Dries Vanthoor wants third title
CRR: Looking at your achievements, you seem to be “The Man” of the 24 Hours races after winning twice the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (2019 & 2022), the 24 Hours of Zolder (2017 & 2022) and the 24 Hours of Dubaï (2022), achieving a class win at the 24 Hours of Le Mans (2017) and being 2nd in the TOTALENERGIES 24h of Spa (2021) and 3rd in Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona (2020). Add to those the winning of the 12 Hours of Bathurst, the 12 Hours of the Gulf, and the 10 Hours of Suzuka, a serious achievement in 5 years!
Which do you consider the toughest race?
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2022.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2022.
Dries Vanthoor: It is a privilege to race all of them but the hardest not only for the brand that I’m racing for but for myself is the 24 Hours of Nürburgring. Next to Spa, it is the biggest GT3 race there is, Spa is more difficult to win because the level is so high. Comparing to 24 Hours of Nürburgring where the level is also very high, the difficulty to win there is that you have to take care of traffic and track changes every lap. Also the weather is part of the difficulties. So, for me, it gave me more satisfaction to win the 24 Hours of Nürburgring than all the others. Bathurst was also a very nice win but Number one is Nürburgring.
CRR: What about 24 Hours of Le Mans where you participated in 2017, 2021 and 2022?
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017. Class win for Dries.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2017 (class win), 2021 (DNF) and 2022 (15th overall).
Dries Vanthoor: Of course, it was also a very nice feeling and I have nice trophies from it. If you look at the 24 Hours of Le Mans ones, it always brings nice memories but of course, to win a race overall is a little bit more special. Winning a class is also special but my aim is to win overall.
CRR: 2022 is a great vintage with three 24 Hours wins (Dubaï, Nürburgring and Zolder) and wins at Imola, Magny-Cours, Misano and Zandvoort. Can we conclude it has been your best season?
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Nürburgring 2022.
Dries Vanthoor: Of course, it is a good season. Last year was for me the best season so far and of course, I aim to improve every year. It looks like this year is going well again but for me personally, it is a little bit less. From a racing point of view, I improved quite a lot because I have more experience, I am calmer and I know what to do at what time so that I make the right decisions; speed wise it is still OK but my qualifying performance has been a little bit less comparing to last year. In general, Yes I’m happy about how the season is going but I would give it a little extra for the last races of the season to try to match it with last year, and then I think it could be my best season again.
CRR: What was so special about last year?
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa 2021.
Dries Vanthoor: Just everything. Last year, we were so dominant from the beginning, being the leaders of the championship, and we never lost it. We were strong together with our team but also Charles and I did a good job as for every qualifying and each race we drove very well. This year we have a new car which is maybe why this year is a little trickier. Our strong point of last year, is that we did built up a good advantage during the COVID break and we could use it perfectly.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa 2021.
CRR: Last year, you won the GT World Challenge Europe Drivers' Championship, the GT World Challenge Europe Spring Cup and you were 3rd in the Endurance Cup driver. This season, you are 2nd in the GT World Challenge Europe Drivers' Championship, 1st in the GT World Challenge Europe Spring Cup, and 8th in the Endurance Cup driver. It looks like the sprint races in this championship are better suited to your team.
Dries Vanthoor: Not particularly. For sure we have a big advantage with pit stops in sprint races. That is part of the key to how we won two championships in a row and how Charles and I can do our job as well as we can. It is the team that is behind and the mechanics who train for the pit stop every time. For sure in a sprint race, we gain big time with this even if teams like Akkodis ASP Team, Attempto Racing and others are coming very close and are sometimes even faster.
Looking at the endurance races this year, in Imola we were very strong, in Paul Ricard, I made a mistake and in Spa, there was not one Audi that was close to decent lap times. We have very good engineers, and very good mechanics, so, we can be strong in both series. In Paul Ricard, without my mistake, we would have been in a very good position again and in Spa, there was not one Audi that was competitive. It was a pity because it was such a big race for us: for WRT as a Belgian team, for me as a Belgian.
CRR: There are still three races to run this year. What is critical for you to make the double at the GT World Challenge Europe Drivers' Championship (2021 and 2022)?
Dries Vanthoor: Endurance we cannot win anymore. What is important for me, is to win the sprint again. . It would be nice to win it three times in a row. Valencia will be the last race of that Championship. We go there with our new car and hope to be stronger than in Spa. Overall, it will be more difficult but we can still make it.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ TotalEnergies 24 Hours of Spa 2022.
CRR: Is Valencia better suited for the car than Francorchamps?
Dries Vanthoor: I would say worse. It is not only related to the car. Mercedes is good everywhere but at Monza, Ferrari is always strong there, Brands hatch, Mercedes is always quite strong. Spa should be more a track that suites the Audi than Valencia, with long loaded corners but the gap was too big with competitors. It was clear that there was not one Audi team that was competitive in Spa.
CRR: Team WRT stopped their collaboration with Audi to run a BMW in WEC Hypercar in 2024. You are an Audi professional driver. What are your plans for 2023 in GT?
Dries Vanthoor: For the moment I have my season to finish, and I concentrate on that. Audi stopping LMDh was a pity for me. LMDh is very interesting for me, and I feel I deserve or want to climb the ladder and get one step higher. With them stopping, it was of course not a nice feeling. For the moment, I want to do my job which is to win the Championship, to drive as well as possible. What comes after this, we’ll see in a few months. Now is too early to say where, what, and with whom.
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022
CRR: You will replace René Rast on #31 WRT at the 6 Hours of Fuji after participating in the 24 Hours of Le Mans with #32 Team WRT. Do you see a future for yourself in LMP2?
📷 © Luc Warnotte @ 24 Hours of Le Mans 2022.
Dries Vanthoor: Of course, I was very happy when Vincent called me to ask if I want to replace René. LMP2 would be interesting to prepare LMDh. From that perspective yes. From the other side, we’ll have to see as I have a GT contract with Audi. It is not the moment to decide if I want to do LMP2 or not because it is a GT3 program. It is going to be that or nothing. We’ll see in the next month if it is a good thing for me or not.
