The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT pays toll to Nordschleife epics

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

It wasn't to be. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT's race at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, probably the toughest GT race in the world, ended on Monday morning when the Audi R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad suffered an accident after hitting a spot of oil on the track, sustaining heavy damage. Until then, Team WRT had been a win contender and was in fifth position at the moment of the accident. There was frustration among team members and the four drivers (Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Edward Sandström) but also satisfaction for the competitiveness shown throughout the weekend, in what was only the second participation of the Belgian squad in the landmark race on the Eifel track. This year's edition has matched in excess the epics of the Nordschleife, as the race had to be neutralized during the entire night because of heavy rain and fog. Eventually, Audi could not retain the crown, with the best-placed R8 only in fifth, in an edition dominated by the Mercedes SLS.

Following its positive debut in 2012, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was keen to show its potential in this second outing at the 24 Hours and that happened since the first practice sessions. The car proved well-balanced and fast, and was qualified in an excellent 10th position (out of 175 entrants!) by Edward Sandström.

The race started at 5 pm on Sunday and during the first hours, the Belgian R8 stabilized in the top ten, with very short gaps within the front-runners. Options for a big result remained open even a first alert, when the Battlefield4-livered R8 slightly touched the barriers after going into aquaplaning in the rain. The car could be perfectly repaired and re-prepared as the race was red-flagged around 11 pm. The rain had become heavier and heavier, with visibility made poorer by darkness and spots of fog. The situation went on for the entire night, with the race resuming shortly after 8 am on Monday morning.

The pace of the Belgian squad's car was again excellent and the car charged back to 5th, when, shortly before 10 am, it fell victim of an accident in the fast section of Bergwerk. Laurens Vanthoor was at the wheel at that moment and the young Belgian rookie was surprised by a sudden spot of oil, not flagged by the marshals. The car hit the barriers several times and was too heavily-damaged to continue, but luckily, Laurens escaped unscathed.

Team Principal Vincent Vosse was philosophical in wrapping up the experience: "That's the kind of thing that can happen anytime in a race such as the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, and you have to accept it. This year, things were made even more difficult by the apocalyptic weather conditions. It's a pity, because we proved competitive, we were in the top positions and very often the best-placed Audi, but that's racing. Now we are all trying to lift up Laurens' spirits. He feels a little bit miserable at the moment, and any driver would do so in his position, but there is nothing he should be blaming himself for, what happened would have occurred to anyone at the wheel at that moment. I am happy with what we showed, with the great work done by the team and the drivers, and we are going to turn the page and focus on what comes next".

This will be the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series scheduled on 1st - 2nd June at Silverstone.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT ready for the “Green Hell” challenge

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT heads to the Nürburgring this coming weekend for its first 24-hour race of the season. The journey may be a short one for the Belgian squad, but the challenge is definitely one of its kind: the 24 hours of the Nürburgring, held on the legendary Nordschleife, the historic 22-km long track in the Eifel, also known as the “Green Hell”, and arguably the toughest motor racing race in the world. This is only the second time that Team WRT takes part to the iconic race, which will again attract around 200 entries. Last year, for its debut, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT managed to finish the race, learning a lot about this unique competition. This year, it will contribute to Audi’s efforts to retain the title conquered in 2012 with one Audi R8 LMS ultra, entrusted to Laurens Vanthoor-Christopher Mies-Christopher Haase-Edward Sandström.

“Anything we can say about the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring falls short from reality”, admits Team Principal Vincent Vosse. “I have done it a number of times as a driver, and I am now discovering it in a different capacity. It’s really a special event and a very difficult one, because it is almost impossible to master all parameters.”

The track itself, in the first place, is unique: a fast, narrow and dangerous string of asphalt with over 170 corners up and down the Eifel hills, where weather conditions may change from one point to the other. In the 24 Hours race, endurance, weather conditions, darkness, traffic and the disparity of performance level among cars and drivers, which range from top professionals to perfect amateurs, are added issues.

Vosse looks at this 41st edition of the race with all the necessary humility: “We came here for the first time as Team WRT last year and we learnt a lot, but we are conscious that you can never have everything under control in such a race. Last year, we were among the top contenders, then a contact with another car put us in a final position (32nd) that did not reflect our potential. We’ll see how things go this time, but I fully trust the reliability of the R8 LMS ultra and of our drivers, and I think the Balance of Performance is correct. The first objective is to help Audi winning again.”

The driver line-up of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is among the strongest and is a perfect combination of experience and performance. Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Edward Sandström are all familiar with the 24 Hours, while Laurens Vanthoor will take part to the race for the first time.

As a matter of fact, one of the WRT boys has already tasted the sweetness of victory in this legendary race: Christopher Haase was part of the quartet that gave Audi its first win twelve months ago. “Winning here, especially for a German, really means something. It is the biggest GT race in the world and a real challenge. For me, it was a dream come true and certainly one of the major achievements of my career. Still, after winning it once, what you really want is to win it twice!” The 24-year-old Bavarian, though, knows that nothing is granted: “It is not necessarily the fastest car that wins here. What you need is a fantastic endurance car, like the Audi R8, a great team, like WRT, and excellent co-drivers, like my team mates. The most crucial thing is to avoid mistakes, stay focused, go through the night, and then adopt the right strategy for the final hours. You can never anticipate anything, but one thing is sure: it’s good to be driving an Audi!”

At the other end of the spectrum is Laurens Vanthoor. The young Belgian will be making his debut in the 24 Hours and, as any rookie, had to pass a sort of aptitude test. Any driver wishing to race the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, regardless of his status or CV, first has to enter two events of the VLN, the special championship that takes place exclusively on the Nordschleife. In his case, he could only do one race, a few weeks ago, as the other race he was scheduled to enter was cancelled. “This is why I had to come back for a test last week and I will have to pass a sort of theoretical exam as soon as I get to the ‘Ring’ later this week”, he explains. The young Belgian is taking all these duties with great diligence. “I think I couldn’t have prepared better for this race. I can say I start to feel comfortable about the track, but I approach the Nordschleife with great respect. This is really the kind of circuit and race you can never say you know everything about! The track, of course, is exciting, although a little bit dangerous. I like it a lot, it is so special, so different from anything else. But I still have to experience driving at night, on the wet or with so many cars around me. I’ll try to do my best and avoid mistakes…”

Such a special race justifies a special livery. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT car will sport a full black livery and a very … topical sponsor: Battlefield-4! The race itself runs this year on a special format. While free practice will take place on Friday, the Top-40 Qualifying that will determine the pole position on Saturday, the start of the race will be on Sunday at 17:00 hours, with the chequered flag falling at 17:00 hours on Whit Monday, which is a festive day in most European countries.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club / Christopher Mies

GT Tour: Belgian Audi Club Team WRT may join the series at Spa

By Tarek Ramchani

The second round of the French GT Tour Series will be in Belgium, at Spa-Francorchamps. Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is planning to join the event with two Audi R8 LMS ultra.

WRT is no stranger to the French series, they managed the official Team Audi France entry for the last couple of years, with Stéphane Ortelli and David Hallyday as their drivers. In 2011 Team Audi France and WRT come very close to the title. Last season, at the finale of Paul Ricard, WRT entered a car on their own under the Belgian Audi Club banner.

Vincent Vosse, WRT team manager, spoke with our friends at Endurance-Info and said that racing at Spa will help the team prepare for the big Spa 24 Hours.

For now nothing is official yet, as the drivers line-ups are still to be announced, but it will be great to see the Belgian Audi team racing on home soil.

Photo credit: GT Tour

WRT at Paul Ricard's 2012 GT Tour finale: Team Audi France and Belgian Audi Club

Video: Audi vs Lamborghini titanic battle for the lead at Zolder

By Tarek Ramchani

Circuit Zolder in Belgium hosted the second round of the FIA GT Series last weekend. The main Championship Race on sunday saw an epic battle for the lead, which whent to the checkered flag. The battle was between the Audi R8 LMS ultra (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) of local hero, Laurens Vanthoor, and the Lamborghini Gallardo (Reiter Engineering) of Slovakian driver Stephan Rozina. Audi didn't win in the end, but here is an extraordinary and very fair fight to the finish line, one of the most exciting GT battles in recent years.

Photo credit: SRO / FIA GT Series

FIA GT: Audi teams run at the front at Zolder

By Johan Laubscher

The second round of the FIA GT Series took place at Zolder this weekend. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Phoenix Racing and Team Novadriver entered the event, as was the case at round one in Nogaro.

The big news this weekend was that the Audis were all in their 2013 specification (minus the new rear diffuser). The Audis were fast at Nogaro and it was the case again in Belgium. The R8 LMS ultra cars were near the front during all the sessions and qualified well.

Race victory was achieved during the qualifying race when Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor took the win. Belgian Audi Club WRT scored a well deserved result with all three cars within the top five. The Phoenix Racing entry finished eighth and the Novadriver Audi in thirteenth, after a late race penalty. 

This victory also marked the first race victory for a new 2013 specification Audi R8 LMS ultra. It will certainly be the first of many 2013 spec Audi victories around the world this year.

The #11 WRT Audi started the Championship Race from pole on Sunday. The Reiter Lamborghini managed to take the lead at the start perused by the #11 and #13 WRT Audis. The Audi positions stayed consistent during the opening stages with a good battle between the Phoenix #5 and WRT #12 Audis. The top three positions were maintained during the pitstop process, however Vanthoor put in the drive of the race to catch up to the leading Lamborgini. A terrific battle for the lead was seen with a clearly faster Vanthoor behind the defending Lamborgini. Vanthoor was unable to find his way past, but raced a very intelligent race, collected very valuable points and is now leading the FIA GT Series drivers points alongside Ortelli.

The #13 WRT Audi of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler finished in third, followed by their teammates in #12 in fifth, ensuring a very good points haul for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at their home event in Belgium.

The Belgian driver crewed Phoenix Audi R8 LMS ultra of Enzo Ide and Anthony Kumpen finished in sixth. Team Novadriver completed an excellent weekend for the Audi teams by placing in ninth. The #14 car driven by Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira completed the result so that all five Audis finished within the top ten.

The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. 

Photo credit: V-Images / Endurance-Info 

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT to home race as championship leaders

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

It’s time to enjoy racing in front of its many friends and fans for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, as the FIA GT Series heads to Zolder for its second round of the season. The home race has always a special taste and even more so when you come to it as the championship leaders. That’s exactly the case for Team WRT following its brilliant show in the season-opener at Nogaro, where it clinched a 1-2 in the Main race and another podium finish in the Qualifying race. Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler will fight hard to retain their lead in the Drivers’ standings, while Stéphane Ortelli and local hero Laurens Vanthoor, currently third, will try to futher climb up in the rankings. René Rast and Nicky Mayr-Melnhof lye 2nd in the Pro-Am category but may move into the Pro category over the weekend following their excellent start of the season. In the Teams’ ranking as well, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is the points leader and determined to stay in that position!

“Racing at home doesn’t add special pressure”, says Team Principal Vincent Vosse, “but it entails less travelling, and that’s always nice! We know there will be a lot of people at Zolder, the FIA GT race is one of the main events of the year for the circuit, and eventually, springtime also has arrived! All that should contribute to a very pleasant weekend. Most importantly for us, we aim at working well and at having again very good results, in order to retain or increase our leadership in both the Teams’ and Drivers’ standings. Last year, we also arrived at Zolder after a very successful first round at Nogaro and we had quite a difficult and disappointing weekend. That’s exactly what shouldn’t happen this time!”

The team had a very short turn-around time ahead Zolder, as the three cars were racing in the Blancpain Endurance Series last weekend at Monza. “There wasn’t much time to re-prepare the cars”, admits Sporting Director Pierre Dieudonné, “and we had also one of the cars needing more thorough repairs after the accident in pre-qualifying, but everything is ready and we feel quite confident.” This will be the first time the Audis R8 LMS ultra will race in the FIA GT Series in 2013 specifications, as the new kit was only very recently homologated by the FIA. “We need to see how the up-dates will work” explains Dieudonné, “and also check whether the Balance of Performance is not handicapping us. We all know how demanding Zolder can be, especially on brakes. Races at Zolder are never easy, but we’re always happy to go there.”

“Go there” is not exactly the right expression for at least one of he Team WRT drivers, as Laurens Vanthoor leaves literally next door to the track. “The circuit is only 200 meters from my home, but as the paddock entrance is on the other side, I’ll still have to take the bike to get there”, he says with an amused smile. The young Belgian will be the focus of a lot of attention, but he doesn’t seem to care much about that: “It’s a race like any other else. I like the track, I like seeing more friends, family and fans than usual, but that won’t distract me or make me feel less relaxed. In 2012, we had a bad weekend here but we won the 24 Hours later in the year. Everybody in the team is determined to do better, and that will be the only objective of Stéphane and myself.”

The agenda is similar for the other driver pairs of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. Frank Stippler and Edward Sandström, the current leaders in the Drivers’ standings, want to confirm their strong start, and the same feeling is shared by Nicky Mayr-Melnhof and René Rast. The Austro-German pair crossed the line as winners in the Main Race but later incurred in a penalty for a minor issue during one of the pit stops. They are eager to repeat their excellent performance in France and will know at the beginning of the weekend whether their status will change from the Pro-Am into the Pro category.

Members of the Belgian Audi Club will have another local hero to cheer: Anthony Kumpen is also from the Limburg region and will share the Audi R8 LMS ultra of Phoenix Racing with Enzo Ide, perfectly motivated by the two 4th places they took at Nogaro. Kumpen will also drive an R8 LMS in the round of the Belgian Racing Car Championship (BRCC) taking place over the weekend.

Both races of the FIA GT Series will kick-off at 14:15 hours, one on Saturday and one on Sunday and the positive weather forecast should attract big crowds!

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

Podium eludes the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the last corner!

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

It was an intense weekend for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in Monza, which ended with a last-minute disappointment, as Edward Sandström was blocked by a lapped car in the very last corner and lost the podium by millimetres. This doesn’t diminish, though, the excellent race put by the Swede and his team mates, Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies. The first round of the Blancpain Endurance Series, with 60 cars on the track, confirmed how competitive the championship is. The two other Audis R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad were less lucky. Laurens Vanthoor-Stéphane Ortelli-René Rast finished 13th overall (and 8th in the Pro category) after suffering a puncture, while the car of Nicky Mayr-Melnhof-Matt Halliday-Rahel Frey, which had undergone severe damage in an accident during pre-qualifying, fought hard to climb from the back of the grid to take 17th overall (and 11th in the Pro category).

“We made what we could under the circumstances”, is the final conclusion of Team Principal Vincent Vosse. “It was not an easy weekend, and we suffered from the beginning from a lack of top speed. Our performance is OK on a clear lap, but not when there are so many cars on the track, which is a parameter that is not taken into account when the balance of performance is determined. The two safety-car periods that occurred mid-race did not help us either, but that’s racing. The good news is that everybody, from the team to the drivers, did a great job, and that is what we have to take away from this race. Our pit stops were perfect, the drivers drove impeccably and I want to stress the great defence of his position made by Edward Sandström in the closing laps against cars that were faster than his.”

Qualifying had been extremely-closely fought. Eventually, the Ortelli-Vanthoor-Rast car took fifth position on the grid, and the one of Stippler-Sandström-Mies P18. Car #2 of Mayr-Melnhof-Halliday-Frey, on the contrary, had trouble in every session: Rahel Frey got a puncture in Q1, while in Q2, Matt Halliday went into the gravel. But his weekend started even more worse, with a severe off-track in pre-qualifying. “I don’t know what happened, I suddenly lost braking pressure and I spun, and I couldn’t avoid hitting the barriers”, told the New-Zealander. The car sustained some serious damage to its left side, and the mechanics worked all night to repair body, suspensions and transmission. In Q3, unfortunately, Mayr-Melnhof got stopped right away by a gearbox problem, and the car could not achieve better than P46 on the grid.

The start of the race was encouraging for Laurens Vanthoor as he could grasp third position, but the young Belgian could not resist to the faster cars attacking him, dropping to tenth. He then had to stop in lap 15 because of a puncture. “I was following very closely one of the McLarens and maybe we had a very slight contact”, he explained. Later, Ortelli and Rast were particularly consistent during their stints, bringing car #1 to finish 8th in the Pro category.

After all the drama in qualifying, car # 2 had a quitter race, with Nicky, Rahel and Matt climbing positions in the dense traffic throughout their stints and closing their solid race in 10th position in the Pro category, quite an achievement given their starting position.

In car #13, Christopher Mies also took an excellent start, running in 13th position in the initial laps and gaining two more positions despite a contact with a McLaren. The excellent pit stop allowed Frank Stippler to take fourth, which he kept throughout his stint. Another great pit stop put Edward Sandström in second at the beginning of the last hour. The Swede had to literally sweat his overalls to defend his podium ambitions from the faster cars right behind him. He had to let the McLaren of Soucek past, but resisted brilliantly to the other McLaren of Carroll and the Ferrari of Bertolini. Unfortunately, in the very last lap, he was blocked in the last corner, the very fast Parabolica, by a lapped Nissan, which allowed Carroll to get along him in the straight and beat him in the final sprint. “It’s frustrating to lose the podium in such a situation, when the job was basically done, because of an uncooperative slower driver, but that’s how it is.” lamented the Swede, “We would have deserved that podium.”

Additional satisfaction for the Belgian Audi Club came from its other members Enzo Ide and Anthony Kumpen, who together with Markus Winkelhock, took a great 5th place in the Pro category at the wheel of the Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra. Ronnie Latinne concluded the race in P16 in the Pro-Am category sharing a car by Saintéloc with Monti and Hallyday.

With the next Blancpain race taking place on 1st-2nd June at Silverstone, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT can now focus back on the FIA GT Series, whose next round is scheduled next weekend and is no less than the team’s home race at Zolder

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

BES: Fourth place for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at Monza

By Tarek Ramchani

The season opener of the Blancpain Endurance Series was held today. A great field of 60 GT3 cars hit the track at the "Temple of Speed" Monza. The Audi squad did quite well on a very penalizing track for the R8 LMS ultra. Three cars finished within the top 10.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT entered three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, all of them in the top Pro-Cup class. The #13 car shared by Edward Sandström, Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies finished in a very strong fourth overall. Sandström had a very heroic stint resisting, with an "inferior" car, multiple charges from a much faster McLaren MP4-12C. Unfortunately he lost the podium place at the finish line, by a mere 0.028 seconds. The other cars from the team had a much harder race. #1 car of Stéphane Oretlli, Laurens Vanthoor and René Rast was out of race winning contention after a very early puncture, and were classified in twelfth. The third car had to race through the field starting from back of the pack, Rahel Frey, Matt Halliday and Mayr Melnhof finished in seventeenth.

The Phoenix Racing cars had very positive performances. #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Enzo Ide, Anthony Kumpen and Markus Winckhock was sixth. The sister #6 car of Oliver Jarvis, Christopher Haase and Harold Primat ended in ninth. It was a much harder race for Sainteloc Racing, their cars were classified in 44th with car #42, 51st with car #41 and 60th with car #40.

The next round of the Blancpain Endurance Series will be at Silverstone.

Photo credit: Blancpain Endurance Series

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT ready to defend its Blancpain titles

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

After a very successful start of the 2013 season, with an impressive 1-2 in the opening round of the FIA GT Series at Nogaro, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT heads to Monza and the iconic Autodromo Nazionale for the traditional season-opener of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the other main programme in its 2013 diary.

As any reigning champion, the Belgian squad, who took the Drivers' and Teams' titles in both 2011 and 2012, has a clear mission: retain its crown! To do so, it has strengthen its presence, with three cars entered full-season for Ortelli - Vanthoor - Rast, Mayr-Melnhof - Halliday - Frey and Sandström - Stippler - Mies. With Nicky Mayr-Melnhof and René Rast already ‘christened' at Nogaro, the Italian race will see the debut of the other two new drivers who have joined Team WRT this year: New Zealand's Matt Halliday and Switzerland's Rahel Frey, the first girl to drive for Team WRT at this level of competition.

There is great excitement among the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT members to get in action in the Blancpain, as the series is closely linked to many of its greatest achievements, but also the awareness that the challenge of conquering the title for the third year in a row is not an easy one. "That is true in every sports", comments Team Principal Vincent Vosse, "to get to the top is difficult and to stay there even more difficult. Still, that's our objective, and after the long months awaiting for the definitive confirmation of our 2012 Drivers' title, we are even more committed to do well. This season will be even more competitive, there are plenty of good cars, teams and drivers in front of us, but we are well prepared. The Audi engineers have worked a lot to further improve the Audi R8 LMS ultra and we have a great driver line-up. I am happy to welcome Matt and Rahel, if they do as well as Nicky and René did in Nogaro, we're off to some great moments. The Blancpain calendar, this year, has a round less, five instead of six: this means that no title contender can afford a blank weekend, therefore we have to find the perfect balance between performance and strategy, aggressiveness and caution, and try to avoid putting unnecessary pressure on ourselves."

It is only at the beginning of this week that the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has been able to finalize the 2013 configuration of the Audi R8 LMS ultra. As Sporting Director Pierre Dieudonné explains, "Audi engineers have been working hard during the winter on a number of points, including suspensions, aerodynamics, etc. The homologation of the 2013 kit by the FIA has been finalized only a couple of days ago, and we now know what elements of the new kit have received an OK. This means that we have known the Balance of Performance to be used at Monza only a few hours ago. Monza has never been the most favourable track for the R8 but I am confident that the progress made during the winter will show."

Still, the main challenge on the Italian circuit won't necessarily be of technical nature. With 61 (!) cars entered, the track will be quite a busy place this weekend. "This proves once again the success of the series and the excellent work done by Stéphane Ratel and his team at SRO", comments Vosse, "but won't make things easier for our drivers."

Asked on the role that traffic can have, the most experienced of the WRT drivers, Stéphane Ortelli, remains quite cool. "I don't want to downplay this factor or to say it is going to be easy, but among all circuits, Monza is probably the one where traffic can be better dealt with", reassures the Monegasque. "It has very long straights, and that, together with performance differences, will help stretching out the pack of cars. Thanks to the straights, visibility is also very good; except for the Lesmo corners, you don't have blind spots, and you therefore see exactly everyone's position and behaviour. On top, Monza offers some strong braking points, which also help making the difference, and finally, overtaking is not an issue. All that makes me say that Monza is probably one of the best tracks where to have 61 cars racing together... Traffic will have to be managed but shouldn't be a big problem."

Team WRT will be not alone defending the colors of the Belgian Audi Club at Monza. Other members of the club on track include Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide, who will drive a R8 LMS ultra of Phoenix Racing, and Ronnie Lantinne, who shares the wheel of one of the Saintéloc cars in the Pro-Am category with Frenchmen David Halliday and Romain Monti.

The Blancpain weekend format hasn't changed, with free practice scheduled on Saturday, qualifying on Sunday morning and the 3-hour race starting at 14:15.

Photo credit: Endurance-Info

BES: Eight Audi R8 LMS ultra for round 1 at Monza

By Tarek Ramchani

The 2013 Blanpcain Endurance Series will kick off at Monza this weekend. The Audi squad will be represented by eight R8 LMS ultra cars from three different teams. No less than six cars will fight in the top Pro-Cup class, in what is now the largest and best GT series in Europe.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are the 2011 and 2012 series champions. The Belgian team will field three cars this year, all of them in the Pro-Cup class, and with very strong driver lineups. The team is welcoming Rahel Frey, the Swiss Audi factory drivers who spent the last two years in the DTM.

#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Stéphane Ortelli - Laurens Vanthoor- RenéRast
#2 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Edward Sandström - Frank Stippler - Christopher Mies
#13 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Rahel Frey- Niki Mayr Melnhof - Matt Halliday

Phoenix Racing

Phoenix Racing will debut in the Blancpain Endurance Series as full season competitors. Last year the German team won the stellar event of the series, the Spa 24 Hours with an Audi R8 LMS ultra, as well entering the Nurburgring round. Two cars will be entered in the Pro Cup class.

#6 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Oliver Jarvis - Christopher Haase - Harold Primat
#16 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Enzo Ide- Anthony Kumpen - Markus Winkelhock

Sainteloc Racing

The French privateer Audi team is returning to the series. Sainteloc will field three cars, one in each of the three classes: Pro-Cup, Pro-Am Cup and the Gentlemen Trophy

#40 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Grégory Guilvert -
#41 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Gentlemen Trophy): Pierre Hirschi- Marc Sourd - Claude-Yves Gosselin
#42 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Am Cup): Ronnie Latinne Latinne - David Hallyday - Romain Monti

The three hour race is set for Sunday afternoon, a live stream for the event will be available on the official Blancpain Endurance Series website.

Photo credit: Blanpcain Endurance Series / Berzerkdesign.de

FIA GT: The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT starts the season with a 1-2 win!

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

It was an exciting season-opener for the new FIA GT Series at Nogaro, and a terrific start of the 2013 season for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT as it took a fantastic 1-2 overall in today's Main Race, a second in Saturday's Qualifying Race and a win and a second in the Pro-Am category.

The result on the track was even better, as René Rast and Nicky Mayr-Melnhof, who came a close second on Saturday, crossed the line first overall today, making it a 1-2-3, but the Pro-Am pair received a 30" penalty after the race for not having switched off the engine on time at the pit stop. This brought them down to sixth overall (and second in Pro-Am) but did not erase the excellent impression they left throughout the weekend. The overall win in the Main race went to their team-mates Frank Stippler-Edward Sandström, who had already taken the win points in the Pro category, while Stéphane Ortelli-Laurens Vanthoor finished second. These two cars concluded the weekend on a high note after an unlucky Race 1.

"What a great and emotional weekend", says Team Principal Vincent Vosse, still stunned by the results, "It's hard for me to put words to my feelings at this very moment, but I know three things were key to this success. First, the competitiveness of the Audis R8, for which we have to thank Audi Sport. Second, the job done by the entire team, especially at pit-stops which were critical to get in front of our competitors. And third, the wonderful performance of our drivers, all of them, who have done some great things, especially today. As always and as in any other formula, when races are wet, drivers make a difference, and we saw that today. The final stints of Edward and Laurens were outstanding, Nicky has had an incredible weekend, and it has to be recalled that he is not a pro, René was super fast and Frank and Stéphane perfect as always. It is really a privilege to have such drivers and such a good team spirit."

Things had started nicely for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT since qualifying, with the three cars making the top 10 and going into the final session awarding the pole, according to the new qualifying format. In the Superpole final session, René Rast was fastest with Stippler third and Ortelli fourth.

The Qualifying race saw Rast taking the lead, although being always under close attack from Parente, while Laurens Vanthoor was sent into the gravel at first corner by one of the BMWs and had to rejoin the race in last position. With Rast in permanent fight ("tough but always fair") with Parente and managing to keep him at bay, Sandström in third and Vanthoor climbing back positions up to fifth, thanks also to a safety-car period, things looked quite good. The pit stop, unfortunately, resulted fatal for car #13 as a fuse problem provoked its retirement. Soon after, car #11 was hit again by another competitor, with Ortelli spinning and suffering a puncture. He rejoined the race to finish 16th. In the lead, Mayr-Melnhof had some breathing space, thanks to the very fast pit stop of Team WRT, but got caught by Sébastian Loeb in the closing laps, with the rally legend passing the Austrian in the last minutes.

Main race on Sunday was definitely a wet race, with the start given behind safety-car. Mayr-Melnhof would keep P2 throughout his stint, while Ortelli and Stippler had to charge from the back of the grid and stabilize in P10 and P12, respectively. The pit-stop proved crucial, as Rast goes back to the track first, Sandström is fourth and Vanthoor eighth. The leader will be attacked, touched and sent into a spin by Parente, but the drive-through imposed on the McLaren gave back first place to Rast, who took the win (only provisionally, alas, before before the 30-second penalty after the race). The closing laps saw a festival by Sandström and Vanthoor, who were in an incredible form and managed some breath-taking moves to take a second and a third respectively that later became the definitive 1-2. "It was one of the best drives of my life", commented Vanthoor after crossing the line while an elated Sandström admitted: "The Scandinavian weather conditions suited me perfectly!".

Having collected two fourths, it was also a good weekend for the other Belgian Audi Club members, Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide, with the Phoenix Racing R8.

Following this excellent start, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT can head to the second round of the FIA GT Series, at Zolder in three weeks time, with the assurance that fans will flock to support the squad at its home race. Before that, on 13-14 April, the team will visit Monza for the season-opener of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr

Blancpain Endurance Series: A word from ... Rahel Frey

Audi Press Release

In two weeks from now, at Monza, you will be running for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the Blancpain Endurance Series (BES) for the first time. Are you looking forward to this new challenge in the Audi R8 LMS ultra? 

Yes, absolutely. The winter break was long and I used it to optimally prepare for my new tasks. Two weeks ago, I was at Le Castellet for the official BES tests and really enjoyed my first laps in the Audi R8 LMS ultra. Now I can hardly wait for the season to start.

As a former DTM racer, how did you manage the switch to a GT3 sports car?

I managed well right away. The weight of the Audi R8 LMS ultra is a bit heavier and it has systems such as ABS and traction control. I’ve also got to make more compromises with respect to the set-up because I’m sharing the car with two other drivers. But I’ll soon feel at home in the GT world.

Your team is starting into the BES season as the title defender. To what extent are you benefiting from the squad’s experience?

WRT’s extensive experience will no doubt make it easier for me to get started in the Blancpain Endurance Series. I’m very thankful for being backed by such a good team. By the same token, I’d be happy if I could pass on some of my experiences to WRT. From a sporting perspective, the level in the DTM that I come from was obviously top-class and I got to know the processes in a factory-backed team. I want to continue to build on that.

You are sharing the cockpit with the Austrian Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof and the New Zealander Matthew Halliday. Are you happy with this driver pairing?

It’s nice to come into contact with other nations as well. We get along well and all of us are motivated and ambitious. The whole WRT squad is very open-minded. If you’ve got a wish as a driver or want to change something on the car they listen to you. There’s a lot of discussion taking place and that allows the entire team to move forward. On the whole, we’re three well-balanced and competitive Audi driver teams at WRT. It’ll be a thrilling battle.

In 2013, the BES is running on five European race tracks. Which one do you like best?

My fondest memories are those of the track at Monza. Being Swiss, this is my home track in a way and I was able to win a Swiss Formula Renault race there in the past. And of course I’m very much looking forward to the 24-hour race at Spa. That’ll no doubt be a highlight.

FIA GT: WRT and Team Novadriver take victory at Nogaro

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi teams continued their good form at Nogaro today. The first FIA GT Series main Championship Race of the year yielded very good results, in what was eventually coined as an Audi procession.

The main Championship Race got underway in wet condition on Monday afternoon. Sebastian Loeb lead the field in his McLaren closely followed by Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof in the #12 WRT Audi, who remained in contention during the entire first stint.

During the pitstops Rast was able to leapfrog the Loeb entry which was then driven by Parente. A battle ensued which saw Parente touching Rast into a half spin. Rast recovered and began chasing down the leading McLaren. Parente was eventually called into the pits due to a pitlane infringement. This left Rast out in the lead with plenty still happening behind him.

Sandström in the #13 Audi muscled his way into second place and in doing so took the lead of the Pro class, as the #11 was the overall and pro-am leader. A battle for third had developed between the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi of Ide and Kumpen and a Mercedes-Benz. Vanthoor put on what could be described as the drive of the race as he caught the third place battle and passed both cars to claim third place. This resulted in a WRT 1-2-3 which was held to the line. This result saw WRT winning both classes with Phoenix Racing finishing fifth overall and Team Novadriver claiming second in the Pro-Am class, a 1-2 finish for Audi in the two classes.

However, following the race the #11 WRT car of Rast and Mayr-Melnhof received a thirty second penalty, dropping them to eighth overall and second in class. The penalty was given due to their engine not having been switched off during the entire re-fueling process. The overall and pro class race winners were thus the #13 WRT entry of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler. The penalty also promoted the Team Novadriver Audi to the pro-am victory with drivers Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira.

The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zolder in Belgium. 

Championship Race results can be seen HERE.

Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr

FIA GT: Second place for WRT Audi at Nogaro in qualifying race

By Tarek Ramchani

An action packed qualifying race at Nogaro has started the 2013 FIA GT Series. The five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars who all qualified well yesterday faced different fates today.

The #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT finished in a very strong second place after titanic battles for race lead with the winning McLaren MP4-12C of Sebastien Loeb Racing. The car shared by fast Rene Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof started from pole position. Rene Rast had a great start and battled hard with McLaren factory driver, Alvaro Parente, in some of the most exiting battles in recent years of GT racing. After the wave of pit stops the Belgian team was able to send Niki Mayr-Melnhof out in front ahead of Sebastien Loeb. The Austrian Audi driver held onto his lead for many laps, as he resisted the WRC legend, before ultimately loosing the lead. Not bad for a car listed as a Pro-Am car. Phoenix Racing #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide finished in a strong fourth place. The Portuguese #14 car of Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera were right behind in fifth. The #11 WRT car of Laurens Vanthoor and Stépahne Ortelli were a lap down in sixteenth, due to contact for Vanthoor with a BMW Z4 in the first lap. Later a tire issue sent Stéphane Oretlli's R8 into the gravel trap. The #13 machine of Edward Sandstrom and Frank Stippler had a very disappointing DNF.

The Championship race is set for tomorrow afternoon. The starting order will be the same as in today's championship race standings. Fingers crossed for the three Audi customer teams.

Qualifying race results are here.

Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr

FIA GT: Belgian Audi Club Team WRT on pole at Nogaro

By Tarek Ramchani

The new FIA GT Series starts this weekend in France at Nogaro. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are there and things started very well for the Audi squad. A sensational pole position for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and Rene Rast.

All the five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were with "old" 2012 specifications. The brand new 2013 upgrades are not homologated yet by the FIA. Still the Audi squad did really great in a very close qualifying session. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT put their three cars in the top five. Even better, the outright pole was from a Pro-Am car, the #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of René Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof. Rast the double Porsche Supercup champion was able to beat the quick pair of McLaren MP4-12C cars from Sebastien Loeb Racing. Frank Stippler and Edward Sandstrom ended in fourth with the #13 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Stéphane Oretlli the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series champion and Laurens Vanthoor the new Audi works GT driver were fifth with the #11 R8.

The other two teams did well too. The Portuguese from Team Novadriver landed in a very strong sixth with Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera driving the #14 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Phoenix Racing entering a single R8 LMS ultra at Nogaro finished in ninth with Belgian duo Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide.

Day 1 at Nogaro was more than positive for Audi. The qualifying race is set for tomorrow with a live stream available on the official series website www.fiagtseries.com. We wish the best of luck to the three Audi Sport customer racing teams.

Photo credit: FIA GT Series / Team Novadriver

P1 #12 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Rene Rast / Niki Mayr-Melnhof

P4 #13 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Frank Stippler / Edward Sandstrom

P5 #11 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Stéphane Ortelli / Laurens Vanthoor

P6 #14 Team Novadriver - Cesar Campanico / Carlos Viera

P9 #5 Phoenix Racing - Anthony Kumpen / Enzo Ide

Gallery: WRT 2013 Season Presentation

By Johan Laubscher 

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT have officially revealed their 2013 plans. They have held their press conference where they announced their three-car teams in the FIA GT Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series. 

The official WRT press release can be read HERE (English) and HERE (Dutch).

RallyandRaces.com were on site and have provided great coverage from the event, which was held yesterday. Their photo gallery can be seen via the link below.

More photos HERE

More information: 
RallyandRaces website
RallyandRaces on Facebook

Photo credit: Hans Jacobs and Joel Vanderzipen from RallyandRaces

A superb 2013 programme for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

• Three Audi R8 LMS ultra in the FIA GT Series and in the Blancpain Endurance Series
• The Nürburgring and Zolder 24 Hour races also in the team’s diary
• Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor joined by international stars

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT invited the press today at its premises in Baudour to present its 2013 sporting programme. Not a short one, it must be said!

The Belgian team will enter three Audi R8 LMS ultra – in 2013 specifications – in both the Blancpain Endurance Series and the FIA GT Series. In the new sprint series launched by SRO, Swedish driver Edward Sandström will partner with Germany’s Frank Stippler, while another car will be driven by Belgium’s Laurens Vanthoor and Monaco’s Stéphane Ortelli. «These two line-ups composed of drivers who are already part of the WRT family will be joined by a third duo, entered in the Pro-Am category, composed of Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof from Austria and Germany’s René Rast», explains Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse. «René has repeatedly confirmed in recent years that he is a top GT driver and Nikolaus has done an excellent season with Vita4One last year. The pair can certainly aim at the Pro-Am title! Our objective as a team is to do better than the third place conquered in 2012.»

The FIA GT Series will kick-off this weekend with the traditional ‘Coupes de Pâques’ at the Circuit Paul Armagnac in Nogaro, in South-West France. Saturday’s qualifying session will give a first glimpse of the 2013 hierarchy, while the one-hour Qualifying Race will start at 2:30 pm on Sunday. The Championship Race, also of one hour duration, will start at 2:15 pm on Easter Monday, following the Easter Cup tradition.
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As in the FIA GT Series, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will enter three cars also in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Once again, the driver line-ups have been carefully selected, in cooperation with Audi Sport. «We have been the Drivers’ and Teams’ Champions for two years in a row, in 2011 and 2012 », reminds Vincent Vosse, «and we hope to do as well this year!»

To that end, the team has called in some of the drivers involved in the FIA GT Series. René Rast will partner Laurens Vanthoor and Stéphane Ortelli while Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler will be joined by German driver Christopher Mies, a member of the Champion trio last year. Another of the FIA GT Series drivers, Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof, will team up with the fast New-Zealander Matt Hallyday, who shone in GT1 last year, and Switzerland’s Rahel Frey, who joins straight from the DTM. This year, the three Audis R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad will be included in the Pro Cup category.

This double programme, which includes the Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, will be complemented with two other one-day races : the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring on 19-20 May and the 24 Hours of Zolder on 31st August-1st September. At both instances, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will be present with a single car entry. «It’s still too early to announce the names of the drivers at the wheel of WRT’s cars in those two races», says Vincent Vosse, «but what I can say is that we won’t go there just to fill the grid.»

No doubt: the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is committed defend Audi’s nametag in the GT scene and the 2013 season promises to be busy and exciting !

2013 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Driver Line-ups

FIA GT Series
#11 Stéphane Ortelli (MC) - Laurens Vanthoor (BE) (Pro)
#12 Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof (AT) - René Rast (DE) (Pro-Am)
#13 Edward Sandström (SE) - Frank Stippler (DE) (Pro)

Blancpain Endurance Series
#1 Stéphane Ortelli (MC) - Laurens Vanthoor (BEL) - René Rast (DE) (Pro)
#2 Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof (AT) – Matt Halliday (NZ) - Rahel Frey (CH) (Pro)
#13 Edward Sandström (SE) - Frank Stippler (DE) – Christopher Mies (DE) (Pro)

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

Audi teams at the Blancpain Endurance Series test days

By Johan Laubscher 

In its third season the Blancpain Endurance Championship continues to grow and is now the largest GT3 championship in Europe. Three Audi teams will be competing in the series with no less than seven 2013 specification Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. Three cars from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and two each from Phoenix Racing and Saintéloc Racing. 

The official BES test days were held this week. Paul Ricard hosted the first two days of testing on Tuesday and Wednesday. A huge field of GT3 cars took part at the test, with over sixty cars on site. Among the cars present were all seven of the Audis. Following the Paul Ricard test many of the teams travelled to Monza for two further days of testing on Thursday and Friday. The Monza test days were comprised of Blancpain and WTCC competitors. WRT and Phoenix Racing also took part in the testing held at Monza. 

The teams will now head home to continue preparations for the opening round of the season. The season opener is set for April 15 at Monza. It will be another great year for Audi fans in the BES with seven cars to support, not to mention the fact that WRT will be aiming for their third successive BES championship title. 

Photo credit: Mr Monza - Stefano Ciabattoni