BMW and WRT, two entities on the rise in WEC

A mixed result because of the #15. Yet, it had pace and performance. After excellent qualifying – except for the #20 which had its times annulled for track limits -, the BMWs could seriously challenge the Ferraris.

But in the race, the 499Ps were on another planet. However, the gap between the Italian and German cars was not that big. Only eight seconds. This delta, as small as it may be over a 6-hour race, clearly shows that the cars entered by Vincent Vosse have made significant progress compared to 2024 and that they have a chance of winning an event this year.

« A fantastic result – finally a podium! We did not expect this after finishing 13th in qualifying, which did not go as planned. But in the race, we showed how good our car and team are. We made practically no mistakes, stayed calm, and executed our strategy well. In the end, there was a bit of luck, but we have had so much bad luck in recent races that we now deserve to celebrate », praised René Rast, at the wheel of the #20.

If the performance was present in the Hypercar category, on the GT3 side, the scenario was the same. The BMWs dominated the qualifying, except for, once again, the #31 which did not make it past the hyperpole stage for the same reasons as the #20.

However, in the race, the pace was indeed present, and seeing Vincent Vosse’s two cars finish in the lead wouldn’t have been surprising. Unfortunately for the Belgian team, Valentino Rossi almost ruined everything with a borderline maneuver at the end of his stint by colliding with a competitor. The action was penalized with a stop-and-go.

“I have mixed feelings because a podium is a good result, but we could have won. It’s very disappointing because the team did a fantastic job, the car was very fast, and we managed the tires well,” acknowledged Valentino Rossi, driver of the #46.

Fortunately, Kelvin van der Linde managed to climb up the ranks and threaten the Porsche #92 in the final laps to take the lead of the race. Richard Lietz, the Manthey Racing driver, had to make himself as wide as possible to fend off the attacks from the BMW and cross the line as the winner.

This result should be tempered with that of the #31, which received too many penalties. There were also numerous mistakes, which resulted in a considerable loss of time. It’s a shame considering the pace of the #46.

An excellent race weekend with a second place in Hypercar and in LMGT3. Sixth place for car #15, which had problems at the end of the race, but we will understand what happened. We also had different issues with car #31. It’s not pleasant to see them so far down the standings when they were running in second place mid-race after coming back from twelfth. It’s also unfortunate for car #46, which led a large part of the race and had the pace to win it without the penalty. In any case, a double podium in WEC is always very satisfying. The next race will take place at home. Let’s see what we can do, rejoiced Vincent Vosse, the team principal of WRT.