VICTORIOUS START: TEAM WRT WINS GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SEASON OPENER AT PAUL-RICARD

VICTORIOUS START: TEAM WRT WINS GT WORLD CHALLENGE EUROPE SEASON OPENER AT PAUL-RICARD

13/04/2025

Team WRT launched its 2025 GT World Challenge Europe campaign in the best possible way by securing overall victory at the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard, with the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO. On a 59-car grid filled with fierce competition from 10 manufacturers, WRT’s trio of Ugo de Wilde, Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts delivered a flawless drive to take the win under the lights after 179 laps. The team also celebrated a podium finish in the Gold Cup with the #777 entered under the AlManar Racing by WRT banner, while the #30 Silver Cup entry was unfortunately forced to retire due to a technical issue in the final hour.RACE HIGHLIGHTS

• Strong opening stints from all three WRT cars set the tone for a clean and competitive start, with the #32 immediately breaking into the top-five thanks to a strategic first pit stop, the #777 holding ground in the Gold Cup, and the #30 gaining positions in Silver.
• Stellar stints from Charles Weerts, Ugo de Wilde, and Kelvin van der Linde brought the BMW M4 GT3 EVO #32 to the lead by the fifth hour.
• van der Linde managed the lead under pressure in the penultimate stint to secure overall victory after 179 laps.
• In the Gold Cup category, the #777 BMW fought its way up through the field with Al Faisal Al Zubair, Ben Tuck, and Jens Klingmann bringing the car to podium contention throughout the race.
• A strong team effort sealed a P3 finish in the Gold Cup.
• In the Silver Cup, the #30 BMW M4 GT3 EVO showed encouraging pace with Gilles Stadsbader, Etienne Cheli, and Gustav Bergström running solidly within the top-eight of the category.
• A technical issue in the sixth hour brought a premature end to their efforts.

Strong Foundation for the Season AheadWith a Pro class victory and a Gold Cup podium, the team now turns its attention to the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship, taking place next weekend at Imola, where Team WRT will field four entries—two Hypercars and two LMGT3s—as the battle continues on the world stage.

Vincent VOSSE, Team Principal Team WRT: “Again, it was great teamwork! For a bit of history, we haven’t won here since 2012 and we’ve been close a few times but always a bit unlucky. To be able to achieve this strong result is mega. I’m super happy for Ugo who did his first race with us! It is such a nice way to start and to take off a little bit of pressure. I’m of course very sorry for Car #30, those things happen in racing. Until then they were doing quite well. A great job from #777 with their 3rd place in Gold Cup. A great start of the season!”

Ugo DE WILDE, driver #32: “Round one is done, and I can’t believe what has just happened! It’s amazing to start my journey with BMW with a win. It was a really educational weekend for me, it was great to finally start racing with Charles, Kelvin and Team WRT. It was not easy at the start and we were not expecting to finish on the podium. I’m sure we have still a lot of room for improvement. We will keep working and building and try to focus on Monza then on the biggest one, Spa 24 Hours. Thanks a lot to BMW and to WRT!”

Charles WEERTS, driver #32: ”A very good weekend, I’m very happy! We didn’t expect it at all but it’s the kind of surprise we love to have. The team did an amazing job, our car was really nice to drive, so a big thank you to the team and to BMW but also my two teammates. First time we drove together, and we got a win straight away! Super proud and super happy to be driving with them. Let’s try to keep it going like we did and I’m sure we will have a successful year!”

Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: “It was a very surprising win for us today. After qualifying our main target was to finish in thetop-five and to score points for the season end. But to be fighting for a podium and even a win was unexpected and makes it even sweeter. Big shout out to Charles, he’s been really good. I think it’s one of hist best drives. Same for Ugo that we threw in a deep endin such a competitive championship, and he did really well. He made no mistakes, and he established him well this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses throughout the season!”

Al Faisal AL ZUBAIR, driver #777: “I think finishing 10th overall and 3rd in class in our first time together in GT World Challenge Europe is something we should be proud of! Happy with how the car performed. We struggled quite a bit in qualifying but making it ,into the top-10 and third BMW is great. It’s a good sign for the rest of the season! Thanks to the team!”.

Ben TUCK, driver #777: “To be honest, after qualifying today, we would have taken a podium and that’s exactly where we ended up. So close to P2 is so... I’m not disappointed but, if only we could have had one more! Honestly I am really happy with this podium. I enjoyed my stint! The car felt good today. Plus, Al Faisal had a great opening stint and Jens brought it home in the end. Thanks to them, to Antoine and the #30 crew for the mega job! We are very happy!”

Jens KLINGMANN, driver #777: “Super happy to kick off the season with a podium. I think the top-10 overall with our Gold Cup car is an amazing result. We didn’t have the pace in the end to fight for more even though we were so close to P2, but P1 was out of reach. I think we can be proud and happy with what we achieved tonight! We executed everything very well. The harmony in the team and in our driver crew is really good! We tried to push each other forward and it worked well. I can’t wait for the rest of the season!”

Etienne CHELI, driver #30: “First weekend of GT3 and I am very happy with it even if in the end it’s a DNF. It’s motorsport, sometimes it happens. We did a really good job with the team, we had a great set-up, we had good chemistry with my teammates. The way of working at WRT is impressive and I love it. I can’t wait for the next races. I’m sure we can do great things all together!”