BELGIAN VICTORY IN THE UK!
Strong start to the 2026 European season for Belgian Team WRT at Brands Hatch (UK), where the GT World Challenge Europe - Sprint Cup (made up of two one-hour races with a pair of drivers) kicked off last weekend.
Belgian driver from Leuven, Matisse Lismont delivered a standout performance in his silver class, scoring a double podium together with Ignacio Montenegro from Argentina. They initially took victory in the first race before a post-race penalty dropped the pair to second, but they responded in the best possible way with a dominant class win in the second race, confirming the strong momentum gained from their Endurance Cup podium one month ago at Paul Ricard in the south of France.
Lismont reflected on the weekend:“I’m super happy with our weekend and this victory in the second race. After the first race, we knew we had the potential, but we had to optimise everything, stay clean and avoid mistakes. The WRT crew did an amazing job with the pit stops, and that really made the difference. We gained track position and we could fly towards the victory. I’m super happy because we are improving every weekend, and I feel very confident going forward for the remaining 8 race weekends across Europe. Huge thanks to the team for their consistent great job!”
Belgian Team Manager, Edouard Carton, praised the overall Team WRT effort across all entries: "This marked the first sprint event of the season, and overall it was a relatively straightforward weekend. Pit stops played a crucial role, especially with four cars running in a field of 34 cars, and the crew did a strong job across both races, helping us gain valuable seconds and secure solid points with all entries. This put us in a strong position early in the championship.”
In Pro Cup, Belgian talent again played a key role in the team’s performance. Charles Weerts from Aubel secured a strong P3 overall in Race 1 alongside his teammate Kelvin van der Linde, while Temse-based driver Amaury Cordeel impressed on his Sprint Cup debut in the #31 BMW M4 GT3 EVO together with BMW M Works driver Jordan Pepper, finishing P4 in Race 1 and P7 in Race 2 after two solid and competitive drives in a tightly packed field.
At the same time, BMW M Team WRT was also in action in the United States for its IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship maiden campaign. It marked the fourth race weekend of the season for the Belgian team, a debutant in the Hypercar class as an official team for BMW M Motorsport, which continues to show the potential of its new American campaign. The squad secured a second podium of the year, with Philipp Eng and Marco Wittmann, and the fourth top-5 finish, following its P3 finish at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
The Belgian team is preparing for another major challenge this weekend on home soil at Spa-Francorchamps. The FIA World Endurance Championship returns to the Ardennes for a 6-hour race, where BMW M Team WRT will line up with two BMW M Hybrid V8s and two BMW M4 GT3 EVOs for its home event. In the GT category, the Belgian squad arrives as World Championship leader following its victory a few weeks ago in Imola, Italy.
