2024, a prosperous year for motorized red devils

It is an understatement to say that the year 2024 was auspicious to say the least for Belgian drivers.

After having repeatedly flirted with the supreme prize, Thierry Neuville and Martijn Wydaeghe (Hyundai i20 Rally1) finally managed to win the WRC title, and what's more, THE way!

The tandem, made up of a German-speaking driver and a Flemish co-driver with the particularity of communicating in…French, achieved the feat of winning both the Monte-Carlo and Greece rallies, of reaching the top 6 times. the podium and sign 48 best scratch times while having the difficult task of opening the road throughout the entire season.

In addition to the superb title of the native of Saint-Vith, 41 years after the illustrious Jacky Ickx, the Limburger Laurens Vanthoor won the grail, winning nothing less than the World Endurance Championship.

Associated, on the Porsche Penske n°6, with the Frenchman Kévin Estre and the German André Lotterer, who spent the majority of his childhood in Nivelles in…Belgium, Laurens won the 1812 km of Qatar as well as the 6H of Fuji while placing a brilliant 2nd in the 6 Hours of Imola and Spa as well as 5th in the 24 Hours of Le Mans in order to accomplish his dream!

The icing on the cake, at the start of the season, he also won the Bathurst 12H at the wheel of a Porsche 911 GT3 R honed by the Manthey EMA team and shared with Ayhancan Güven and Matt Campbell before finishing 2nd. a shortened edition of the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, on a similar mount with, again Güven, and the competition of Preining and Estre.

As for his little brother Dries, he was not left out! Author of a brilliant start to the race during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, he could claim a choice result before experiencing a collision, shortly after nightfall, with the Ferrari of Robert Kubica. The youngest Vanthoor, however, will take his revenge during the 6 Hours of Fuji by brilliantly placing 2nd with the help of Raffaelo Marciello and Marco Wittmann, at the same time offering its first WEC podium to the BMW M Hybrid V8.

As for Maxime Martin, for his (too) rare appearances at the wheel of this same Hypercar, this time in the IMSA championship, he was not unworthy. Far from it! The friendly Brussels resident finished 7th in the 24 Hours of Daytona and at the foot of the podium in the 12 Hours of Sebring alongside De Phillippi and Yelloly.

Also entered in the WEC, on a BMW M4 GT3/Team WRT with Ahmad Al Harthy and Valentino Rossi, “Push Pappy” took a brilliant 2nd place at the 6H of Imola, behind the sister car entrusted to Farfus-Leung-Gelael, performing a real recital in the rain, on slick tires (!), and climbed to the 3rd step of the podium at Fuji. Alas, a crash by Al Harthty, hit at the rear by a…BMW Hypercar, during the 6 Hours of Spa, and an exit by the same Al Harthy, in precarious conditions to say the least during the 24 Hours of Le Mans, will cost a famous packet of points for the trio who will, in the end, have to settle for 6th position in LMGT3 in the championship.

For her part, the jovial Sarah Bovy, associated with Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey (except for the first game where Doriane Pin replaced the Swiss) stood out by twice placing the #85 Lamborghini Huracan in pole position in LMGT3. However, bad luck did not allow him to achieve success in the race, his best result being a 5th place at the 6 Hours of Spa as well as the 24 Hours of Le Mans.

On the other hand, Sarah had much more success in the European Le Mans Series. Always associated with Michelle Gatting and Rahel Frey but, in this context, on a Porsche 911 GT3 R, the Liégeoise has once again, made the talk, signing no less than four pole positions! Brilliant pole positions rewarded with a victory at the 4H of Imola and a first entry into the 4H of Portimao. Enough to earn him a convincing 4th place in the championship, barely a point off the podium!

Engaged in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, a competition bringing together nothing less than legendary events such as the 12 Hours of Bathurst, the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and the 8 Hours of Indianapolis, Charles Weerts also won the cup!

Entered in Australia on a BMW M4 GT3, honed by WRT, the Aubelois was certainly forced to retire but subsequently rectified his situation magnificently by finishing 3rd in the Eifel in the company of Max Hesse and Dan Harper (M4 GT3/Team RMG) as well as in his Ardennes garden, with the complicity of Dries Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde (M4 GT3/Team WRT) before placing 2nd in the United States alongside the same friends on the same mount! Enough to propel him to the roof of the world, Weerts winning the crown with 68 pts on the clock, ahead of the brothers…Vanthoor, both with 50 points.

Team WRT was, once again, very brilliant in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe, winning no less than four sprint victories including three signed by Dries Vanthoor and Charles Weerts (Brands Hatch, Misano, Magny-Cours) and one by the pair composed of Maxime Martin and Valentino Rossi (Misano), all combined, let us repeat, with a very nice 3rd position in endurance at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps (Vanthoor-Weerts-S.van der Linde) and an improbable overall victory for Ahmad Al Harthy-Sam De Haan-Jens Klingmann, nevertheless officiating in the bronze category, during the 3H of Monza. In fact, Baudour's team was awarded the title in Fanatec GT World Challenge Powered by AWS Teams.

If the Boutsen VDS team also stood out by winning the “overall” crown in the “Silver Teams” category, the Comtoyou racing team, dear to Jean-Michel Baert and François Verbist, struck very hard by winning the legendary 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps with an Aston Martin Vantage GT3 entrusted to the good care of Nicki Thiim, Mattia Drudi and Marco Sorensen, becoming the first Belgian team victorious in the Ardennes double clock tour since Marc VDS Racing in 2015 but also the first team to bring an Aston Martin to triumph in this beautiful region since…1948!

For his part, Antwerp's Gilles Magnus and his various acolytes made the Audi R8 LMS/Saintéloc Racing shine both in sprint and in endurance, winning numerous games, enough to give them the title in the two competitions reserved for ” Gold Drivers.”

As for Alessio Picariello, he demonstrated his fine burst of speed by claiming his first success on the emblematic Nordschleife during NLS 5, in the company of Klaus Bachler (Porsche 911 GT3 R/Falken Motorsports). Furthermore, for his first steps in the Hypercar category, the native of Gosselies distinguished himself in IMSA, by hoisting the Porsche 963/Proton Competition with the help of Bruni and Viscaal to a convincing 6th position during the Petit Le Mans. .

Exiled in Japan for many years, Bertrand Baguette, supported by Kazuki Hiramine on the Nissan Z Marelli Impul, closed the 2024 Super GT season with a bang, by climbing to the 3rd step of the podium at Suzuka. Enough to earn him an honorable 6th position in the championship, even if the initial objective was much higher.

To this formidable harvest, for a country as big as confetti, we must add the sensational 2nd place of Guillaume De Mévius in the Dakar, between the two sacred monsters that are Carlos Sainz (Audi) and Sébastien Loeb (Prodrive Hunter ), all on a Toyota Hilux pampered by the Overdrive Racing team based in Condroz, in Villers-le-Bouillet.