Bagnaia, the reigning MotoGP World Champion. With seven pole positions and eight front-row starts in the 2023 season, he’s basically the “Pole King” of MotoGP. For a quarter of a century, BMW has been the “Official Car of the MotoGP,” and for 21 consecutive years, they’ve been handing out shiny new cars to the fastest qualifier in the championship. Bagnaia also won the award last year and joins the likes of Valentino Rossi, Casey Stoner, and Marc Marquez as a multiple-time BMW M Award winner.
Soon after presenting the two-time MotoGP
World Champion with his new whip, BMW introduced the special XM Label Red to be
used as next year’s official safety car. Whereas Bagnaia’s car is painted matte
black with red accents, the safety car has been given a matte grey finish with
red highlights.
Additionally, the M division has fitted it
with the obligatory flashing front lights, a roof bar, a new front splitter, a
fire extinguisher, Recaro seats, and six-point racing harnesses. No
modifications have been made to its powertrain, meaning the 4.4-liter
twin-turbo V8 continues to work alongside an electric motor to produce a
combined 748 hp and 1,000 Nm of torque. It replaces the BMW M2
safety car that was used throughout the 2023 season.
