When it comes to the Sprint Cup, Charles Weerts knows what it's like to be hunted. The Team WRT driver has claimed four series titles, finished in the top three in six consecutive seasons, and won 18 races along the way. Those are the kind of statistics that put a very big target on your back.
When the new Sprint campaign opens this weekend at Brands Hatch, he and Kelvin van der Linde will form an unchanged line-up in the #32 Team WRT BMW. Unsurprisingly, they are the favourites to win this year’s crown. Another season of being hunted lies ahead.
"The championship was simply over"
While he’s built a big haul of titles, it would be wrong to assume that Weerts has had it easy. Last year in particular was a hard-won title, and it very nearly slipped away at the final round.
"We struggled quite a bit in qualifying; we simply lacked pace, to be honest," explains Weerts. "But we always came back in the races and got into a good position, thanks mainly to our engineers and to our mechanics doing great pit stops. Their value in this championship is immense.”
Weerts and Van der Linde went to the season finale at Valencia with a razor-thin advantage at the top of the standings. But their chances looked to have been dealt a fatal blow when the #32 BMW was caught up in an accident at the start of the first race.
"Going there, we knew it is not typically the best track for us," recalls Weerts. "In Race 1 we started pretty far back after a another difficult qualifying and then we got completely destroyed at Turn 2. I got shunted off and hurt myself quite a lot. I was really in pain.”
This ended a run of 38 consecutive finishes for Weerts. But more significantly, he believed that it spelt the end of his 2025 title aspirations.
"In my mind, at that moment, the championship was simply over," he says. "A DNF meant it was finished. But by some kind of miracle, our main competitors also didn't score any points, which gave us the opportunity to still fight on Sunday.”
The #32 BMW started the deciding race from fifth on the grid and needed to beat the pole-sitting Grasser Lamborghini to take the title. The hunted was now the hunter. Van der Linde took a few laps, then went on a charge, passing Jordan Pepper for the lead just before the pit window opened.
"Kelvin did an incredible job," says Charles, who took the wheel for the second half of the race and secured the title for Team WRT. "I know I'm repeating myself, but I was really in so much pain – I couldn't even put my helmet on! It was very, very difficult.
“But it's funny how the body works, because as the time for me to get in the car was coming closer, the less pain I felt. And then right before getting in the car, I didn't feel anything anymore. I was just like, ‘Okay, let's get this done.’
"Ultimately, the reward was great: for me, for Kelvin, for the whole team. It was a beautiful moment.”
"I grew up a lot"
There was a deeper significance to this title in that it was the first for Weerts without Dries Vanthoor. Splitting from his friend and long-time co-driver presented an opportunity to step into a new role, one in which Weerts has thrived.
"Obviously, having Dries next to me was great in that I learned a lot from him," says Weerts. "He is the fastest guy I know on pure pace. He is very, very talented. But while I learned a lot, I was always compared to Dries.
"Not driving with him anymore after five seasons together, my role shifted a little bit," Weerts continues. "Kelvin was new at BMW, but also extremely talented and super quick. In Endurance we also had Ugo [de Wilde], who was another rookie at BMW. He is my age, not super experienced but again very quick.
"So definitely the dynamic changed. It made me a better driver, because my responsibility and my role was different. I really enjoyed it. Ultimately, we had a pretty good run in both championships, winning Sprint and finishing third in Endurance, and also winning the overall title."
When we spoke with him last month, Van der Linde was quick to praise Weerts for taking on a leadership role at Team WRT. He described his teammate as a calming presence, "a very easy-going guy" who "doesn't feel he needs to be in the spotlight to have success."
This matches perfectly with the person you meet outside the car. Weerts has a laid-back, friendly demeanour, with not even a hint of arrogance. He is remarkably humble for a 25-year-old who has already achieved so much.
"At least five cars can win this championship”
Weerts will aim for an unprecedented fifth Sprint Cup title this season, but his hunger to win has not diminished.
“The first time is the most special,” he says. “I think this is true for a lot of things in life. But the more titles I can get, the better it is. My motivation really isn’t affected by the amount of times I’ve won the championship.”
It promises to be a very competitive fight. There are obvious rivals such as Maro Engel and Lucas Auer or Marvin Kirchhöfer and Dean MacDonald, as well as several dark horses who might emerge over the course of the season.
"At least five cars can win this championship,” says Weerts. “The level in Sprint just keeps on rising and this makes our task a little bit harder. It's our job to keep working and trying to stay the best."
This will be Weerts’ seventh full season in Sprint, the majority of which have been as defending champion. More than any other driver, he is used to being hunted. You sense that he prefers it that way, too.