TEAM WRT PRIMED TO TAKE ON ANOTHER GT WORLD CONTEST
The long wait is over: the 2026 season of the GT World Challenge Europe is kicking off this weekend at the Circuit Paul Ricard with the traditional ‘longer’ 6-hour race, which opens the Endurance Cup calendar. Good weather is expected in Southern France, although, no less traditionally, the race is taking place on Saturday evening, starting in daylight at 18:00 and finishing under the stars at midnight.
Team WRT is ready for another exciting campaign in the stellar GT3 series organised by SRO, which has yielded an abundance of titles and moments to remember for the Belgian squad, which will have the honour and the burden to defend the Overall and Sprint double titles across Teams’ and Drivers’, conquered in 2025. The season’s numbers are more and more impressive, with 60 cars in representation of 10 different car brands, and while it may sound like a cliché, competition will be fiercer than ever, as proven by what was seen during the two-day prologue that took place yesterday and today.
Team WRT has been working intensively to fine-tune its BMW M4 GT3 EVO cars that will compete with driver line-ups widely renewed, which, as in the team’s philosophy, will be combining experience and youth, with talent and speed as the common denominator.
Three cars will be entered in the Endurance Cup. In the Pro class, #32 is entrusted to reigning GT World Europe Overall champions Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde, teaming up with South African star Jordan Pepper, who has recently joined the BMW M Motorsport family. In car #46, Valentino Rossi is associated with two of the younger BMW M guns, Dan Harper and Max Hesse.
Car #30 will compete in the Silver Cup with a trio of young guns, two of which are debuting with the team. Matisse Lismont has already made a name for himself in GT3 racing and became involved with WRT towards the end of 2025, while fellow Belgian Amaury Cordeel joins with a solid single-seater background and Argentina’s Ignacio Montenegro graduates from touring car racing.
All of them will be involved also in the Sprint, where Team WRT will field four cars: Lismont and Montenegro will share car #30 in the Silver Cup, while the three other cars, all in Pro, will be entrusted to Cordeel-Pepper (#31) and Sprint defending champions K. van der Linde - Weerts (#32), while Rossi and Hesse will drive car #46.
Reflecting on the season about to start, Team WRT Principal Vincent Vosse commented: “We have been competing in this series since 2011, so this must be our 15th campaign in a row, and we have always been among the front-runners, which is an achievement in itself. Seeing the stellar grid here, we really realise that GT World Europe is the very top of GT3 racing in the world, and I want to praise SRO for its incredible work.
Last year, we won the title for Teams and Drivers, both Overall and in the Sprint Cup. It is going to be very difficult to match or improve that, but we’ll do our best to do so. Last year, we also won here at the Paul Ricard, and repeating that won’t be easy either, but we are ready for the challenge, with three cars entered, the BMW M4 GT3 EVO is a great car, we have fantastic line-ups and a great team behind them, so we feel ready to take up the challenge again.”
DRIVERS QUOTES
Amaury CORDEEL, driver #30: “Being new to the GT World Challenge, there’s still a lot for me to learn. It’s a significant step compared to single-seaters, with a completely different approach in terms of driving, race management, and teamwork. That said, we’ve had a very productive winter with WRT, and those tests have given me a lot of confidence heading into the season. WRT is a team I truly believe in, not only because of their track record, but also because it’s a Belgian team, which makes this project even more special for me. From the very beginning, the connection has felt natural, and I’m confident we can build something strong together and deliver solid performances. We have clear ambitions in the Silver Cup. I believe we have a very competitive line-up, with all the ingredients needed to fight at the front. Our goal is to be consistent, keep improving throughout the season, and ultimately put ourselves in a position to fight for the title, which in the end is always the objective.”
Matisse LISMONT, driver #30: “The Prologue went very well, for the season we look quite strong, both the line-up and the team, and I think we will have something to play for in the Silver Cup, certainly in the Sprint races, given how strong the team is in pit stops, but also in the Overall. The objective, though, is to do well everywhere and be at the top in the Silver Cup.”
Ignacio MONTENEGRO, driver #30: “I am very happy to be part of the WRT family, a team that has so much experience and has been so successful. With Amaury and Matisse, we have a very strong line-up in Endurance Cup, and it will also be the case in Sprint with Matisse. The goal is to fight for the Silver Cup title, and we’ll have to keep that as our focus from the first race. For me, coming from touring cars, the objective is to have a good start in GT3 racing, and I know I have all the support of the team to make that transition, so I feel very happy to be here.”
Jordan PEPPER, driver #32: "Joining the team blind at Dubai and winning was great, then there was Bathurst, where I experienced some weaknesses, so the European pre-season programme was very helpful for me. Joining a team defending the title is never easy, as that target is always on your back, but we have done a lot of good work and made good progress. We have a strong package, and everything is possible. This weekend, the focus is on the Endurance Cup, where the title has eluded the team for some time, so we will be pushing hard towards that, but everything has to click, and you also need some luck, as this championship is more and more difficult.”
Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: "I’m really looking forward to a new challenging season, with a fresh line-up. I’m happy to come back with Charles and welcome Jordan, I think we will be quite strong, but, of course, after last year’s success, everybody will be looking at us, and we will have to work extra-hard to stay in front.”
Charles WEERTS, driver #32: “I’m very happy to be at the Paul Ricard for the start of the European season. Last year, we won, together with Kelvin and Ugo de Wilde, and we hope to be as successful. Jordan has joined us this year, we had a good start to the season around the world, and we have done a lot of good work in the pre-season. The Prologue here went well, we completed our entire run plan, and the car feels good. Now it’s time to see if all that materialises.”
Dan HARPER, driver #46: “It was a successful test, a good first opportunity to work properly with the team, Vale and Max. The pace was strong, the car felt good, and we made progress towards the weekend. I am really excited ahead of my first full season with WRT, a very successful and professional team which made me feel very welcome. I also have good teammates, and that’s always fun, and I look forward to a busy year, considering the WEC programme also.”
Max HESSE, driver #46: "First time the whole team can work altogether, and a very positive first impression, we worked very well with the engineers, the mechanics and the other drivers. The car seems to be in a good shape. Now we have time to look at the data and the videos to try to improve and prepare well for the race, when we can expect different temperatures.”
Valentino ROSSI, driver #46: “Prologue done! We worked hard to understand the car, although it is never easy at the beginning to have an idea of where everybody stands. I’m very happy to be at Paul Ricard, with so many good cars and good drivers, and I hope we can be competitive.”
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