BELGIAN BMW M TEAM WRT STRIKES GOLD ON TWO CONTINENTS: MAIDEN IMSA WIN, FOUR TITLES IN ZANDVOORT

BMW M Team WRT enjoyed a landmark weekend on two continents. In Indianapolis, Dries Vanthoor (28, Belgium) and Sheldon van der Linde (27, South Africa) delivered the team's first-ever overall victory in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, America's top-tier endurance racing championship broadcast in more than 150 countries, just a year after the programme's launch.

14/09/2026

"I still can't quite believe it. It's a huge relief for Sheldon and me," said Dries Vanthoor. "We've been right up there so often this season, but we've never quite got it right together. This time it finally worked out. I'm incredibly proud of everyone!"

"That was a really strong weekend for our team," added Vincent Vosse, Team Principal. "Our first overall victory in the IMSA Series. A huge thank you goes to everyone who has been involved in this project for almost exactly a year. The drivers did a fantastic job. Sheldon's overtaking manoeuvre at the end was brilliant. They've earned this victory."

Meanwhile at Zandvoort, the team's young Silver Cup pairing, 21-year-old Matisse Lismont from Leuven and his Argentinian teammate Ignacio Montenegro, completed a remarkable title sweep in the GT World Challenge Europe, adding four more championships to the team's record and taking Team WRT's overall tally to 78 titles.

Having already secured the Endurance Cup titles at the Nürburgring two weeks earlier, the pair claimed the Overall and Sprint titles at Zandvoort, meaning they now hold every Silver Cup title available this season, all before the season has even finished.

"A very big thank you to the whole team, to the mechanics and to the engineers. Without them, I don't think we could have achieved what we have done this season. A huge thank you also to BMW for building such a great and enjoyable race car. I've enjoyed every lap" said Matisse Lismont.

"Matisse and Ignacio have been very strong all weekend and throughout the entire season," said Kurt Mollekens, GT Program Manager from Keerbergen. "It has been a phenomenal year for this young duo. They have performed at a very high level and were consistently close to the Pro cars. They fully deserve these titles". While individual drivers have achieved this feat before, Lismont and Montenegro are the first Silver Cup crew in GT World Challenge Europe history to sweep all three titles, Sprint, Endurance and Overall, together, in the same season.

The team now leads the GT World Challenge Europe standings, with two rounds still to come this October, in Barcelona and Portimão, where further titles could still be added. There's also more to look forward to in IMSA, with the final round taking place the first weekend of October. Combined with the team's wins in the FIA WEC this year, 2026 is shaping up to be one of WRT's strongest seasons yet on the world endurance racing stage.