Vosse On WRT’s BMW Switch & Hypercar Progress

Team WRT has had a rollercoaster 12 months. After being on the verge of leading Audi back into the top class of sportscar racing as its defacto factory team, it was left scrambling to find a new manufacturer partner after the German marque shifted its focus to its Formula One bid and shelved its sportscar plans.

After a lengthy stint as arguably Audi’s most important team in GT3 competition, the decision was made to move into BMW’s stable of customer teams for 2023 and become the face of its forthcoming FIA WEC Hypercar effort, which will begin in 2024. WRT’s rapid transition to this new deal was assisted in no small part by the arrival at BMW of Andreas Roos from Audi, a man who had in-depth knowledge of the capabilities of the Belgian team.

WRT’s plans with its new marque are hugely ambitious. In addition to competing in GT3 racing around the world in series and events sanctioned by the SRO, WRT will begin gunning for a World Championship and a Le Mans overall win from next year.

The size of its operation will increase for this challenge. DSC understands that the team’s plans could see it competing on multiple fronts in ACO competition, in Hypercar, LMP2 (likely ELMS) and in the WEC’s GT ranks once GT3 cars become eligible next year. The potential for WRT to continue with its LMP2 programme could be particularly significant, and see it as an early player in the customer Hypercar arena. How early that move comes, depends principally on the state of the marketplace.

That’s 2024 though, there’s still almost an entire season of racing to get through before then. The plans are still forming and there are plenty of important decisions to be made before WRT goes racing for the first time in Hypercar at the WEC season opener next year in Qatar.

With all that in mind, DSC sat down with WRT boss Vincent Vosse to discuss the team’s switch from Audi to BMW and the current state of its Hypercar effort.

Let’s start by talking about the team and its progression before we discuss BMW and the Hypercar effort. Tell us about the journey that WRT has been on to get to this point.

“I mean, it was a tough journey, as it is always in motorsport. I mean, we started in 2010 and started a long relationship with Audi Sport at the time in GT3. And this journey only just finished at the end of 2022, when we won the GT World Challenge Sprint title.

“It was a long was a very long relationship and a very successful one. In the meantime, we did also DTM and WTCR with Audi and in 2021, we started this LMP2 programme, with a one-car setup in WEC. We decided to run one car in ELMS also, it was a two-car attack for Le Mans in 2021.

“All of that was following a plan that we will run the new Hypercar, the new LMDh for the Audi programme as part of Audi’s return to Le Mans. Exactly a year ago it was cut short because of Audi’s decision to withdraw from the programme to concentrate on Formula One goals. And yeah, it was the start of discussions with different manufacturers and we have been lucky enough to find a way with BMW to follow our goals which includes running a team in the GT categories, following the success we had with the other brand for many years.

“So far we’ve had a great start to the season because we did Dubai 24 Hours which we won and also on top of that the programme with BMW includes coming back to Le Mans for 2024.”

How difficult was it, on a personal level, to step away from Audi after such a long and successful tenure?

“It was personally a very difficult decision because we had such a great relationship with our friends from Audi, it was such a great successful partnership. There are a lot of people who became friends during those years and it was a pleasure to be a part of the achievements of Dr. Ullrich, followed by Dieter Gass and Chris Reinke at Audi Sport.

“It was a very special relationship for me. So to decide to stop this collaboration and start something completely new with a new manufacturer, was a tough decision. But on the other side, it has been a good one.”

What was it specifically about BMW and what it could offer you that was so enticing that made you choose to switch to its platform?

“BMW was one of the only manufacturers that could offer us a double programme. We are doing GT World Challenge with two Pro cars. We are doing IGTC too with two Pro cars and then Hypercar from 2024. It’s a double programme and we keep our GT and LMP2 programmes completely separate. BMW was one of the only manufacturers who could give us this opportunity.”

BMW was one of the only manufacturers that could offer us a double programme

On the GT side, how big of a change is it behind the scenes after such a long time spent with Audi? To change over to BMW must be hard because I’m sure back at the base, you had a team so used to working with Audis, and tons of equipment, cars and spares and everything that was no longer needed.

“Yeah, you are completely right. It was a big change, and technically also quite a big change we are running completely different types of cars. I would say these are a new generation of GT cars. But we have proved in the past that we can adapt quite quickly to different categories. We did WTCR, DTM and LMP2, with some success in our first year.

“So, I was not too afraid that we could not adapt, but of course, it is a change. And the changes always can always be critical for your future. So yeah. I would say so far, we are still on a learning curve. We are still learning how to work with the car. We are still learning in our new environment with new people. We are working with great people, some of them I know from my past. Some of them are new to us, but we have already created a great combination and a great relationship.”

We’ve already seen the LMDh BMW make its debut obviously in Daytona in January. What can you tell me about the time you’ve spent with BMW and the RLL guys to get yourself ready? Have you been close to the IMSA operation?

“Some people may have seen that we had some people from some personnel from WRT in Daytona and in the preparation stages before Daytona. I think the collaboration with RLL was good. I haven’t been in contact with anyone from RLL, but of course, they have a partnership with BMW and we will become colleagues in the future.

“Rolex was tough. I mean, it was a short call between the decision from BMW to go LMDh in IMSA, and Daytona It was a short timeframe. And we all knew that it would be difficult. But as we saw in January, it was a surprise how far the other manufacturers were in front in terms of time.

“Clearly, I’m talking about Porsche, which was the first one to commit to the programme and the first one to have the car and able to test it. But they had so many issues in Daytona and it isn’t a surprise because it’s not an easy programme. These cars are quite sophisticated, and it will take time. We probably won’t see the potential of all of them before the end of 2023. So, it’s difficult to say something about the performance at the moment.

These cars are quite sophisticated, and it will take time. We probably won’t see the potential of all of them before the end of 2023

“Of course, everyone has seen that the Acura has been the most competitive car, but you know, Daytona for instance is a track which is a bit special, different from other tracks, so we will have to wait to see the cars on other circuits and allow different manufacturers enough time to to get themselves up to speed.”

What’s the timeline for you with the LMDh car? When will you first take delivery of your new cars and begin testing?

“Well, I did not find a dealership here in the US where we take delivery of an LMDh car, so we will build our first car in the next few weeks!”

So you guys are building your cars? Is the entire operation being run out of your base for the LMP2 programme?

“Well, we will build a car, of course with the guys from Munich, from BMW Motorsport. We will build our first car there. But after that, of course, we will run the effort from our base.”

And how much testing do expect to get in before the start of next season? Do you have any expectations?

“I have an idea. But of course, this is still taking a little bit of time to confirm.”

What about drivers? WRT has a reputation of competing with some exceptional talents and developing young drivers. How difficult has it been to select drivers for this venture? I’m sure everyone in the paddock that hasn’t got a Hypercar drive wants to be in one of your cars next season!

“We have always had a great relationship with drivers. And it was always very interesting to find new talent. But this is a category where you have to find a balance between experience, speed, knowing championships, and knowing the team, it’s a bit of a compromise. It’s very important to find the right way of choosing the drivers. It’s not just speed, it’s not just the experience. You need someone with both. It’s not in my hands. It’s also BMW, let’s see. But I don’t think you would be very surprised with who we have.”

Finally, I wanted to ask about convergence. With an LMDh car you can run in both the WEC and IMSA. Obviously just competing in the WEC is a big commitment, but will you explore racing in IMSA and supporting RLL, and will RLL come over to the WEC to support WRT?

“This hasn’t been discussed at all. At the moment, I don’t think this is the plan, but you never know, motorsport always springs a surprise. So at the moment, we are fully committed and focused on our WEC programme, and I think RLL is fully focused on IMSA.

“And of course, you will see some similar faces in both championships because yeah, it’s not only RLL, it’s not only WRT, there are some people from BMW who are committed to the programme that you will see in the in both championships. But at the moment, so far, the discussion has been quite clear, we will fully commit to the World Championship.”

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