DOMINANT 24 HOURS OF DUBAI VICTORY AND DOUBLE PODIUM MARKS TEAM WRT’S DEBUT WITH BMW

DOMINANT 24 HOURS OF DUBAI VICTORY AND DOUBLE PODIUM MARKS TEAM WRT’S DEBUT WITH BMW

15/01/2023

There could be no better start to the new chapter in Team WRT’s history: the Belgian squad took an authoritative win in its first outing with the BMW M4 GT3, signing a 1-3 in the 24 Hours of Dubai.

Mohammed Al Saud Ben Saud, Jens Klingmann, Diego Menchaca, Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer and Dries Vanthoor in car #7 led the race for 425 of the 621 laps, while Sean Gelael, Max Hesse, Maxime Martin, Valentino Rossi and Tim Whale performed an equally solid race in car #46 to share the podium with their teammates.

This is the third win for Team WRT in the Emirates top endurance race, after successes in 2016 and 2022, and it marks a perfect beginning to the 2023 GT3 season, which sees the Baudour-based squad debuting with BMW machinery. The first official outing as BMW M Team WRT is scheduled on 4-5 February at the Bathurst 12 Hours, the opening round of the Intercontinental GT Challenge.

Vincent Vosse was a happy Team WRT Principal after the race: “It’s a very nice feeling to start the 2023 season and our partnership with BMW with a win and a double podium. It’s a big achievement, and we are happy to give the BMW M4 its first win in a 24-hour race. We couldn’t ask for more. We saw this race as part of our preparation but you never leave your competitive spirit at home! It was a close and challenging race, and it is great to see that the entire team and all the drivers performed faultlessly. Our race strategy was good and it was also very encouraging to note that we did not face any major technical issues. I want to convey special congratulations to our crews that have been working relentlessly in the last three months to learn the car and have done a terrific job. Now, to the next one!”

The BMW M4 proved competitive since the practice sessions and qualifying yielded P4 for car #7 and P8 for car #46.

The initial phases of the race were quite lively, with some leader changes, but shortly before the first-hour mark, Dries Vanthoor, who took the start at the wheel of car #7, seized the lead, which he and his teammates kept in sight throughout the full race.

The end of the race offered suspense and show, as the Herberth Porsche #91, which had been exchanging the lead with car #7 throughout the hours according to pit stops and ‘code 60’ periods, went into a last-chance fuel strategy, taking the lead. Nevertheless, Team WRT didn’t lose its cool and Vanthoor regained the lead in the decisive final moments.

Car #46 showed a similar pace and was closely behind its sister car in the first hours, but was then slowed down by an unlucky incident, when a competitor lost oil on track sending Tim Whale off track and on the barriers, luckily without damage. Some more time was lost in the ‘code 60’ necessary to rescue the car, but #46 was able to retrieve P3, which it kept until the chequered flag. This is the first podium finish of Valentino Rossi in a major GT3 endurance race.

Dubai 24 Hours (24 Hours Series - Round 1)
Dubai, UAE - 12-15 January 2023

Race Result

1. Al Saud-Klingmann-Menchaca-Simmenauer-Vanthoor (BMW M4) 621 laps
2. Bohn-Alleman-A.Renauer-R.Renauer (Porsche 911 R) +31s761
3. Gelael-Hesse-Martin-Rossi-Whale (BMW M4) + 2 laps
4. Bamber-De Pasquale-G.Grove.S.Grove (Porsche 911 R) + 3 laps
5. Bartels-Detry-Mazatis-Soulet-Vervisch (Audi R8 LMS) + 3 laps