BLANCPAIN: Magnussen to join WRT Audi for Paul Ricard

Corvette Racing stalwart Jan Magnussen will make a one-off appearance with the WRT Audi squad in the Paul Ricard Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup in June.

Magnussen will share a WRT Audi R8 LMS with Filipe Albuquerque and Rodrigo Baptisa when their regular teammate Sergio Jimenez has a clashing Brazilian Stock Car Championship event.

The Dane's recruitment for the Paul Ricard 1000km race on June 25 follows fellow Corvette Racing driver Antonio Garcia's signing for a three-race program that began at last weekend's Monza BGTS enduro. The Spaniard was brought in to replace Rene Rast, who is understood to be taking part in Audi's LMP1 endurance test at the Aragon circuit, alongside Will Stevens and Nico Muller.

The same trio will race the #28 car at Silverstone next month, before Rast returns in place of Muller for Ricard.

WRT team boss Vincent Vosse explained that he had come up with the idea of calling on the two Chevrolet drivers after Audi loaned out Mike Rockenfeller and Marcel Fassler to Corvette Racing for the IMSA SportsCar Championship enduros at Daytona and Sebring.

"I saw that and thought why not see if we can have some of the Corvette guys?" he said. "I rate Antonio as one of the top GT guys around and the same for Jan. I've known him since we were teammates at Foundation Racing in the British Formula Ford Championship in 1992."

WRT will shuffle its line-up again for the Spa 24 Hours at the end of July. Rast, Muller and Laurens Vanthoor will drive together, while Stevens will share with Frederic Vervisch and Dries Vanthoor.

Originally on Autosport.com