By Tarek Ramchani
WRT Belgian Audi Club will represent Audi in the 2012 FIA GT1 World Championship. The Belgian privateer team will field two brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra cars and a very strong driver lineup.
2011 was a mega season for WRT with prestigious championship titles and race victories around Europe and beyond. Their victories include the Spa 24 Hours where the team competed as an Audi factory team. For 2012 the Belgians are moving to the world level, defending the colors of the Audi brand in the prestigious and demanding FIA GT1 World Championship. The SRO series has changed radically this season, with the fall of the GT1 class the championship is now exclusively open for GT3-Spec cars. Audi could not miss the opportunity of competing in this championship armed with an already successful R8 LMS, maybe even the best GT3 cars of all times. WRT may be a very young team, but they are already regarded as one of the finest teams in GT racing worldwide. The time was perfect for this big move.
A big challenge lies ahead for Vincent Vosse's team. For this task, a strong 4 driver lineup has been unveiled. Oliver Jarvis, works Audi driver since 2008 is switching from DTM touring cars to a full season in sportscars, racing both the R8 LMS ultra and the R18 ultra LMP1. Stephane Ortelli is familiar to both WRT and Audi. The Monaco based driver is a great expert of the R8 LMS. He raced last year for WRT in both the Blancpain Endurance Series and the the FFSA French GT Tour (as team Audi France). Frank Stippler, a quattro GmbH contracted driver from Germany has got massive amounts of experience with the R8 LMS, mainly at the Nordschleife. Joining these three Audi top guns is the rookie and youngster, Laurens Vanthoor. He comes from single seater racing and is the only Belgian in the driver squad.
Team WRT will face fierce competition from world class brands and teams. Competitors from BMW with Vita4One Racing, AMG Mercedes-Benz with All-Inkl Racing, Ferrari with AF Corse, Lamborghini with Reiter Engineering and McLaren with the 2011 world champions from Hexis Racing have officially been announced. Porsche and Aston Martin are also set to join the series with announcements very soon. Pirelli will be the exclusive tire supplier for the series. WRT will have to adapt to the Italian rubber after two years of racing with Michelin.
The FIA GT1 World Championship will have ten rounds on the calendar for 2012, with events in Europe, Asia and South America. The season opener is set at Nogaro, April the 8th. Audi and the Belgian Audi Club WRT will be among the strongest competitors, challenging for the World GT crown.
More infos here:
W Racing Team official website
Belgian Audi Club official website
FIA GT1 World Championship official website
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| Audi Sport Team WRT - Spa 24 Hours test day 2011 |
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| Belgian Audi Club WRT - Blancpain Endurance Series 2011 Rd.1 Monza |
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