Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, reigning team champions in the Blancpain Sprint, Endurance and overall GT Series, has announced its line-ups for the 2015 season. Their aim is clear: gather even more trophies than last year.
It was at the WRT workshop in Belgian Baudour that Belgian Audi Club Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse lifted the veil on their 2015 programme. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra will be entered in the Blancpain Sprint Series and three in the Blancpain Endurance Series, with the new Audi R8 LMS joining them in selected events of the Endurance Series.
That new car will be seen at the inaugural round of 2015 in Monza (with Nico Müller, Frank Stippler and Stéphane Ortelli at the wheel) and in Le Castellet (driven by Laurens Vanthoor, Markus Winkelhock and René Rast). Both trio’s will drive the new R8 during the Total 24 Hours of Spa.
Reigning drivers champion Vanthoor will start the endurance season with other team-mates and gets the company of two former single seater aces. 23-year old Dutchman Robin Frijns will make his GT debut, with 28-year old Jean-Karl Vernay at the wheel of the #1 Audi as well. Frijns and Vernay will be joined by Stéphane Richelmi in Spa. The Monegasque driver will compete at the side of Ortelli and Stippler in the previous rounds.
Three newcomers will start in the fiercely competitive Pro-Am class. French GT drivers Laurent Pasquali and Sacha Bottemanne will get the company of a 17-year old Dutchman called Max Koebolt, who made his racing debut last year.
In the 7 rounds of the Blancpain Sprint Series, the team will enter four Audis R8 LMS ultra, all in the Pro category. Car #1 will be entrusted to Laurens Vanthoor and Robin Frijns, car #2 will be for Enzo Ide-Christopher Mies, with the two “Stéphanes of Monaco”, Ortelli and Richelmi, sharing car #3 and Frank Stippler-James Nash pairing in car #4.
Vincent Vosse (team principal): “We are anxious to be on the track again after the winter break. We have been recently testing at the Paul Ricard and twice at Misano Adriatico, but we look forward to the adrenalin that only real racing can give. We are ready and extremely motivated. I am proud of the work that everybody has done during this preparation phase and I am also proud of the excellent line-ups we have put together. They represent, I believe, a perfect combination of experience and youth.”