BMW has become the first new confirmed manufacturer for Intercontinental GT Challenge, confirming a pair of M6 GT3s for the five-race championship during its end-of-season event on Friday.

Walkenhorst Motorsport will enter one car for the full IGTC season, with another team set to field a second entry.

The as-yet-unannounced team’s car will be driven by August Farfus and Martin Tomczyk at all five races, beginning with February’s Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour.

It comes after Walkenhorst took victory in the Total 24 Hours of Spa in July, the longest race of the IGTC season.

SRO Motorsports Group founder and CEO Stephane Ratel told Sportscar365 last week that as many as eight brands could be seen in IGTC next season, up from the five registered manufacturers in 2018.

BMW has also confirmed a return to the Nürburgring 24 in June, with ROWE Racing one of the teams running cars for the German endurance classic.

ROWE’s N24 lineup is set to include Nicky Catsburg, Connor De Phillippi, John Edwards, Philipp Eng, Jesse Krohn, Marco Wittmann and Nick Yelloly.

In addition, Falken Motorsports and Walkenhorst will field customer entries in the race, while Augusto Farfus, Martin Tomczyk and Timo Scheider will also be part of the brand’s overall lineup.

A return to the FIA GT World Cup is also planned, while no word has been made about the manufacturer’s customer racing plans for the Blancpain GT Series.

ROWE ran a pair of M6 GT3s in the Blancpain GT Endurance Cup last season after running in both the Endurance and Sprint Cups in 2017.

“I am particularly looking forward to the planned global appearances of the BMW M6 GT3 in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and in Macau,” said BMW Motorsport director Jens Marquardt.

“We will also support our many customer teams around the world to the best of our ability, as they strive for success as ambassadors of the BMW brand again in 2019.”