Les Guignols de l’Info would have said: “F***** ten years!” Ten years since WRT last won the 24 Hours of Spa. The Belgian team of Vincent Vosse and Yves Weerts has two successes in the Belgian Ardennes in 2011 and 2014. Since then, WRT has always had cars to win but the machine has always jammed, most of the time because of track exits. 2024, the year of redemption?
In 10 years, no less than 41 GT3s have been entered by WRT in the 24 Hours of Spa for 79 different drivers. For this centenary edition, three BMW M4 GT3s are at the start in the WRT camp, including two which feature historic liveries. To continue with the figures, WRT management has 65 starts at the 24 Hours of Spa and eight victories for four people: Pierre Dieudonné, Thierry Tassin, Vincent Vosse, Kurt Mollekens. Unless we are mistaken, there are 97 different drivers at WRT at the 24 Hours of Spa from 2010 to 2024.
“I grew up a few kilometers from the circuit and I used to go to Spa-Francorchamps to watch the races since my childhood”remembers Vincent Vosse. “That’s where my passion for motorsport was born. The 24 Hours have always been a special race, with the largest number of spectators. Being able to participate was therefore a dream that came true in 1995, and winning it was the crowning achievement of an ambition. However, I only won it on my eighth attempt, in 2002, in a Viper, and in the previous seven appearances, I only finished the race once. This shows how difficult it can be to succeed in such a race. Subsequently, I was on the podium three times and took one pole position, narrowly missing out on a second victory in 2004, when we were leading in a Ferrari but were slowed by a Technical problem. My last race was in 2010, when I stopped racing to focus entirely on the Team WRT project. Winning again in 2011 and 2014, as a team, after gaining the trust of a major automotive brand, was magical. Since then, we have always fought at the forefront. We want to win again! »
Vincent Vosse at the 2010 Spa 24 Hours, the year of his last participation (photo: DPPI)
Vincent Vosse knows better than anyone that the 24 Hours of Spa remains a race apart, Balance of Performance or not. WRT has always been able to win but for a decade, the best result remains a second place in 2021, 3”978s from victory after a flight from last place.
With 17 starts, Pierre Dieudonné also has a long relationship with the 24 Hours of Spa, but the sporting director wants to rectify things straight away: “In books and on the internet I am listed as a three-time winner, but that is not true. The confusion arises from the fact that in 1974-75, when Luigi Racing’s BMW 3.0 CSi won, I was officially entered, but as a reserve driver, and did not get behind the wheel of the winning cars. I won in 1981, with the Mazda RX-7, with Tom Walkinshaw. A memorable victory in many respects: it was the first victory for a Japanese manufacturer, moreover with a car not running in the higher category and equipped with a rotary engine. It was also the last victory for a team of two drivers and the first time that an on-board camera was used live by Belgian television. I was lucky enough to experience two very different periods of the 24 hours, as I raced on both the old road circuit and the new circuit. The old 14 km circuit was very fast and scary, especially at night or in bad weather, and serious accidents were common. Fear added to the normal stress of racing. Avoiding mistakes and problems with the car was a necessity, as the price to pay was very high. Today the race is completely different, it has become a 24-hour sprint race. You always have to race flawlessly, but today’s cars allow you to drive them to the limit for the duration of the race. »
Photo : Mazda
Thierry Tassin, sporting director of the Hypercar program in the WEC, has 19 starts and four victories, all won at the wheel of BMW: the 635 CSi in 1983 and 1986, the 318is in 1994 and the 320i in 1996. He will drive a 635 CSi during the exhibition events this week and underlines another essential aspect of the 24 Hours: “It’s the biggest GT race in the world today, but it’s always been a huge event, with tremendous resonance. In my time, it was an event that attracted large numbers of spectators and was covered by the Belgian press and media like no other car race. For a Belgian driver, winning the 24 Hours could be the springboard for a professional career. This is what happened in my case, when I won for the first time in 1983. I was racing single-seaters at a high level, in Formula 2, but I was going through a difficult period and I was barely known beyond motorsport circles. Winning the 24 Hours relaunched my career and made me become a public figure overnight. I must say that seeing the crowd invade the track from the podium is something that took my breath away and that I will never forget. »
Photo: Facebook DH Engines
Kurt Mollekens, team manager of the team, has two victories in 14 starts. “I won the last edition of the touring car era, in 2000 with a Peugeot, and the last race with GT1 cars, in 2009 with a Corvette, so I will ask Stéphane Ratel to let me know when he will decide to abandon the GT3 »smiles the former pilot. “The race has evolved enormously, it is much more difficult to win today, because it has reached a level of complexity which requires not only true teamwork, but also perfection at every stage and in every detail. This is largely due to the fact that it is a 24-hour race with more than 60 cars in the same category. Here there are no different car classes, the more than 60 cars all have the same performance, the same levels of acceleration and braking. The race is therefore extremely difficult, and the overtaking is very difficult, you are all at the same pace and at the limit for 24 hours. »
Photo : DPPI
Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde will once again share the wheel of a BM M4 GT3 this year and the trio of #32 will be keen to make people forget the accident in 2023 where two BMWs collided. night following a rather strange full course yellow. In the #46, Maxime Martin, who has 17 starts, finds Valentino Rossi after 6th place in 2023. Augusto Farfus left for ROWE Racing, it is Raffaele Marciello, winner in 2022, who completes the crew. Ahmad Al Harthy, Sam De Haan, Jens Klingmann and Calan Williams ride the #30 entered in the Bronze Cup.
Did you know ? WRT was at the start of the 2010 24 Hours of Spa with three Audi R8 LMS GT3s. The best ranked was that of Stéphane Ortelli, François Verbist, Kurt Mollekens and Stéphane Lémeret in 13th place.
