A WEEKEND ON THE NORTH SEA WITH THE BLANCPAIN GT AND ON THE ALPS WITH THE TCR EUROPE FOR TEAM WRT

A WEEKEND ON THE NORTH SEA WITH THE BLANCPAIN GT AND ON THE ALPS WITH THE TCR EUROPE FOR TEAM WRT

11/07/2019

It’s another busy racing weekend for Team WRT, with two different commitments in two very different locations: the four Audi R8 LMS of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will be at Zandvoort for the third round of the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe, while the Audi RS 3 LMS and the Volkswagen Gold GTI of Team WRT will be at the Red Bull Ring for the fourth stop of the TCR Europe.

Both Zandvoort, on the shores of the North Sea, and the Red Bull Ring, in the Styrian Alps are busy vacation spots in this period of the year, but WRT crews and drivers aren’t heading there to relax. On the contrary: they aim at the podium in both series, following the very good results in the most recent outings.

Only two weeks after Misano, the GT World Challenge Europe is back, with its third event of the season, at Zandvoort. The sprint competition of the Blancpain GT Series goes from the Adriatic coast to the dunes of the North Sea, bringing the show to the numerous fans and holiday-makers that usually fill the grandstands of the Dutch track.

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT arrives to the neighbouring country re-boosted by the first win of the season conquered at Misano and by the overall performance of the Audi R8 LMS.

The objective is to continue the positive trend in the last race before the Total 24 Hours of Spa. Zandvoort is clearly not an easy track: short, narrow and with some very technical points, it poses a number of challenges, not last, overtaking, and the presence on the track of sand from the dunes when the sea breeze blows.

The excellent news for the Belgian squad is the return of Ezequiel Pérez-Companc, now completely recovered from the consequences of his accident at the Paul Ricard early June. The Argentinean is back alongside Dries Vanthoor in car #1. This also means that the squad fields again its usual four-car entry, with Christopher Mies joining again Charles Weerts in car #2, and the two pairs entered in Silver Cup, Rik Breukers-Oscar Tunjo in car #10 and Shae Davies-Tom Gamble in car #17.

Dries Vanthoor: “It’s always nice to go back to Zandvoort, which has been a popular fixture in the Blancpain calendar for years. It is a circuit I know well and where I already won in GT3. It’s a cool track, with a nice flow of corners. I am happy to see Ezequiel back after his injury and to see him in full shape. The Audi should be competitive there and we’ll go for a strong performance, as always.”

Charles Weerts: “It was very nice taking our first win at Misano, it is a win that made good to the whole team after a quite frustrating beginning of the season. I have never raced at Zandvoort, but I prepared as much as I could. I know it is quite a peculiar track, and rely a lot on the hints that Christopher Mies will give me. It is a faster track than Misano, but I believe that we can be competitive there, if we have the correct top speed. The objective is to go for more solid results and prove that we are definitely back at the fore-front.”

Ezequiel Pérez-Companc: “It’s good to be back after the accident, I see this already as a victory! I look forward to the Zandvoort event, because it is a very nice track, all drivers like it, and I will be very happy to be there and to be again with the team.”

TCR EUROPE

The TCR Europe is back this weekend with its fourth round of the season at the Red Bull Ring, the historic and yet very high-tech track nested in the beautiful and hilly landscape of Styria. After clinching a podium each at Spa-Francorchamps, Santiago Urrutia and Maxime Potty, the two young guns of Team WRT are certainly eager to climb the last ladder and go for a first win, something certainly not easy in such a competitive and well-attended championship.

While both the Audi RS 3 LMS of the Uruguayan and the Volkswagen Golf GTI of the Belgian will run with high compensation weight, the characteristics of the track should suit well both cars. Weather forecasts point to the possibility of sudden showers, which certainly add a variable to be taken into consideration, but which can also turn out to be an opportunity.

Maxime Potty: “After having taken podium finishes at Hockenheim and Spa, my motivation is very strong, also because everything is still possible in the championship. I will have to learn the track at the Red Bull Ring, well, not quite... I have already driven over it many times on my simulator and I have a pretty good idea of what is ahead of me, although nothing can replace the sensations we can actually encounter. The other difficulty will be the extra weight we will take on. On this rather hilly track, this could be a great disadvantage. But only a comparison with our adversaries will tell us the truth. And my goal will be to remain the benchmark for Volkswagen drivers, as has been the case since the beginning of the season”.

Santiago Urrutia: “I really look forward to Red Bull Ring, as it is a track I like a lot and where I have very good memories, from winning in F.Abarth in 2012. That’s a long time ago already… I think the Audi RS 3 LMS should be competitive there, although we will be carrying quite some extra kilos and I also have the 5-places penalty on the grid of Race 1 that I got at Spa. That makes qualifying well even more necessary. The objective is to be in Q2 and continue to score heavy points, avoiding contacts and penalties. If so, we may have a good chance in Race 2…”

Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe – Round 3
Zandvoort, Netherlands, 12-14 July 2019

Timetable (all in local time = CET -1)

Friday 12 July 2019
09:00-10:20 Free Practice 1
13:40-15:00 Free Practice 2
Saturday 13 July 2019

09:30-10:20 Qualifying
14:35-15:35 Race 1

Sunday 14 July 2019
14:15-15:15 Race 2

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT entries (Audi R8 LMS)
# 1 Dries Vanthoor (BE) – Ezequiel Pérez-Companc (AR)
# 2 Charles Weerts (BE) – Christopher Mies (DE)
#10 Rik Breukers (NL) – Oscar Tunjo (CO) Silver Cup
#17 Shae Davies (AU) – Tom Gamble (UK) Silver Cup

TCR Europe – Round 4
Red Bull Ring, Austria, 12-14 July 2019

Timetable (all in local time = CET)

Friday 12 July 2019
13:15-13:45 Free Practice 1
17:35-18:05 Free Practice 2
Saturday 13 July 2019
10:10-10:45 Qualifying Race 1
15:05-15:30 Race 1 (23’ + 1 lap)
Sunday 14 July 2019
11:30-11:55 Race 2 (23’ + 1 lap)

Team WRT entries
#55 Santiago Urrutia (UY) – Audi RS 3 LMS
#88 Maxime Potty (BE) – Volkswagen Golf GTI

Photo: Patrick Hecq Photography