W Racing Team (WRT) is a
Belgian
Belgian may refer to:
* Something of, or related to, Belgium
* Belgians, people from Belgium or of Belgian descent
* Languages of Belgium, languages spoken in Belgium, such as Dutch, French, and German
*Ancient Belgian language, an extinct languag ...
auto racing
Auto racing (also known as car racing, motor racing, or automobile racing) is a motorsport involving the racing of automobiles for competition.
Auto racing has existed since the invention of the automobile. Races of various sorts were organise ...
team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of
Volkswagen Motorsport
The Volkswagen Motorsport was a works rally team of the German car manufacturer Volkswagen, who competed in the World Rally Championship (WRC) and Dakar Rally.
The team started competing in WRC in 1978 and used different specs of Volkswagen Gol ...
René Verbist, racing driver Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. Since 2010 the team campaigns
Audi R8 LMS
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufact ...
s in several international
sports car
A sports car is a car designed with an emphasis on dynamic performance, such as handling, acceleration, top speed, the thrill of driving and racing capability. Sports cars originated in Europe in the early 1900s and are currently produced by ...
series. In 2010 the team won the
Belcar
The Belgian Racing Car Championship (formerly Belcar Endurance Championship or Belgian GT Championship) is a national sports car racing championship primarily in Belgium
Belgium, ; french: Belgique ; german: Belgien officially the Kingdom ...
Drivers' and Teams' Championships, while in 2011 they won the
Spa 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies.
History
The Spa 24 Hours was ...
.
After winning multiple titles in various GT championships, WRT is considered to be one of the best teams worldwide in GT racing. In 2019 WRT added the highly competitive
DTM championship to their program running two Audi RS5 Turbo DTMs. In 2021 WRT added a full time LMP2 program, by entering an
Oreca 07
The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayto ...
in both the
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
and
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
, and won the
LMP2
A Le Mans Prototype (LMP) is the type of sports prototype race car used in the 24 Hours of Le Mans, FIA World Endurance Championship, IMSA SportsCar Championship, European Le Mans Series and Asian Le Mans Series. Le Mans Prototypes were create ...
class of the
2021 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''89e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars held between 21 and 22 August 2021, at the ...
.
Racing history
2010-2011: Beginning and early success
![Audi R8 LMS n°32](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/08/Audi_R8_LMS_n%C2%B032.jpg)
Upon the team's founding in late 2009, WRT purchased three
Audi R8 LMS
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufact ...
race cars as part of being the official Belgian Audi motorsport importer. The trio of cars shared duties in 2010 between the national
Belcar Endurance Championship, the French
FFSA GT Championship
The FFSA GT Championship (''Championnat de France FFSA GT'') is a French Grand Touring-style sports car racing series that began in 1997. It is the main event of the ''Championnat de France des Circuits'' (formerly called ''Super Série FFSA'' a ...
(now GT Tour), and the mid-season
Spa 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies.
History
The Spa 24 Hours was ...
. The team had success from the start, finishing on the podium with at least one car in every Belcar race including two wins by
Gregory Franchi
Gregory "Greg" Franchi (born 6 April 1982, in Flémalle) is a Belgian racing driver.
Career
Karting
Franchi began his karting career in 2000, with the 36th place in European Championship Formula A.
Formula Ford
Franchi make debut in his formul ...
and
Anthony Kumpen
Anthony Kumpen (born 3 November 1978) is a Belgian professional racing driver and team manager. Kumpen currently works as the team manager for PK Carsport in the NASCAR Whelen Euro Series. He previously competed full-time in the NASCAR Whelen Euro ...
and a third victory in a ten-hour
endurance race at
Circuit Zolder
The Circuit Zolder, also known as Circuit Terlamen, is an undulating motorsport race track in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium.
History
Built in 1963, Zolder hosted the Formula One Belgian Grand Prix on 10 separate occasions in the 1970s and 1980s, a ...
with François Verbist, Bert Longin, and Bill Bailly. Franchi and Kumpen locked up the Drivers' Championship, while WRT secured the Teams' Championship. Franchi also partnered with Stéphane Lémeret to earn two further podium finishes in FFSA GT. In addition to this program, two
Volkswagen Scirocco
The Volkswagen Scirocco is a three-door, front-engine, front-wheel-drive, sport compact hatchback manufactured and marketed by Volkswagen in two generations from 1974 to 1992 and a third generation from 2008 until 2017. Production ended without a ...
GT24s were purchased for use in the
Belgian Touring Car Series The Belgian Touring Car Series (BTCS) was an endurance touring car racing series based in Belgium. It is organised by Speedworld and sanctioned by the Royal Automobile Club Belgium. The last BTCS season was in 2011.
Race format
Most meetings consis ...
where the team were vice-champions in their category.
Following their first year's success, WRT expanded their program for 2011 by adding the
FIA GT3 European Championship
The FIA GT3 European Championship was a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) and regulated by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It was a championship derived from the international FIA ...
and
Blancpain Endurance Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...
to the schedule for their Audis. Once again success came early as WRT won the second of two races in the first event of the FIA GT3 Championship with Franchi partnering
Enzo Ide
Enzo Ide (born 22 June 1991 in Tielt) is a Belgian racing driver.
Racing career
Ide began his racing career in Belcar, racing a Porsche 997 GT3 for Prospeed Competition, together with Ruben Maes. For 2011 he stepped up to the FIA GT3 European C ...
. Their GT Tour program under the title of Team Audi France with French drivers
David Hallyday
David Hallyday (born David Michael Benjamin Smet; 14 August 1966) is a French singer, songwriter and amateur sports car racer.
Early life
Hallyday was born in Boulogne-Billancourt and is the son of the French singers Johnny Hallyday and Sylvie V ...
and
Stéphane Ortelli
Stéphane Ortelli (born 30 March 1970 in Hyères, Var, France) is a Monégasque professional racing driver with three world championship titles. He has won the 24 Hours of Le Mans race in with Allan McNish and Laurent Aïello and the Spa ...
also earned its first victory for the team at
Dijon-Prenois
Dijon-Prenois is a motor racing circuit located in Prenois, near Dijon, France. The undulating track is noted for its fast, sweeping bends.
Opened in 1972, Dijon-Prenois hosted the Formula One French Grand Prix five times, and the Swiss Grand Pr ...
. In July WRT won the
Spa 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies.
History
The Spa 24 Hours was ...
in only their second attempt, with Franchi sharing the drive with factory Audi drivers
Timo Scheider
Timo Scheider (born 10 November 1978 in Lahnstein) is a German racing driver who competes in the FIA World Rallycross Championship for Münnich Motorsport. He won the DTM title in 2008 and 2009.
Career
Karting
Like most other drivers, Scheider ...
and
Mattias Ekström
Mattias Ekström (born 14 July 1978 in Falun, Sweden) is a racing driver from Sweden. He competed in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters for Audi from 2001 until his retirement in 2018, and has been competing in the FIA World Rallycross Championship ...
.
2012-2018: Further expansion with Audi
![Will Stevens Audi R8 LMS](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/c/ca/Will_Stevens_Audi_R8_LMS.jpg)
WRT announced further expansion of their program in 2012 with accepted entries in the
FIA GT World Championship as the representatives of Audi.
They went on to finish third in the Teams standings, winning three races on the way. In 2013 WRT won both the Teams' and Drivers' Championship of the newly named
FIA GT Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by Amazon Web Services, AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel ...
.
In 2014 WRT competed both in the
Blancpain Endurance Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...
and
Blancpain Sprint Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) ...
, successor of the FIA GT Series. They won both the Teams' and Drivers' Championship in the
Blancpain GT Series
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's G ...
as well as in the Blancpain Endurance Series. They also won the Teams' Championship in the Blancpain Sprint Series. In July 2014 they added a second win in the
Spa 24 Hours
The 24 Hours of Spa is an Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance racing event for cars held annually since 1924 at the Circuit de Spa-Francorchamps, Stavelot, Belgium. It is currently sponsored by TotalEnergies.
History
The Spa 24 Hours was ...
with
Laurens Vanthoor
Laurens Vanthoor (; born 8 May 1991) is a Belgium, Belgian professional racing driver currently racing for Porsche in motorsport, Porsche Motorsport as a Factory-backed, factory driver in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship. He currently ...
,
René Rast
René Rast (born 26 October 1986 in Minden) is a German professional racing driver and the 2017, 2019 and 2020 DTM champion. He previously drove for Audi Sport Abt Schaeffler in Formula E from 2019 to 2021 before Audi left the sport at the end o ...
and
Markus Winkelhock
Markus Winkelhock (born 13 June 1980) is a German professional racing driver. He is the son of Manfred Winkelhock and nephew of Joachim Winkelhock, both of whom were Formula One drivers in the 1980s. During his brief Formula One career he led the ...
at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS. In 2015 they again won both Teams' and Drivers' championships in the Blancpain GT Series. They were also crowned Teams' Champions in the Sprint and Endurance Series. In May 2015 WRT achieved another major success by winning the
24 Hours of Nürburgring
4 (four) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 3 and preceding 5. It is the smallest semiprime and composite number, and is considered unlucky in many East Asian cultures.
In mathematics
Four is the smallest c ...
with the new version of the
Audi R8 LMS (GT3).
In 2016, WRT made their debut in
Touring car racing
Touring car racing is a motorsport road racing competition with heavily modified road-going cars. It has both similarities to and significant differences from stock car racing, which is popular in the United States.
While the cars do not move ...
, running pair of Volkswagen Golfs in the
TCR International Series
The TCR International Series was an international touring car championship. The championship was promoted by World Sporting Consulting (WSC), founded by former World Touring Car Championship manager Marcello Lotti. It was marketed as a cost-eff ...
under the Leopard Racing badge. Driving for the team were
Stefano Comini
Stefano Comini (born 3 February 1990) is a Swiss racing driver.
Career
Karting
Comini debuted in karting in 2002, racing mostly in Italian and Swiss championships, taking titles in the Bridgestone Cup Switzerland ICA in 2004 and 2005 respectiv ...
and
Jean-Karl Vernay
Jean-Karl "J. K." Vernay (born 31 October 1987) is a French professional racing driver. He was 2010 Indy Lights and 2017 TCR International Series champion. He has won races at the World Touring Car Cup, where he finished fifth in 2018 and won the ...
. WRT also made their debut in the
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
running a
Ligier JS P2
The Ligier JS P2 is a racing car designed and built by French manufacturer Onroak Automotive and named in partnership with French former racing driver Guy Ligier. Designed for the Le Mans Prototype 2 (LMP2) regulations, it is intended as a secon ...
, but only at the 4 Hours of Spa. They won the TCR International Series Drivers' titles in both 2016 and 2017, with Comini and Vernay respectively. In 2018 and 2019 WRT participated in the
World Touring Car Cup
The FIA World Touring Car Cup (abbreviated to WTCR, referring to the use of TCR regulations) was an international touring car championship promoted by Eurosport Events and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). It ...
fielding a pair of
Audi RS3 LMSs.
2019-2020: Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
![Jonathan Aberdein 2019 DTM Hockenheim (May) FP1](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/49/Jonathan_Aberdein_2019_DTM_Hockenheim_%28May%29_FP1.jpg)
In 2018 WRT won the
Bathurst 12 hour
The Bathurst 12 Hour, currently known as the Liqui Moly Bathurst 12 Hour for sponsorship reasons, is an annual endurance race for GT and production cars held at the Mount Panorama Circuit, in Bathurst, Australia. The race was first held in ...
race with the
Audi R8 LMS (GT3), at their first attempt. On 12 October 2018 WRT announced it would run a pair of
Audi RS5 Turbo DTM
The Audi RS5 Turbo DTM is a Class One Touring Car constructed by the German car manufacturer Audi AG for use in the Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters. The car was an updated version of the previous Audi RS5 DTM that had a naturally aspirated engin ...
s in the
2019 DTM season as a customer team. They later announced
Jonathan Aberdein
Jonathan Aberdein (born 14 February 1998) is a South African racing driver. He currently competes for Jota Sport in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship.
He previously competed in the FIA Formula 3 European Championship with Motopark. He ...
and
Pietro Fittipaldi
Pietro Fittipaldi da Cruz (born 25 June 1996) is a Brazilian-American racing driver, the grandson of two-time Formula One world champion Emerson Fittipaldi and brother of racing driver Enzo Fittipaldi. Fittipaldi is racing in European Le Mans ...
, grandson of double Formula One World Champion
Emerson Fittipaldi
Emerson Fittipaldi (; born 12 December 1946) is a Brazilian former automobile racing driver who won both the Formula One World Championship and the Indianapolis 500 twice each and the CART championship once.
Moving up from Formula Two, Fittip ...
, as their two drivers for the season. Although not scoring a single podium, Aberdein was able to impress with several points scoring positions and finished the season in 10th place as the highest ranked rookie. In August 2019 WRT won the
2019 Suzuka 10 Hours
2019 Super GT season, Suzuka 10 Hours
2019 Intercontinental GT Challenge, Suzuka
2019 in Japanese motorsport, Suzuka ...
, which was the 48th edition of the
Summer Endurance Classic at Suzuka.
At the end of 2019, WRT announced an all new line-up for the
2020 DTM season consisting of
2016 Indy Lights champion
Ed Jones and
FIA Formula 3
The FIA Formula 3 Championship is a third-tier international single-seater racing championship and organised by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The championship launched in 2019 as a feeder series for the FIA Formula 1 W ...
driver
Fabio Scherer
Fabio Luca Scherer (born 13 June 1999) is a racing driver from Switzerland, currently competing in the endurance racing, representing Inter Europol Competition in the FIA World Endurance Championship.
Scherer started his single-seater career ...
. Later WRT announced they would enter a third car for
Ferdinand Habsburg, who had previously been driving for Aston Martin.
Before the season started Jones pulled out of the championship due to travel complications as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic. He was subsequently replaced by
Harrison Newey
Harrison Newey (born 25 July 1998) is a British racing driver and the son of Formula One engineer Adrian Newey. He made his ADAC Formula 4 debut in 2015 with Van Amersfoort Racing. He also competed in the BRDC Formula 4 Championship
The GB ...
, who made his debut in the DTM. Habsburg managed to score his and the teams first podium finish as well as a pole position.
As a result of Audi's exit at the end of the season it was decided that the
Class One formula would be dropped and replaced by GT3 machinery. WRT ultimately decided not to enter the DTM in 2021.
2021-Present: LMP2 Program
![WRT32LM2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/23/WRT32LM2022.jpg)
After exiting the DTM, WRT announced their intention to enter the LMP2 class in the
FIA WEC to prepare for an eventual program in the new
LMDh
An LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) is a type of sports prototype race car that will compete alongside Le Mans Hypercar entries in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. It also competes in the Hypercar cl ...
formula. On January 21 the team officially announced it would enter the FIA WEC with an
Oreca 07
The Oreca 07 is a Le Mans Prototype built by French manufacturer Oreca to meet the 2017 FIA and ACO LMP2 regulations. It made its official race debut in the opening round of the 2017 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, the 24 Hours of Dayto ...
. The drivers will be
Robin Frijns
Robin Frijns (born 7 August 1991) is a Dutch motor racing driver. He is the 2012 Formula Renault 3.5 Series champion, and the first driver to have won the series in his debut season since Robert Kubica in 2005. Frijns is currently competing in Fo ...
,
Ferdinand Habsburg and
Charles Milesi
Charles Milesi (born 4 March 2001) is a French racing driver. He is the son of Patrice Milesi who is also a racing driver.
Career
Early career
After success in karting, Milesi's driving career began in 2017 in Formula Renault. For two years, he ...
. WRT later announced that they would also enter an Oreca 07 in the
ELMS
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...
driven by
Robert Kubica
Robert Józef Kubica (; born 7 December 1984) is a Poles, Polish racing driver, racing and rally driver, rally driver. He was the first and, , the only Polish racing driver to compete in Formula One. Between 2006 and 2009 he drove for the BMW in ...
. He will be joined by
Louis Delétraz
Louis Delétraz (born 22 April 1997) is a Swiss racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship and European Le Mans Series for Prema Orlen Team and in the IMSA SportsCar Championship for Tower Motorsport. He is the 2 ...
and
Yifei Ye. The team once again was successful from the offset and won the first two races of the ELMS championship.
Team WRT decided to enter both cars at the
2021 24 Hours of Le Mans
The 89th 24 Hours of Le Mans (French: ''89e 24 Heures du Mans'') was a 24-hour automobile endurance race for Le Mans Prototype (LMP) and Le Mans Grand Touring Endurance (LMGTE) cars held between 21 and 22 August 2021, at the ...
. After taking the lead during the first half of the race WRT was on course to score a sensational 1-2 finish on its Le Mans debut. However, at the start of the last lap car #41 driven by Yifei Ye came to a stop due to a technical fault and was unable to make the finish, giving the win to the sister car #31 who crossed the finish line just over 7 tenths in front of the chasing Oreca 07 from
Tom Blomqvist
Tom Leonard Blomqvist (born 30 November 1993) is a New Zealand-based, Britain-born Swedish professional racing driver, and BMW Motorsport works driver, currently racing in the 2022 IMSA SportsCar Championship with Meyer Shank Racing. Blomqvist ...
.
![WRT46SPA2022](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/4/44/WRT46SPA2022.jpg)
Adding to their Le Mans victory, Team WRT ended the 2021 season winning both the Drivers' and Teams' titles in the
FIA WEC and
ELMS
Elms are deciduous and semi-deciduous trees comprising the flowering plant genus ''Ulmus'' in the plant family Ulmaceae. They are distributed over most of the Northern Hemisphere, inhabiting the temperate and tropical-montane regions of Nor ...
. This means the team won all possible titles in their debut LMP2 season. Additionally WRT won five out of six possible titles in the GT World Challenge series with their GT operation, rounding off their most successful season to date. In 2022 WRT will expand to two full season entries in the
FIA WEC. WRT also continues to run several
Audi R8 LMS
The Audi R8 is a mid-engine, 2-seater sports car, which uses Audi's trademark quattro permanent all-wheel drive system. It was introduced by the German car manufacturer Audi AG in 2006.
The car is exclusively designed, developed, and manufact ...
in the
GT World Challenge Europe
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's GT ...
and will field a car for
MotoGP
Grand Prix motorcycle racing is the premier class of motorcycle road racing events held on road circuits sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de Motocyclisme (FIM). Independent motorcycle racing events have been held since the start ...
legend
Valentino Rossi
Valentino Rossi (; ; born 16 February 1979) is an Italian former professional motorcycle road racer and nine-time Grand Prix motorcycle racing World Champion. Nicknamed ''The Doctor'', he is widely considered to be one of the greatest motorcyc ...
in 2022. He will team up with Audi Sport factory drivers
Frédéric Vervisch
Frédéric Vervisch ( ; born 10 August 1986 in Kortrijk) is a Belgian racing driver who currently races in the GT World Challenge Europe.
Career
Early career
A winner of numerous karting championships, Vervisch moved to auto racing in 2003 m ...
and
Nico Müller
Nico Müller (born 25 February 1992 in Thun) is a Swiss professional racing driver. He is currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship for Peugeot Sport.
Career
Karting
Müller began his karting career in 2004 and the followi ...
. In January 2022 WRT won the
Dubai 24 Hour
The Dubai 24 Hour Race is both a Sports car racing, sports car and Touring car racing, touring car automobile endurance race held annually at the Dubai Autodrome. It was inaugurated in 2006.
Entrants and participants
As with all races in the 24 ...
for a second time. In the GT World Challenge Europe, the team won the
Sprint Cup Teams' title for the ninth time in ten years while WRT drivers
Dries Vanthoor
Dries Vanthoor (born 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder) is a racing driver from Belgium. He currently competes in the GT World Challenge Europe and ADAC GT Masters for Audi. He is the younger brother of Laurens, and was the winner of the 2018 Ba ...
and
Charles Weerts
Charles Weerts (born 1 March 2001) is a Belgian racing driver who currently competes in the GT World Challenge Europe. On December 8 2022 Weerts was announced as a factory driver for BMW M Motorsport where he'll continue to drive for Team WRT.
...
won the Drivers' title for the third time in a row. This marked the end of an incredibly successful partnership with
Audi Sport across
SRO championships where the team earned several wins and won multiple titles. From 2023 WRT will field several
BMW M4 GT3's. In the FIA WEC, WRT was unable to retain its LMP2 titles despite winning four out of six races due to a bad result at the
24 Hours of Le Mans
The 24 Hours of Le Mans (french: link=no, 24 Heures du Mans) is an endurance-focused Sports car racing, sports car race held annually near the town of Le Mans, France. It is the world's oldest active Endurance racing (motorsport), endurance r ...
where points count double.
2023-Present: Hypercar with BMW
While never officially announced WRT had been chosen by Audi to run their
LMDh
An LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) is a type of sports prototype race car that will compete alongside Le Mans Hypercar entries in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. It also competes in the Hypercar cl ...
program in the 2023 FIA WEC Hypercar class. However, days before the first rollout of the car Audi decided to stop the program, officially stating it was putting it on hold. As a result WRT started looking to other options to enter the Hypercar class in the WEC series. On 2 August 2022 WRT announced it would terminate their 13 years long partnership in GT racing with
Audi Sport. Hours later
BMW Motorsport
BMW M Motorsport (formerly BMW Motorsport) is the division of BMW responsible for motorsport-related activities, including works-run competition programmes in touring car racing, sports car racing, motorcycle racing and Formula E.
The current orga ...
announced that Team WRT would run their factory
LMDh
An LMDh (Le Mans Daytona h) is a type of sports prototype race car that will compete alongside Le Mans Hypercar entries in the Grand Touring Prototype (GTP) class of the IMSA SportsCar Championship from 2023. It also competes in the Hypercar cl ...
program in the FIA WEC. WRT will start extensive testing of the
BMW M Hybrid V8
The BMW M Hybrid V8 is a sports prototype racing car designed by BMW M and built by Dallara. It is designed to the Le Mans Daytona h regulations, and will debut in the 2023 IMSA SportsCar Championship at the season-opening 24 Hours of Daytona. ...
in 2023 before entering the 2024 FIA World Endurance Championship.
In addition to the Hypercar program WRT will also switch to BMW machinery for their GT3 efforts. The team confirmed that they would enter several
BMW M4 GT3's starting from 2023.
Results & Achievements
Notable Victories
* Overall Winner -
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
* Overall Winner -
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
24 Hours of Zolder
* Overall Winner -
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
24 Hours of Zolder
* Overall Winner -
2013
File:2013 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: Edward Snowden becomes internationally famous for leaking classified NSA wiretapping information; Typhoon Haiyan kills over 6,000 in the Philippines and Southeast Asia; The Dhaka garment fact ...
Baku World Challenge
* Overall Winner -
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps
* Overall Winner -
2014
File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wat ...
Baku World Challenge
* Overall Winner -
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
24 Hours of Nürburgring
* Overall Winner -
2015
File:2015 Events Collage new.png, From top left, clockwise: Civil service in remembrance of November 2015 Paris attacks; Germanwings Flight 9525 was purposely crashed into the French Alps; the rubble of residences in Kathmandu following the Apri ...
12 Hours of Sepang
* Overall Winner -
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
24 Hours of Dubai
* Overall Winner -
2016
File:2016 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Bombed-out buildings in Ankara following the 2016 Turkish coup d'état attempt; the impeachment trial of Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff; Damaged houses during the 2016 Nagorno-Karabakh ...
FIA GT World Cup
* Overall Winner -
2018
File:2018 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The 2018 Winter Olympics opening ceremony in PyeongChang, South Korea; Protests erupt following the Assassination of Jamal Khashoggi; March for Our Lives protests take place across the United ...
12 Hours of Bathurst
* Overall Winner -
2019
File:2019 collage v1.png, From top left, clockwise: Hong Kong protests turn to widespread riots and civil disobedience; House of Representatives votes to adopt articles of impeachment against Donald Trump; CRISPR gene editing first used to experim ...
10 Hours of Suzuka
* LMP2 Winner -
2021
File:2021 collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: the James Webb Space Telescope was launched in 2021; Protesters in Yangon, Myanmar following the 2021 Myanmar coup d'état, coup d'état; A civil demonstration against the October–November 2021 ...
24 Hours of Le Mans
* Overall Winner -
2022
File:2022 collage V1.png, Clockwise, from top left: Road junction at Yamato-Saidaiji Station several hours after the assassination of Shinzo Abe; 2022 Sri Lankan protests, Anti-government protest in Sri Lanka in front of the Presidential Secretari ...
24 Hours of Dubai
Main Championship titles
*
Blancpain Endurance Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by SRO Motorsports Gr ...
/
GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup
The GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, formerly for sponsorship reasons the Blancpain Endurance Series from 2011 to 2015 and Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup from 2016 to 2019, is a sports car racing series developed by Stéphane Ratel Org ...
** Overall Teams’ Champion in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
, 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series, 2014, 2015 Blancpain Endurance Series, 2015 and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup, 2021
** Overall Drivers’ Champion in
2011
File:2011 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: a protester partaking in Occupy Wall Street heralds the beginning of the Occupy movement; protests against Libyan dictator Muammar Gaddafi, who was killed that October; a young man celebrate ...
,
2012
File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gather ...
and 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series, 2014
*
FIA GT Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by Amazon Web Services, AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel ...
/
Blancpain Sprint Series
The GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, officially known as Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe Powered by AWS for sponsorship reasons, formerly the FIA GT Series, is a sports car racing series organized by the Stéphane Ratel Organisation (SRO) ...
/ Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup / GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup
** Overall Teams’ Champion in 2013 FIA GT Series, 2013, 2014 Blancpain Sprint Series, 2014, 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series, 2015, 2016 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, 2016, 2017 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, 2017, 2018 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, 2018, 2020 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2020, 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2021 and 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2022
** Overall Drivers’ Champion in 2013 FIA GT Series, 2013, 2016 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, 2016, 2017 Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup, 2017, 2020 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2020, 2021 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2021 and 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, 2022
*
Blancpain GT Series
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's G ...
/
GT World Challenge Europe
GT World Challenge Europe (known as the Blancpain GT Series between 2014 and 2019) is a sports car racing series organised by SRO Motorsports Group. It features grand tourer racing cars modified from production road cars complying with the FIA's GT ...
** Overall Teams’ Champion in 2014 Blancpain GT Series, 2014, 2015 Blancpain GT Series, 2015, 2020 GT World Challenge Europe, 2020 and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe, 2021
** Overall Drivers’ Champion in 2014 Blancpain GT Series, 2014, 2015 Blancpain GT Series, 2015 and 2021 GT World Challenge Europe, 2021
*Andros Trophy
** Overall Teams’ Champion in 2015–16 Andros Trophy, 2015-16 and 2016–17 Andros Trophy, 2016-17
*
European Le Mans Series
The European Le Mans Series (abbreviated as ELMS) is a European sports car racing endurance series inspired by the 24 Hours of Le Mans race and organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO). The European Le Mans Series is similar to the fo ...
** LMP2 Teams’ Champion in 2021 European Le Mans Series, 2021
** LMP2 Drivers’ Champion in 2021 European Le Mans Series, 2021
*
FIA World Endurance Championship
The FIA World Endurance Championship is an auto racing world championship organized by the Automobile Club de l'Ouest (ACO) and sanctioned by the Fédération Internationale de l'Automobile (FIA). The series supersedes the ACO's former Intercont ...
** Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Teams in 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship, 2021
** Endurance Trophy for LMP2 Drivers in 2021 FIA World Endurance Championship, 2021
24 Hours of Le Mans
FIA World Endurance Championship
* Season still in progress
European Le Mans Series
Bathurst 12 Hours results
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters
References
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:W Racing Team
Belgian auto racing teams
Auto racing teams established in 2009
2009 establishments in Belgium
FIA GT1 World Championship teams
International GT Open teams
Blancpain Endurance Series teams
British GT Championship teams
Racecar constructors
WeatherTech SportsCar Championship teams
Super GT teams
ADAC GT Masters teams
Deutsche Tourenwagen Masters teams
TCR International Series teams
FIA World Endurance Championship teams
European Le Mans Series teams
Audi in motorsport
BMW in motorsport
24 Hours of Le Mans teams