WRT Adjusts Bronze Lineup as Whale Recovers from Back Injury

BMW factory driver Jens Klingmann and British GT race winner Darren Leung have been drafted into Team WRT’s Bronze Cup entry for the 3 Hours of the Nürburgring as Tim Whale recovers from a back injury.

Whale is sitting out the penultimate round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Endurance Cup season after undergoing successful spinal surgery caused by a slipped disc.

His regular co-driver Adam Carroll is also skipping the Nürburgring event, leaving two vacant spots alongside Lewis Proctor in the No. 31 BMW M4 GT3.

Klingmann won this year’s Hankook 24H Dubai with WRT and is set for his first Endurance Cup appearance since driving for Walkenhorst Motorsport at Spa last season.

Leung, meanwhile, will make his GTWC Europe debut as the designed Bronze-rated driver in WRT’s Bronze Cup entry.

After graduating from GT4 to GT3 machinery last year, Leung won on his category debut with Century Motorsport in the Intelligent Money British GT Championship before going on to compete in the Gulf 12 Hours.

He also won this year’s Silverstone 500 British GT round alongside Dan Harper, who is racing at the Nürburgring in the Pro class this weekend.

“I’ve been well aware of WRT’s reputation as something of a benchmark, despite only being in the sport for two and a half years myself,” said Leung.

“When the chance to race with them in Fanatec GT came up as a one-off, it was hard to resist.

“The team have been very welcoming, and I’m incredibly excited to race under the WRT banner this weekend at Nürburgring.”

Klingmann added: “Firstly, I wish a speedy recovery to Tim, as we all want to see him back in the cockpit as soon as possible.

“I’ll give my very best to support the team at the Fanatec GT race at Nürburgring, which as a German driver almost feels like a second home to me.

“At the start of the season in Dubai, we won the very first 24-hour race of our BMW M4 GT3 together and for this weekend, we’re aiming just as high.

“The competition is very tough, but I’ll definitely enjoy racing with WRT again and hopefully we can maximize the result.”

Whale’s discomfort from the niggling back pain flared up during the CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa, prompting Carroll and Proctor to do most of the race as a pairing.

WRT successfully requested that its No. 31 BMW be moved up to the Pro class when it became clear that Whale would be unable to complete his minimum driving time.

Carroll and Proctor finished 25th overall but their car’s promotion to Pro meant they did not score any points for the Bronze Cup, which grants the champion an entry to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.