The new year is around the corner and the 2018 racing season will start early for Team WRT, with the participation in two of the most prestigious endurance races on the international scene, the Dubai 24 Hours (11-13 January) and the Bathurst 12 Hours (2-4 February). The Belgian squad today confirmed its participation to both events and revealed its line-ups.
Dubai 24 Hours
It will be the third year in a row that Team WRT takes part to the Gulf enduro, which has become the official kick-off of the international GT season, and that Team WRT won in 2016, the year of its debut, with A.Ferté-S.Leonard-M.Meadows-L.Vanthoor.
In 2018, the team will enter one Audi R8 LMS under the banner of MS7 by WRT for Mohamed Bin Saud, who won for WRT the Saudi GT Championship earlier this year, associated to Dries Vanthoor, recently appointed as Audi works driver, Christopher Mies and Dutchman Michael Vergers.
Bathurst 12 Hours
It will be the very first time that Team WRT contest the historic 12-hour race on the fabulous natural track in New South Wales. The Belgian squad will bring to Australia two Audis R8, under the banner of Audi Sport Team WRT. One will be entered in the Pro category and entrusted to the well-known trio composed of Robin Frijns, Stuart Leonard and Dries Vanthoor.
The other car, entered in Pro-Am, will see the debut with the team of a stalwart trio in endurance racing, who took the LMGTE Am title in the FIA-WEC this year: Paul Dalla Lana, Pedro Lamy and Mathias Lauda.
Vincent Vosse: « We will be back on track very shortly after the Christmas break and I am delighted that 2018 will start with the presence in two of the most prestigious GT endurance races in the world. We now know well the Dubai 24 Hours, a very well-attended and colourful event, and we aim at repeating the very good results of our two previous participations. The Bathurst 12 Hours will be new to us, and a very long journey from our home base, but we are really excited to discover this prestigious race and a track which fascinates both drivers and fans, and can only be compared to the old Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring’s Nordschleife. Pierre Dieudonné, who raced the Bathurst 1000 for touring cars four times in the late 80s, will be our sporting director, and hopefully his experience can be helpful. I am particularly happy to welcome in the team the trio DallaLana-Lamy-Lauda, which has achieved so many successes in recent years, and it will be nice to have with us Pedro, with whom I won the ELMS GT title back in 2006. »
Press Release WRT,