WRT putting its preparation to the test with dual IMSA/WEC LMDh weekend

It feels like Team WRT’s dual LMDh program across the FIA WEC and IMSA is truly underway now as we head into this weekend, during which it will compete at Imola and Long Beach.

The Belgian team’s foray into IMSA with the M Hybrid V8 this year still feels fresh. It came together quickly in the wake of RLL’s split with the German make last year, and has been fully up and running since the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona back in January. But this weekend brings the long-standing, decorated outfit hit another major milestone, operating both its Hypercar and GTP programs on a clashing weekend on both sides of the Atlantic for the first time.

“There’s a big learning curve for our first season in IMSA,” WRT boss Vincent Vosse tells RACER. “Daytona, we had quite a strong race and finished on the podium. It was surprising. It was an achievement, because the challenge was so big to put it all together in such a short period. Sebring was a disappointing race, but it’s behind us. Now we have Long Beach, a very different race, and the start of the WEC season to work on.”

Staffing for the program has increased in recent months, with a full roster of 48 employees now on board for the North American arm, up from 39 at Daytona, which included members of the WEC program on hand to assist. The team’s base north of Charlotte, in Kannapolis, on the Haas campus, is fully operational in time for this weekend's challenges, too. 

Moving into a new headquarters in the USA is the latest major expansion for the team, which continues to grow seemingly year on year. Just last May, it moved into a state-of-the-art, multi-storey facility in Liege, Belgium, that houses all its racing and manufacturing operations in Europe and employs more than 150 staff.

“(The delayed start to the WEC season) helped us,” Vosse admitted. “It gave us a bit more time. It was a challenge, but we organized everything and used the free time.”

On a weekend like this, senior members of the effort, such as Vosse, BMW M Motorsport head Andreas Roos, and WRT’s Hypercar and GTP director Bernhard Demmer, must decide which event to attend in person. This time, Demmer is in California, while Vosse and Roos are present in Italy.

The WEC season gets off to a delayed start this weekend at Imola (above), however WRT admits that the extra time proved valuable in getting its new twin-pronged program organized. Jakob Ebrey/Getty Images

With WRT also a key player in GT3 racing across Europe, Vosse will spend his season racking up air and road miles, hopping between the team’s key events to oversee what he hopes will be its most successful year yet. 

“I’ll share my time between WEC and IMSA, and for instance, I’ll miss Watkins Glen because it clashes with the Spa 24 Hours. I normally won’t miss many races, but I might skip Detroit because we have Monza in GT World Challenge. I want to give a fair split between the three championships,” Vosse explained.

“Thankfully, I have incredible staff around me in Hypercar. And Bernard is now in Long Beach after a brief visit here this week to see the WEC set up. I will follow everything, and I can be there if needed, but I hope they will not need me!

“So, yeah, I believe that we are ready to jump into Long Beach. It is the first race where we completely split the Hypercar program, with both running on their own. It’s another step, and it will have its challenges.”

WRT can afford to dream big, though, even at such an early stage for its dual top-class effort. The M Hybrid V8 has received an update over the winter, which promises to keep BMW competitive across the season. And according to Vosse, the team WRT has assembled should be capable of matching the Bavarian brand’s ambition to clinch major wins and titles before the end of the year.

“We are representing a manufacturer which has the goal to win, obviously, and we didn’t enter these championships just to be part of the grid,” he summarized. “So, of course, I would be crazy to say that our goal is not to win if we are capable of doing it. Based on what we have seen so far, we are where we think we should be.”

Today in Long Beach, the No. 25 GTP M Hybrid V8 will start from the front row at the Acura Grand Prix, and tomorrow both WEC entries will start in the top 10 at the 6 Hours of Imola. Will we see the best that both arms of WRT's top-level program have to offer?