If WRT’s first season competing in both GTP and Hypercar with BMW has taught us anything, it’s that the sky is the limit for the programme going forward.
In the WEC, BMW has taken the biggest step forward of any manufacturer in the top class over the past 12 months in its third year of Hypercar. With an updated pair of M Hybrid V8s, sporting a new aero package, service provider WRT has taken the fight to Toyota and Ferrari, becoming the leading factory team racing with an LMDh-spec prototype.
Wins at Spa and São Paulo have headlined the season so far, a season in which it also came close to winning Le Mans for the first time since the late 90s and snuck onto the podium with a late strategy call at Fuji.
With two races to go, it remains in both the Drivers’ and Manufacturers’ title fights. It’s a feat that seemed improbable heading into the last off-season, after a tough campaign in which it finished a distant fifth in the Manufacturers’ Championship, with zero wins and just two early podiums to its name.
Then there’s the IMSA GTP effort, which hasn’t reached the same heights as the Hypercar arm in results terms, but after coming together late following BMW’s split with RLL, WRT has made steady progress through the season.
For proof that the programme is on an upward curve, look no further than last month’s Battle on the Bricks at Indianapolis, where it netted its first victory after a late pass for the lead from Sheldon van der Linde.
“The reason that we wanted to do the switch (from RLL to WRT in IMSA GTP) was to accelerate the whole Hypercar programme,” the head of BMW M Motorsport, Andreas Roos, says on reflection. “We started it already in 2025 with Sheldon (van der Linde) and Dries (Vanthoor), to have drivers doing both championships to accelerate the driver side and have synergies.
“It was not easy to start off, though, because the decision was taken quite late with BMW about how we would continue with the IMSA Championship, so we gave WRT a very short period of time to set it all up. But, on the other hand, it was incredible to see what they built in a short period, putting together a team in time to compete in a 24-hour race at Daytona, which is not the easiest way to start things off.
“It’s why I was super happy at the end of the race in Indianapolis, seeing the #24 car win and everything coming together. Did we reach our expectations? Yes. We’ve brought the two programmes together as close as possible. We have a core group which basically works in both championships, and there’s no friction.
“It’s helped the WEC programme too, because you can generate, share and work through more data and information quicker. It’s all going in the right direction, with the moves and switches we made.”
WRT team boss Vincent Vosse points to the team’s latest podium finish at Fuji in the WEC as a prime example of how its dual programme has helped achieve standout results.
“We made a good strategic call at the end of the race (to take fuel only before the final restart, to gain track position). How did we come to that? Thanks to IMSA, because here, fuel is everything, and having the opportunity to practice this every weekend in IMSA helps us in WEC.”
Across the season, Vosse admits that for WRT – a team which has been a powerhouse in Europe and on the global stage over the past decade, previously with Audi and now with BMW – every day has been a school day since moving into North America full-time.
IMSA and WEC have their own identities. They differ in class structure, race formats, the BoP process, and how races are managed, so even if the cars are identical in Hypercar and GTP, parachuting in and taking the fight to the established order was never going to be simple.
“In IMSA, the challenge is about creating your opportunities,” Vosse explains. “You need to be in the right place at the right time, with the right amount of fuel. It’s not easy to achieve this! You can’t predict everything that will happen. We haven’t had huge difficulties; we just need experience. The teams running at the front… How much experience do they have? It says it all.
“When you start a race, or a season, you want to win, right? But did I expect to win immediately? No. Did I want to win? Yes. If it didn’t come this year, though, it wasn’t the end of the world. It was really nice, though, to win in Indy and do it in style.
“Either way, whatever happened this season, building the programme was the biggest achievement, more than the win in Indy.”
Before the WEC title fights resume in Barcelona later this month, tomorrow’s IMSA finale offers WRT another chance to take a further step forward before the focus shifts to season two in IMSA GTP. The primary target, unsurprisingly, is greater consistency in its results.
“Consistency is what we’ve been missing a bit this year. We started off with a good result at Daytona, but then Sebring and Long Beach after that were disappointments. I could see us winning there, but that part of the season was difficult,” Vosse says.
“It would be arrogant to say that next year we will operate on the same level as a team like Penske, but this is the challenge. I won’t accept not moving forward. For us, moving forward means fighting for podiums at every race, even when BoP is not with you.
“In WEC, this is the area where we have moved forward this year. In WEC, if you are not able to put every detail together, you can’t win. So many quick cars didn’t win races this year. When you see the level of operation there, you can’t buy your place there or your results. You have to work for it.”
The M Hybrid V8, as a platform, isn’t set for another major update in 2027, with Roos ruling out the possibility of using another Evo Joker in the off-season. In his mind, “there’s still some potential left in the car.”
“The Evo we did proved to work well this year,” he continues. “I think there are still some areas we can improve in the current package, and in the background we are working on topics where we see where we can be better in the future, but there’s nothing on the radar for next year.”
This gives WRT and BMW a clear runway to fight for titles on two fronts in 2027, with a stable programme and stable platform.
WRT’s relationship with BMW, which began in 2023, has developed and flourished in the months and years since. This year we’ve seen a clear step forward. Next year, it feels like everything is in place for them to deliver a season to remember.
“It’s not something I think about enough,” WRT boss Vincent Vosse admits when asked about the trust that BMW has shown WRT in representing it with its flagship prototype programmes.
“It’s a nice feeling to know that a brand like BMW would let me do this, start from scratch, put everything together. A year ago, we had no tools, no trucks, no people, no workshop. We started from nothing. It’s thanks to the people I have around me that we made it happen. Now we have two big programmes, and we’re winning races.
“Of course, there’s margin for improvement, but this is motorsport. WEC is going well, and what we are learning is how to be good in IMSA. I think we are getting there. There’s still work to do, but we are getting there.”
Images © Jack Webster / Dailysportscar.com; additional images © DPPI
