DOUBLE SUCCESS AT THE NÜRBURGRING: #30 CROWNED SILVER ENDURANCE CHAMPIONS, #32 BACK ON THE PODIUM

A three-hour race at the Nürburgring, shaped by multiple Safety Car periods, marked the penultimate round of the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup and another successful weekend for Team WRT. The #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO of Ignacio Montenegro, Matisse Lismont and Amaury Cordeel secured the Silver Cup Drivers’ and Teams’ Championships, adding titles 73 and 74 to Team WRT’s record. The #32 of Kelvin van der Linde, Jordan Pepper and Charles Weerts scored P2 and its first Endurance Cup podium of the season, while the #46 of Valentino Rossi, Max Hesse and Dan Harper finished in 9th place.
 
The #30 carried its strong qualifying form into the race, leading 95% of the way before finishing P2 in the Silver Cup. While victory narrowly escaped the crew, the result was enough to secure both the Silver Cup Drivers’ and Teams’ Endurance Championships, with the young trio clinching the drivers’ crown and Team WRT securing the teams’ title with one round still to go. It is another major achievement for the young #30 crew, which has enjoyed an outstanding season and currently leads the Silver Cup in the Sprint Cup and the overall combined championship.
 
The #32 also delivered a strong performance, climbing from P8 to P2 overall to secure Team WRT’s first Endurance Cup podium of the season. After a challenging campaign, the three BMW M Works drivers put together a consistent and competitive race to deliver the result the #32 had been chasing. The podium is an important boost for the team in the overall standings and provides valuable momentum heading into the final stages of the season. Charles and Kelvin now turn their attention to the Sprint Cup title fight, where they remain firmly in contention.
 
The #46 finished the weekend P9 overall after starting from P12, gaining valuable ground through the three-hour race. Valentino, Max and Dan showed strong pace throughout the event, but the race proved to be a rollercoaster for the crew, leaving them feeling that a stronger result was within reach.
 
The GT World Challenge Europe campaign now heads to Zandvoort for the Sprint Cup, where both the #30 and #32 crews will continue their fight for title honours before the season finale in Barcelona on the first weekend of October. The Endurance Cup will then conclude at Portimão on 17–18 October, giving Team WRT one final opportunity to add to its impressive championship tally.
 
No time to pause as this weekend, our WEC crews head to the Circuit of the Americas in Texas for the FIA World Endurance Championship. The team will field its two BMW M Hybrid V8s in the fight to defend its lead in the Drivers' standings and secure the lead in the Manufacturers' standings, while its two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs chase new podiums. It marks the start of another intense stretch of the season, with back-to-back races across WRT's programmes over the next five weeks.

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal: “It was a positive weekend. I am very happy with second place for the #32, as well as another podium and the Endurance Silver Cup title for the #30 crew. I am proud of our young trio, who have had an incredible season so far. This title is thoroughly deserved.”

Matisse Lismont, driver #30: "A very positive weekend! We dominated almost every session in class and took P1 in qualifying as well. The race was a little unfortunate at the end, finishing P2, but I’m still very happy with the performance from everyone. We just missed out a little bit at the end, but that’s completely fine. We were there for the championship, so I fully understand that there was no reason to take any unnecessary risks. I’m very proud of the whole team. That’s already one championship in the books, and now we move on to Zandvoort next weekend to try and secure the other two!"

Kelvin van der Linde, driver #32: "I’m very happy that we managed to secure the team’s first Endurance Cup podium of the season. 
It is more than deserved. We managed to set up the car so that it worked well over the full distance at the Nürburgring. That hasn’t always been the case in the past in the GT World Challenge. 
I’m also pleased with the important points in the overall standings." 

Max Hesse, driver #46: "I’m pretty satisfied with the result. The race was a bit of a rollercoaster for us. I think we could have achieved more than ninth place, but at least we scored some points. Congratulations to the team, which did a great job, and to the #32 crew on the podium!”