A third title for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in GT World Challenge Europe, the 40th in the history of WRT! 16.11.2020: The GT World Challenge Europe lived a spectacular epilogue at Le Castellet this weekend on the occasion of the 1000 Km of the Circuit Paul Ricard. And the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was a major player in this 6-hour race conducted with a single neutraliza

The GT World Challenge Europe lived a spectacular epilogue at Le Castellet this weekend on the occasion of the 1000 Km of the Circuit Paul Ricard. And the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was a major player in this 6-hour race conducted with a single neutralization and extremely small gaps between the best teams and the best GT3 drivers in Europe.
 


Excellent fourth and the best placed Audi on the starting grid for this Endurance Cup final, Christopher Mies was sent into a spin from the first corner, falling back to 19th place after a full 360°. But the German led the Audi R8 LMS #32 to the limit for the first two hours to move up the standings and hand over the wheel to his Belgian team-mates, Charles Weerts and Dries Vanthoor. After 6 hours of racing, the Audi in Skechers' colors passed the chequered flag in 4th place, 14 seconds behind the winners. In his final sprint, Dries Vanthoor was only 5 seconds behind the podium and set the fastest lap in the race.
 
 
 
This fourth place allows the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to win the Teams ranking in the GT World Challenge Europe Overall, the competition comprising both the Sprint Cup and the Endurance Cup. After winning the Teams and Drivers titles (with Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts) in the Sprint Cup, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT adds a third crown to its 2020 harvest.
 


"By placing fourth on the starting grid, we proved that we had a good rhythm right from the qualifying session," explained Charles Weerts. "We had a good race and overall we can be proud of ourselves. We could have fought for the podium without that contact in the first corner - with the spin that followed - and even for the Overall Drivers' Championship crown. But overall it was a great last race and a great season. »
 


Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts came very close to completing their Sprint Cup title with the Overall championship title. "Everybody saw the start with the contact that Chris suffered," says official Audi Sport driver Dries Vanthoor. "But he came back up very quickly, we had a great car and the rhythm was there. I gave my all in my stint to get the podium, but I missed out on a few laps. »
 
 
 
After a severe 10-second penalty for a contact that did not generate any advantage, the #31 "Bio Circle" of Rolf Ineichen, Kelvin van der Linde and Mirko Bortolotti finished in 5th place, confirming the good form of the Belgian team.
 

Engaged in Silver Cup, the #33 of Benjamin Goethe, Stuart Hall and Rik Breukers aimed at the podium in the category for a long time, even occupying the second place. But the trio lost some time in the middle of the race, especially during a very short shower. The third 'Belgian' Audi R8 LMS was therefore 19th, the fourth of the Silver Cup crews.
 


"It's great to win another title, the third in GT World Challenge Europe this year and the 40th in our history," smiled Vincent Vosse, team principal. "The Overall Teams Championship is one of the most representative because it rewards the work of the whole team throughout the season, both in Sprint and Endurance. I am proud of the result, but even more of the extraordinary work of all our team and its drivers.


We've performed very well here, getting ahead of the other Audi teams in a race that never lets up. It's a pity that there were these incidents during the first few laps - which were not sanctioned - because we could have done even better. But that doesn't change my point of view.



Clearly, we pay at the end of the season for the points we didn't score in Spa, but we can't change that. I would like to conclude by thanking and congratulating all the SRO teams for their efforts this year and for bringing the 2020 season to a successful conclusion in the extremely difficult conditions we are experiencing. »
 


Team WRT thus finishes a real tour de force having competed in no less than 25 events in just 17 weekends with races in GT World Challenge Europe, DTM, ADAC GT Masters and the Intercontinental GT Challenge. But knowing Vincent Vosse and his entourage, it's not certain that 2020 is over!
 
 

Vincent Vosse, transl. deepl  - photos SRO