ROBERT KUBICA TO JOIN TEAM WRT IN ELMS PROGRAMME

ROBERT KUBICA TO JOIN TEAM WRT IN ELMS PROGRAMME

12/02/2021

Team WRT today confirmed its strong commitment to its plans in LMP2 endurance racing by confirming it will be competing in the 2021 European Le Mans Series alongside running a full FIA WEC campaign, as recently announced.

The Belgian squad will enter an Oreca 07 Gibson in the six rounds of the continental series. Motorsport figure Robert Kubica is the first driver of the line-up to be announced.

The 2021 season will mark the beginning of a new chapter in Team WRT’s history, as the Baudour-based squad resolutely embraces sportscar endurance racing, while continuing being completely committed to GT3 racing, where it has conquered many titles and successes since the squad’s inception in 2010.

Team WRT will run two parallel LMP2 programmes, in the FIA WEC and in the ELMS, a series where it made its only LMP2 appearance to date, at Spa back in 2016. This second programme gives the Belgian squad the possibility to file an application to the ACO selecting committee for a second entry at Le Mans 24 Hours.

The driver line-up for the 2021 ELMS will be disclosed in due course, but a first name is being revealed today: Robert Kubica, one of the most inspiring figures in modern motorsports. The 36-year-old Pole, a former Formula Renault 3.5 champion and Formula 1 GP winner, has shun in many other disciplines, including rally and DTM, and is now embracing sportscar endurance racing, having recently competed in LMP2 at the Daytona 24 Hours. His team mates will be announced in the forthcoming weeks.

Team Principal Vincent Vosse commented: “We are sincerely excited about adding sportscar endurance racing to our portfolio of activities, as this category is really a key component of motorsport’s DNA, history and tradition. Since the moment we decided to enter the FIA WEC, it made perfect sense to us to try to double the effort with an ELMS programme, and we are delighted to be able to materialize this plan too. It will certainly help us to learn more and faster, as we take up this new challenge in LMP2. To say that we are happy to welcome Robert in the WRT family is an understatement. We all, and especially me personally, have a deep admiration for Robert as a driver and as a person. He is a true racer, a man driven by an unstoppable passion. We have been talking with him in the past, and having now the possibility to work with him is another dream come true. We look forward to announce soon the rest of the line-up, as we are currently assessing the other drivers”.

Robert Kubica: ”I am very happy to join Team WRT for what is a new chapter in my career and a new challenge also for the team. We will discover together many new things, in a series with a very strong and competitive field, made of talented contenders. It will be my first full season in endurance racing, sharing the car with teammates, something I discovered a few days ago at Daytona, and I look forward to start working with the team, at the factory and on the track. The whole project is tremendously motivating and I want to warmly thank Vincent, who pushed very hard to make this happen.”