A season of records for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and the Sprint Series kicks-off at Misano

A season of records for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and the Sprint Series kicks-off at Misano

06/04/2016

The long winter break is over! Next weekend will mark the start of the 2016 season of the Blancpain GT Series, and what a season! The world’s top competition for GT cars seems to have reached new heights: the coming in of a new generation of GT cars and the reshuffle of the two Blancpain Series, with five events for both the Sprint and Endurance Series, has led to a record number of entries. There will be no less than 40 cars taking the track at Misano, the Italian circuit close to the Adriatic coast that hosts the season-opener of the Blancpain Sprint Series. It will be a special year also for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, as the squad defending the two overall Blancpain GT titles (Drivers and Teams) and the Team titles in Sprint and Endurance, has also risen its stake, with a line-up bigger than ever, which includes six cars in the Sprint Series and many interesting novelties. Significantly too, 2016 marks the first full-time racing season for the Audi R8 LMS, the new racer by Ingolstadt.

Six cars entered in the Sprint Series under the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT banner means new and renewed driver line-ups. Laurens Vanthoor is now partnering with fellow Belgian Frédéric Vervisch, while the youngest of the Vanthoor brothers, Dries, will make his debut in GT racing alongside reigning champion Robin Frijns. A stellar duo is the one composed of René Rast and former F.1 driver Will Stevens. New-comers include British duo Stuart Leonard-Michael Meadows, which will compete in the Silver Cup, as well as Brazilian pair Rodrigo Baptista-Sérgio Jimenez. Exceptionally, Jimenez cannot attend the Misano round because of other commitments and will be replaced by Portugal’s Filipe Albuquerque. The only driver pair unchanged is the one composed by Enzo Ide and Christopher Mies.

With such a strong line-up, both in quantitative and qualitative terms, Team Principal Vincent Vosse can only be happy and concerned at the same time: “It is clear that entering six cars is a real challenge, but it is also true that it is a pure luxury to be able to rely on such a dream team”, he reckons. Analyzing the season about to start, Vosse reflects: “The first think that has to be noted is the tremendous growth and increasing success of the Blancpain GT Series. SRO, Stéphane Ratel and his team,

should get the credit for this. The other thing that strikes me is that the level has never been so high. This year, you really have about a dozen cars, or maybe more, that can aim at the title. The fact that many new GT models will be on track is also extremely exciting. The competition is going to be fiercer than ever and this will only add merit to whoever will win. We definitely want to be among those who will be fighting for the titles. We have proven that we can do it and we are happy to have the drivers we have with us this year. It is not going to be easy but we will not shy away!”

René Verbist, the Technical Director of the Belgian Audi Club, brings some more insight: “The increased number of our entries in the Blancpain GT Series and in the number of programmes in which Team WRT is involved has led to a complete reorganization of our team”, he explains, “We will work with dedicated teams for each programme and we had to hire many new staff at all levels. We are planning and preparing with the same professional approach we always had in the past, but clearly it is a ‘bigger thing’ and that entails a greater challenge, even more so from a human perspective rather than technical. You never know how new people will perform and cope with pressure, so we need to stay cautious, but I am confident that we have put in place the right structure. We can rely on our experience, on the support of Audi, on team managers like Pierre Dieudonné and Thierry Tassin. We really look forward to a very exciting 2016.”

Misano will be the first real-life test and also a round that will have a special meaning, as it left a bitter taste last year because of Laurens Vanthoor’s accident and injury. The team is certainly seeking a revenge on bad luck, although Laurens himself has put the event completely behind. “It’s the past, I want to look ahead, to the great season that is coming”, says the Belgian, “Everything is ok now, as proven in the successful outings at Sepang, Dubai and Bathurst during the winter, and I spent more time than usual training during the break, both physically and mentally.”

Laurens’ new team mate, Frédéric Vervisch, is no less impatient to get rolling: “I am very excited”, says the 29-year-old from Kortrijk, “Racing full-time with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and alongside Laurens is a fantastic opportunity for me, and this will be the first time in my career that I will be in a position to go for the titles. Although the competition will be stronger than ever, we have everything in our hands to aim at the highest goals.”

In this year of ‘big numbers’, the number of Vanthoors too has … doubled, as Dries, the younger brother of Laurens, will be joining the pinnacle of GT racing. “I feel happy and confident ahead of my debut in GT racing”, says the fearless 17-year-old, “I know it’s incredible to be where I am in what is only my second season of car racing, and I know it is going to be a mega-challenge, but I feel mentally and physically ready. Everybody keeps asking me how I feel being at the same time a team mate and a rival of my brother, but that’s not an issue at all for me, and I thank him for all the support he is giving me. Being paired with Robin Frijns is a real plus: he is very fast, has won every championship he has raced in, and I know him since I was a little kid going to see the kart races where he and Laurens competed…” The elder brother, on his side, stays cool: “I am really curious to see how Dries will perform”, says Laurens, “and hope he won’t be ahead of me! More seriously, I see him as another member of the team and another rival, although I clearly wish him all of the best. The emotional bit is for my parents…”

Another faithful member of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will be once again at the start: Enzo Ide will continue to be associated with Christopher Mies, forming a pair always to be watched for podium positions.

The latest-announced pair of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is certainly not the least interesting: super-fast René Rast is joined by Will Stevens, who was competing in Formula 1 Grand-Prix last year with Manor. “I really look forward to GT racing”, says the Briton, who already gave a good hint of his talent during the winter tests, “I really wanted to do this. The championship looks great and WRT is just a sensational team, with a lot of great drivers to compare with. I will have to learn quickly!”

Action in Misano will start on Friday with free practice, and qualifying will be on Saturday afternoon. As per tradition in the Italian track near the beach, night racing is in the programme, with the Qualifying Race kicking-off at 20:50 on Saturday, while the Main Race is scheduled on Sunday starting 14:15.

Blancpain Sprint Series - Round 1

Misano Adriatico, Italy

8-10 April 2016

Timetable (all times local = CET-1)

Friday 8^th April 2016

14:20-15:00 Free Practice 1 (Silver & Bronze drivers only)

15:00-15:40 Free Practice 1 (all drivers)

20:30-21:50 Free Practice 2

Saturday 9^th April 2016
14:15-14:30 Qualifying 1

14:37-14:52 Qualifying 2

15:00-15:10 Qualifying 3

20:50-21:50 Qualifying Race

Sunday 10^th April April 2016
09:45-10:05 Warm up

14:15-15:15 Main Race

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT entries

#1 Laurens Vanthoor (B) – Frédéric Vervisch (B)

#2 Stuart Leonard (GB) – Michael Meadows (GB) (Silver Cup)

#3 Filipe Albuquerque (P) – Rodrigo Baptista (BR)

#4 Dries Vanthoor (B) – Robin Frijns (NL)

#28 René Rast (D) - Will Stevens (GB)

#33 Christopher Mies (D) - Enzo Ide (B)