We previously reported that Team WRT will be running one of the BMW M Hybrid V8 LMDh prototype programs in the FIA World Endurance Championship and at Le Mans in 2024. The Belgium-based racing team will not be waiting until then to start racing BMWs though, as a story on the Sportscar365.com racing site reports that the team could run up to eight M4 GT3s in 2023.
According to the story, the former Audi factory team has sold off most of its Audi R8 LMS GT3s to make room for BMWs, and so far, the team has three M4 GT3s in their shop and has been busy testing at Barcelona, Magny-Cours, Valencia, and Paul Ricard. Team Principal Vincent Vosse has not confirmed where they will be racing next year, but they may compete in the 24 Hours of Dubai race in January, and its likely that they may race in the Intercontinental GT Challenge and the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe championships.
Team WRT, BMW Test – Circuit de Barcelona-Catalunya, October 3rd 2022 – Foto: Michele Scudiero
Vosse has been impressed with what he’s seen of the M4 GT3 so far, as reported in the story. “It’s been working quite well,” he said. “It’s a very different environment and very different cars, but very nicely thought [out] and impressive. I’m very impressed by the car. At the end, we are not talking about developing a car or building anything. We are talking about fine-tuning something. You never start from zero: the car has been built by a manufacturer to a certain level.”
In terms of drivers, it’s likely that returning BMW factory driver Maxime Martin will be in a Team WRT M4 GT3 next year, as well as Réne Rast, who is leaving Audi as a works driver in 2023 to join BMW and has strong ties to Team WRT. Former MotoGP star Valentino Rossi also tested the BMW with WRT at Barcelona, and BMW works driver Philipp Eng was also on hand at Barcelona to help the team with testing. We may see other Audi factory drivers leaving the marque to join BMW and Team WRT in 2023. Stay tuned. —David Haueter
[Photos by BMW]
