TEAM WRT wins GTWorldChEu season opener

SRO

Apr 13

Team WRT’s trio of Ugo de Wilde, Kelvin van der Linde and Charles Weerts delivered a flawless drive to take the win of the 6 Hours of Paul Ricard, with the #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO ahead of the two Porsche 911 GT3 R.

Team WRT wins GTWorldChEu first round

Charles Weerts, starting the race in ninth, brought his #32 BMW into contention for victory approaching the halfway mark by charging up to second place.

Kelvin van der Linde brought the BMW M4 GT3 EVO #32 to the lead by the fifth hour and new BMW factory driver De Wilde secured overall victory after 179 laps.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit Paul Ricard 2025. Team WRT #32 BMW M4 GT3 EVO’s drivers in action: from left to right: Charles Weerts, Ugo De Wilde and Kelvin Van Der Linde.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit Paul Ricard 2025. Charles Weerts takes over from Ugo De Wilde.

Ugo DE WILDE, driver #32: “Round one is done, and I can’t believe what has just happened! It’s amazing to start my journey with BMW with a win. It was a really educational weekend for me, it was great to finally start racing with Charles, Kelvin and Team WRT. It was not easy at the start and we were not expecting to finish on the podium. I’m sure we have still a lot of room for improvement. We will keep working and building and try to focus on Monza then on the biggest one, Spa 24 Hours. Thanks a lot to BMW and to WRT!”

Charles WEERTS, driver #32: ”A very good weekend, I’m very happy! We didn’t expect it at all but it’s the kind of surprise we love to have. The team did an amazing job, our car was really nice to drive, so a big thank you to the team and to BMW but also my two teammates. First time we drove together, and we got a win straight away! Super proud and super happy to be driving with them. Let’s try to keep it going like we did and I’m sure we will have a successful year!”

Kelvin VAN DER LINDE, driver #32: “It was a very surprising win for us today. After qualifying our main target was to finish in thetop-five and to score points for the season end. But to be fighting for a podium and even a win was unexpected and makes it even sweeter. Big shout out to Charles, he’s been really good. I think it’s one of hist best drives. Same for Ugo that we threw in a deep endin such a competitive championship, and he did really well. He made no mistakes, and he established him well this weekend. I’m looking forward to seeing how he progresses throughout the season!”

Porsche customers’ podium

Sven Müller, Alessio Picariello and Patric Niederhauser led mid race for an extended period with their #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche 911 GT3 R (992) but Niederhauser lost the lead to Van der Linde (BMW #32) finishing second. The #22 Schumacher CLRT Porsche of Laurin Heinrich, Klaus Bachler and Ayhancan Guven completed the overall podium.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit Paul Ricard 2025. #96 Rutronik Racing Porsche (left); Schumacher CLRT #22 Porsche 911 GT3 R (right)

Sven Müller, driver Rutronik Racing #96: ‘To finish the first race in the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup in second place is a great team success! Before the weekend, we probably wouldn't have thought that we would achieve such a great result. The whole team did a flawless job, so we can be very satisfied. In terms of pure lap times, we didn't necessarily have the fastest car. We made a big step over the winter and this result is a nice reward. We will continue to work hard and are already looking forward to the next races!’ Source: Rutronik Racing

“It was a super solid race from the whole team,” said Alessio Picariello. “We didn’t make any mistakes, the strategy was on point, and the car felt great. I lost a bit of time in traffic towards the end of my stint, which unfortunately put Patric under pressure right away, but even so, the BMW was simply quicker at the end. It’s a very positive way to start the season.” Source: Alessio Picariello Press Office

Pole sitter Mercedes-AMG ends fourth

Ahead of the race, the front row locking Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo has seen its weight increased by 10 kg, going from 1340 to 1350 kilograms with similar adjustment made to the Lamborghini Huracan GT3 EVO2.

Maro Engel kept the lead until the first FCY but the Winward Racing’s trio Maro Engel, Lucas Auer and Matteo Cairoli never managed to come back in contention for a podium seat ending fourth with the #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo.

📷 © Luc Warnotte at Circuit Paul Ricard 2025. #48 Mercedes-AMG GT3 Evo (left); Matteo Cairoli taking over from Maro Engel (right).

The Danish train in top 5

Nicky Thiim, Marco Soerensen and Mattia Drudi got their #7 Comtoyou Racing Aston Martin Vantage GT3 Evo in fifth.

A second BMW M4 in top 6

Starting from 13th place last year winners Rowe Racing (with Farfus, Harper and Hesse) made a strong comeback and finished the race in sixth place with Augusto Farfus, Jesse Krohn and Raffaele Marciello steering the #98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO.

Augusto Farfus (#98 BMW M4 GT3 EVO, ROWE Racing, 6th place): “We had literally everything in this race. All kinds of possible things did not go our way but in the end we brought it home despite the issues that we had which was good. But for BMW M Motorsport it was an incredible weekend. The wins and podium finishes show how strong the EVO car is and we have enough reason to celebrate.”