BMW partner team WRT has revealed its full plans for next month’s 24 Hours of Spa tonight at the grand opening of its new headquarters, with the Belgian outfit set to run five BMW M4 GT3 EVOs in GT World Challenge Europe’s blue riband event.
The team will run two additional cars for its home race, adding to its previously confirmed trio of M4s, which are spread across the Pro, Gold and Silver Cup classes.
Both newly-confirmed cars will race in the Pro class as the team looks to claim its third overall win in the Spa 24 Hours and first with BMW, after its previous pair of victories came as part of the Audi Sport family.
Car #46 will be entrusted to MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Kevin Magnussen and René Rast, and the #31 will be shared by Marco Wittmann, plus Sheldon van der Linde and Dries Vanthoor.
“I am very happy to be back at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps,” said Rossi. “It is a great race – very demanding and difficult – on a fantastic and challenging track. The level of competition between the best GT cars, teams and drivers in the world is extremely high. I can’t wait to race there together with my great teammates Kevin Magnussen and René Rast.”
Magnussen added: “I am really looking forward to competing with BMW M Motorsport and Team WRT at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps and getting to know the BMW M4 GT3 EVO. I have some GT experience from a joint start with my father at the Gulf 12 Hours a few years ago.
“René and Valentino will surely help me a lot in getting accustomed to the car quickly. It’s exciting to share a car with both of them. Valentino is a legend, and René, whom I know well from the FIA WEC, is a true champion. It will be a pleasure to compete together at the 24h Spa-Francorchamps.”
These two cars will join the team’s regular Endurance Cup crews, which includes Gustav Bergström, Etienne Cheli and Gilles Stadsbader in car #30 (Silver Cup), Ugo de Wilde, Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts in car #32 (Pro) and Al Faisal Al Zubair, Jens Klingmann and Ben Tuck in car the AlManar Racing branded #777 (Gold Cup).
ROWE adds to BMW’s Pro effort
In total, BMW is set to be represented by 11 cars in the race, with five cars in the Pro class. Team WRT’s M4s will be joined by a pair from German outfit ROWE Racing, which is also expanding its effort in the race with a second car.
The ROWE team’s #98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO will see GT World Challenge Europe regulars Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn, and Raffaele Marciello team up, while the #998 will be shared by BMW M works drivers Philipp Eng, Dan Harper, and Max Hesse.
“I am very excited to compete once more at Spa-Francorchamps with ROWE Racing and hopefully achieve my fourth victory at the 24-hour race,” commented Philipp Eng.
“It’s a great story that I’m sharing the car with Dan and Max. I’ve known them since hour zero, as I was one of the mentors of the BMW Junior Team back then. Seeing them now as established works drivers and witnessing how they deliver absolute top performances every race weekend is fantastic.”
