W Racing Team
| Founded | 2009 |
|---|---|
| Team principal(s) |
Vincent Vosse René Verbist Yves Weerts |
| Current series |
FIA GT3 European Championship Blancpain Endurance Series Belcar GT Tour Belgian Touring Car Series TCR International Series (as Leopard Racing) |
| Teams' Championships | 1 (2010 Belcar) |
| Drivers' Championships | 1 (2010 Belcar) |
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W Racing Team, commonly known as WRT, is a Belgian auto racing team founded in 2009 by engineer and former head of Volkswagen Motorsport René Verbist, racing driving Vincent Vosse, and entrepreneur Yves Weerts. The team campaigns Audi R8 LMSs in several national and international sports car series, as well as Volkswagen Scirocco GT24s in the Belgian Touring Car Series. Through their association with the two brands, the team receives major support from the Belgian Audi Club and Belgian Volkswagen Club. In 2010 the team won the Belcar Drivers' and Teams' Championships, while in 2011 they won the Spa 24 Hours.[1]
Racing history
Upon the team's founding in late 2009, WRT purchased three Audi R8 LMS 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 (now GT Tour), and the mid-season Spa 24 Hours. 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 and Anthony Kumpen and a third victory in a ten-hour endurance race at Circuit Zolder 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 GT24s were purchased for use in the Belgian Touring Car Series 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[2] and Blancpain Endurance Series 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. Their GT Tour program under the title of Team Audi France with French drivers David Hallyday and Stéphane Ortelli also earned its first victory for the team at Dijon-Prenois. In July WRT won the Spa 24 Hours in only their second attempt, with Franchi sharing the drive with factory Audi drivers Timo Scheider and Mattias Ekström.[1]
WRT have been announced further expansion of their program in 2012 with accepted entries in the FIA GT World Championship as the representatives of Audi.[3]
In 2016, WRT made their debut in Touring car racing, running pair of Volkswagen Golfs in the TCR International Series under the Leopard Racing badge. Driving for the team were Stefano Comini and Jean-Karl Vernay. WRT also made their debut in the European Le Mans Series running Ligier JS P2, but only in 4 Hours of Spa.
References
- 1 2 "Dominant First Win For Audi at Spa". Blancpain Endurance Series. SRO Group. 2011-07-31. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ↑ "17/03/2011 WRT Step Up to FIA GT3 European Championship in 2011". FIA GT3 European Championship. SRO Group. 2011-03-17. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
- ↑ "Revamped 2012 season plans take shape". FIA GT1 World Championship. SRO Group. 2011-07-30. Retrieved 2011-08-03.
