WRT to Run Four BMWs in Both Endurance, Sprint

Team WRT has announced its full set of lineups for its first Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS season with BMW, consisting of four cars in each series.

The Belgian squad, which has switched to BMW after 13 years with Audi, previously announced its factory-driven entries in the Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup but will also enter both championships with two fully independent cars.

Its No. 30 BMW M4 GT3 will contest the Endurance series in the Gold Cup class with the lineup of Niklas Kruetten, Calan Williams and Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer.

Kruetten, who won two ADAC GT Masters races in a BMW last year, and former FIA Formula 2 driver Williams will go on to share the No. 30 in Sprint as a Gold Cup pairing.

Adam Carroll, Lewis Proctor and Tim Whale are due to drive the No. 31 BMW in the Bronze Cup class of Endurance.

The Bronze Cup has the same driver lineup requirement as the FIA World Endurance Championship GTE-Am class — Platinum/Gold, Silver and Bronze — and the title-winning team will earn an automatic invitation to next year’s 24 Hours of Le Mans.

Simmenauer will jump into the No. 31 BMW for the Sprint season alongside Thomas Neubauer, forming a third Pro pairing alongside WRT’s two factory crews.

Neubauer and Simmenauer won the GTWC Europe Silver Cup combined and Endurance titles last year in a WRT-run Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II.

“We will be fighting in different classes, which is great, and we are ready to take up the challenge against very strong competition,” said team principal Vincent Vosse.

“As always, we have mixed youth and experience, with talent as a common denominator. I’m happy to welcome to the team Calan and Niklas, whose experience with the BMW M4 GT3 gathered last year will be very helpful.

“I am also very happy to see Thomas and Jean-Baptiste continuing with us and going into the Pro class. Equally nice is to have Lewis staying and to welcome Tim and Adam, who have done a great job in GT4 together.

“Tim has already successfully debuted with us in Dubai and probably few remember that also Adam, who did one fruitful appearance with Team WRT in the past.”

As previously announced, the No. 32 lineup will feature Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde in Endurance. Vanthoor and Weerts will also bid for their fourth consecutive Sprint Cup title together.

Former MotoGP star Valentino Rossi, who is now a BMW factory driver, will share the No. 46 with Augusto Farfus and Maxime Martin in Endurance, and Martin in Sprint.

Those driver trios contested the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this month as part of WRT’s Intercontinental GT Challenge powered by Pirelli commitment with BMW.

Vosse declared that WRT is in “full gear” to prepare for the GTWC Europe pre-season test at Paul Ricard on March 7-8.