TEAM WRT ANNOUNCES ITS FULL DRIVER LINE-UPS FOR FIA WEC LMP2 TITLES DEFENSE

TEAM WRT ANNOUNCES ITS FULL DRIVER LINE-UPS FOR FIA WEC LMP2 TITLES DEFENSE

31/01/2022

As already announced, Team WRT will defend its 2021 LMP2 Teams’ and Drivers’ titles in the 2022 FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) with two Oreca 07 Gibson. Today, the Belgian squad announced the full driver line-ups for this crucial campaign.

In car #31, Indonesia’s Sean Gelael (25), a close second in LMP2 in both the 2021 FIA WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours, will be associated with Audi Sport drivers Robin Frijns and René Rast.

Dutchman Robin Frijns (30), a former F. Renault 3.5 champion, is still active with single-seaters, in F.E, in parallel with a very successful career with GTs and sportscars. With Team WRT, he has won two Blancpain GT titles (one overall and one Sprint) and will now defend the FIA WEC and Le Mans crowns conquered last year. Germany’s René Rast (35) is a triple DTM champion and a multiple endurance race winner (including the 2014 Spa 24h with Team WRT). He has debuted in LMP2 racing in 2014 and finished 2^nd of the 2016 Le Mans 24 Hours.

In car #41, the one sporting the livery of REALTEAM by WRT, previously announced Rui Andrade (22, from Angola), who won the 2021 Pro-Am title in his maiden ELMS LMP2 season, will have as teammates Ferdinand Habsburg and Norman Nato. The Austrian (24), a former F.3 and DTM racer, comes from a fantastic LMP2 season, having won both the FIA WEC and Asian Le Mans Series titles, on top of clinching the Le Mans 24 Hours. The Frenchman (29) has continued up to F.E a successful single-seater career and has established a name for himself in LMP2 racing since 2018. He previously clinched P2 at Le Mans and P3 in both the FIA WEC and the ELMS. Nato too is not new to Team WRT, having raced with the Belgian squad in the 2019 Blancpain GT Endurance Cup.

Vincent Vosse: “We are delighted to reveal our complete 2022 FIA WEC line-ups and to add such heavy names; all drivers with great CVs, great skills and familiar with the team. We have a challenging task ahead of us, as repeating the success we had in our first FIA WEC campaign, won’t be easy. These strong line-ups will be useful to face the anticipated strong competition, as the game is rising dramatically in the FIA WEC ahead of 2023.”

Robin Frijns: “I really look forward to a 2022 season together with Team WRT. We had great success last year winning the LMP2 title in the FIA WEC and the goal now is to do it all over again. Team WRT became my racing family, we go along very well and I can’t wait to get going. I wish to thank Envision Racing for allowing me to defend my WEC LMP2 title.”

René Rast: “I am very happy to be in the WEC with the champion team. Obviously, I know Team WRT very well and I know how good they are. I look forward to work with them again and with my teammates, Sean and Robin, who are two excellent and fast drivers. Hopefully, we can have great success together and repeat what was achieved by the team last year.”

Ferdinand Habsburg: “If it's working, why change it? WRT became like a second family for me in the past two years, so it was a no-brainer to carry on with them to defend our titles together, and there is no better option to choose than the reigning champions. We set the bar high last year but I know what they are capable of. I am grateful to my sponsors REMUS Sportexhaust and AVL Racing for their continued support, allowing me to do what I love the most at the highest level. I am really excited to share REALTEAM's car with Rui and Norman and can’t wait to get going in Sebring!”

Norman Nato: “I am really pleased to continue REALTEAM's adventure joining WRT for the 2022 FIA WEC season. After such a successful year in 2021 for the team, we will have to push hard to keep this level of performance. The 2022 grid is stronger than ever, I can’t wait to get started!”

Esteban Garcia, owner of REALTEAM Racing: "I know Norman Nato from driving with him in the WEC last year. I like his involvement in making motorsport more sustainable, especially through the Mission H24 hydrogen project. Ferdinand Habsburg is also very involved in sustainability. Supporting such drivers who allow our sport to evolve positively is an obvious choice for REALTEAM Racing. With them and Rui Andrade, we will have a very competitive team and we will live an exciting season with REALTEAM by WRT!"