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WRT Press Release
After winning the Driver and Team titles in the Blancpain Endurance Series, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is ready to start an even more international 2012 season. On top of defending its titles in the continental endurance series, the Belgian squad will represent the Ingolstadt manufacturer in the FIA World GT1 Championship. Finally, it will attempt to reconfirm its successes in the 24 Hours of Spa and Zolder, while aiming at conquering Audi's first win at the Nurburgring 24 Hours.
In only two years, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has experienced an extremely steady raise. After helping Greg Franchi and Anthony Kumpen conquering the Driver title in the Belcar at the end of its first year of existence, the team managed by Vincent Vosse, Rene´ Verbist and Yves Weerts has won last year the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the Team and Driver titles (again with Greg Franchi) in the Blancpain Endurance Series. These achievements have further strengthened the bonds between Audi Sport and the Belgian squad, which aims at having again the four rings shine in 2012.
FIA GT1 World Championship : « A significant challenge »
This year, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will step up its efforts and compete in the new FIA GT1 World Championship, now featuring GT3 cars, with two Audis R8 LMS ultra. "The challenge ahead of us is significantly bigger than anything we have known in our first two seasons", acknowledges Team Manager Vincent Vosse. "We know what a World Championship means as a sports programme. Logistically, it also represents another dimension, but I am confident we can make it. This winter, we have taken time to reflect and analyse the functioning of our team. We have been focusing on the areas where we can further improve, such as logistics, the way we prepare the races, the team's organization... We have also strengthened the relations among all team members, including drivers, by organizing a constructive team-building exercise."
Let's talk about drivers, precisely. For the World Championship campaign, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has managed to perfectly mix youth and experience. Having played a key role in the development of the Audi R8 LMS ultra, Germany's Frank Stippler (soon a 37-year-old) will be partnering with Briton Oliver Jarvis (28), who will also be driving for Audi in the World Endurance Championship. At the wheel of the other car, the Monegasque Ste´phane Ortelli (42) will be able to share all his racing know-how with the youngest driver in the team, Belgium's Laurens Vanthoor (21), who comes straight from the Formula 3 Euro Series.
"We have an excellent poker of drivers", says a cheerful Vincent Vosse. "But it is difficult to set a precise objective for ourselves. We will have to deal with a number of unknown variables, as the new Audi R8 LMS ultra and the Pirelli tires. We'll therefore rely a lot on the experience of our drivers and on team spirit to climb as high as possible in the rankings."
Blancpain Endurance Series : « Reconfirm the titles »
The approach will be logically different in the Blancpain Endurance Series. "After winning the 24 Hours of Spa and the two titles, we cannot aim at less than doing as well as last year", says Vincent with a smile, "To that end, we have elaborated to top driver line-ups."
Besides his programme in the World Championship and in the French GT Tour (where WRT defends de colours of Audi France), Stephane Ortelli will also take part in the Blancpain Endurance Series. He will be associated with the former FIA GT3 Europe champions Christopher Mies (22) and Christopher Haase (24), both from Germany. Also Laurens Vanthoor will compete in the two series, but he will have different team mates in the Blancpain, as he will be associated with Italy's Marco Bonanomi (27 and an Audi Sport driver), to be replaced at Silverstone by Andrea Piccini, and Sweden's Edward Sandstrom (33).
Three 24 Hours in 2012
These two main campaigns will clearly form the skeleton of the 2012 racing programme of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. Still, there will be two additional 24-hour races in the agenda, on top of the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, already part of Blancpain Endurance Series calendar.
End of May, the Belgian team will enter one Audi R8 LMS in the "green hell", at the famous 24 Hours of the Nu¨rburgring. "For this race, we will have a trio of drivers that we know well: Edward Sandstro¨m, Andrea Piccini and Oliver Jarvis", confirms Vincent Vosse. "Following the Ring and the Spa 24 Hours end of July, we will defend our crown at the 24 Hours of Zolder, the other day-long race in Belgium. For that commitment, we still have to designate our drivers."
In conclusion, it won't be a restful season for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT! "Everybody in the team is well aware that the third season is of the utmost importance", admits Vincent Vosse, "but nobody is willing to rest on past successes and we all are committed to continue to grow and improve. I am convinced that we are better prepared than last year and we are anxious to be at the first race!"
Photo Credit: Laurent Mercier www.endurance-info.com
