WRT BMW suits up for Brazil

Team WRT’s No. 31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO will adopt a Brazilian tribute livery for this weekend’s FIA World Endurance Championship race at Interlagos.

The new color scheme forms part of a ‘We aRe uniTed’ charity initiative being pushed by the Belgian team, which aims “to create positive social impact off-track while we push limits on it.” 15,000 Euros ($17,500) have already been raised ahead of the weekend, according to the team.

The change in paint scheme comes as the team has made a last-minute switch. Silver-ranked Timur Boguslavskiy has been sidelined through illness, making way for Brazilian driver Pedro Ebrahim.

Ebrahim, the reigning Italian GT Pro-Am champion who has been racing this season with fellow BMW squad Paradine Competition in Europe, joins Bronze-ranked Yasser Shahin and countryman Augusto Farfus in the car.

WRT isn’t the only team in LMGT3 to tweak its driver line-up for the first WEC race post-Le Mans. At Iron Lynx, Australian Bronze-rated driver Martin Berry is confirmed to drive the No. 61 Mercedes-AMG after previously ruling himself out of this weekend due to a clashing business commitment.

Aston Martin customer team Racing Spirit of Leman, meanwhile, has seen VDSR IMSA GTD driver Anthony McIntosh take the seat previously filled by fellow American Derek DeBoer for what will be his WEC debut on Sunday.

The pair will share the load for the rest of the season in the No. 10 Vantage. The team explained to RACER last weekend during the ELMS meeting at Imola that McIntosh will also compete at Fuji and Bahrain, with DeBoer returning for Lone Star Le Mans in Texas.

Finally, AKKODIS ASP’s No. 78 Lexus sees a driver line-up change yet again, as Yuichi Nakayama will make his second start for the team alongside full-season drivers Finn Gehrsitz and Arnold Robin.

The Japanese racer also filled in for the team at Spa in the seat intended for Ben Barnicoat, who so far has only made one WEC start this year due to an injury sustained after the season opener. Last time out at Le Mans IMSA Vasser Sullivan regular Jack Hawksworth played the role of super sub, while rising star Esteban Masson took the reins at Imola.