BACK-TO-BACK VICTORY FOR TEAM WRT AT THE MICHELIN 6 HOURS OF ABU DHABI

BACK-TO-BACK VICTORY FOR TEAM WRT AT THE MICHELIN 6 HOURS OF ABU DHABI

19/01/2025

Abu Dhabi, January 19th, 2025 – Hot on the heels of its triumph in the 24 Hours of Dubai with AlManar Racing, Team WRT, now entered under ‘The Bend Team WRT’ banner, delivered another commanding performance by taking the overall win at the Michelin 6 Hours of Abu Dhabi. The Belgian team proved unstoppable, securing a second consecutive victory with their new BMW M4 GT3 EVO to kickstart the 2025 racing campaign.

RACE HIGHLIGHTS

• New driver line-up shines: Yasser Shahin, Le Mans LMGT3 class winner and GT World Challenge Australia Champion, and Timur Boguslavskiy, multiple Fanatec GT titleholder, made their first appearances with Team WRT this weekend. Together with Charles Weerts, they formed a formidable trio in the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.
• Smooth adaptation and strategy: Despite entering the event for the first time, The Bend Team WRT settled in quickly. A perfect preparation phase paid off, ensuring the drivers and crew were well-practiced in pit stop drills, race strategy, and track nuances.
• Strong pace among 26 GT3 entries: From the opening stint, the #32 machine demonstrated consistent speed against a highly competitive field. The team’s race management and flawlessly executed pit stops kept their rivals at bay throughout the six-hour contest.
• Perfect foundation for upcoming WEC plans: This success not only solidifies Team WRT’s momentum after Dubai but also serves as a strong preparation for the upcoming FIA WEC season, where Shahin and Boguslavskiy will continue to race under ‘The Bend Team WRT’ banner.

The team’s focus now turns to further challenges ahead, starting with the upcoming Bathurst 12 Hour. The driver lineups for this next challenge will be announced in the coming days.

RACE RESULTS

1. Boguslavskiy - Shahin - Weerts ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ 160 laps
2. Borisov - Piana- Stolyarov - Shaytar ​ ​ ​ ​ ​    + 2.111s
3. Gilbert - Ikin - Porter ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​+ 25.587s
4. Buurman - Révész - Schoonderwoerd ​     + 1.07.741s
5. Kroll - Prinz - Prinz - Rumpfkeil ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ ​ + 1.54.293s

Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal Team WRT: "I'm really happy with the result. It's the best way to start a collaboration with Timur and Yasser. A perfect performance from the drivers and the team. We didn’t have the fastest car, but we had a strategy that was different from the competition. We didn’t pit during the 'Code 60' and we aimed to make as few stops as possible. We won with a 2-second lead. It’s a great victory and the best way to start the year. A big congratulations to the whole team, and next up... it’s Bathurst!"

Timur BOGUSLAVSKIY, ​ driver #32:"Our race weekend ended very nicely, with the fantastic bonus of a win! I was quite surprised because our pace was not the fastest in the field. But everyone did an amazing job in the team, the engineers, mechanics and my teammates. I'm very happy to finish the first race with my new team and new car with a victory! It is a great preparation for our WEC season!"

Yasser SHAHIN, driver #32: "It was a great experience overall. ​ We came here to learn and bond as a team ahead of the WEC season with little expectations of an outright result. Credit to the team for giving us a fantastic car and the commitment from everyone to finish with a victory!"

Charles WEERTS, driver #32: “It was a great weekend for us. We didn’t have the outright pace to fight for first place, but our crew was very consistent, we made no mistakes, the race was clean, and the strategy was spot on – a textbook WRT race! A big thanks to the team, Timur and Yasser. Winning the first two races with the new BMW M4 GT3 EVO is a strong statement, especially considering the conditions weren’t entirely in our favour.”