Zolder 24 Hours: WRT Audi finishes fourth after a long and testing race

By Johan Laubscher

The Zolder 24 Hours was held this weekend, an event which WRT had won on the two previous occasions in 2011 and 2012, both times with Audi.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT returned to Zolder with an one-car entry. Their #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra was the only GT3 car in the field, and they were the clear favourites for the race win. The WRT Audi was entrusted to four Belgian drivers: Laurens Vanthoor, Anthony Kumpen, Enzo Ide and Bert Longin, all of whom had won this event in the past.

WRT showed their pace during the practice sessions and qualified on pole with a new GT3 lap record at Zolder. The race itself got underway with WRT leading from the front. Their pace ensured that they lead during the opening hours. Gearbox issues set in during the night and WRT was forced to replace their gearbox. By the time they rejoined the track they had a thirty-two lap deficit to the leaders. 

The four drivers performed well during the night and the speed advantage saw the Audi progressing through the field, all the way up to third by the time dawn broke. The progress continued up to second place when tragedy struck again during Sunday morning. WRT lost forty minutes and all chance of victory due to a front wishbone failure and subsequent repair. They rejoined in fourth overall and managed to recover to third. This looked to ultimately be the final position for WRT, as the deficit to the leaders was just too much, despite a valiant effort from the drivers, who continued to lap at very good pace trying to close the gap. The podium result looked safe, but with an hour to go the WRT Audi was back in the pits with further mechanical issues. They lost third place in the process and got out on track with thirty minutes to go, to finally claim fourth overall and third in the GT class after a very long 24 hours event. 

To rub salt into their wounds there was also a protest against WRT during the Zolder 24 Hours. The protest was regarding the fuel tank size regulations. By four o’clock local time Sunday afternoon the race was won by the #99 Belgian Racing Porsche ahead of the #21 JR Motorsport BMW M3 Silhouette and the #98 Belgian Racing Porsche.

It was not to be a third consecutive WRT Zolder 24 hours victory, but the team never gave up and soldiered on to collect fourth place overall by the finish. 

Photo credit: Audi Sport Communication / Media

Zolder 24 Hours: Pole position and lap record for WRT Audi

By Johan Laubscher

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has taken pole position for the Zolder 24 hours, an event wherein the team has been unbeaten since 2011.

The Zolder 24 Hours will be taking place this weekend, with a twenty-one car grid. The WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra will be the only FIA GT3 car in the field, and they are the clear favourites for the race win. WRT has entered the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Anthony Kumpen, Enzo Ide and Bert Longin, all of whom are previous Zolder 24 hours race winners.

Practice and qualifying took place on Thursday and the Audi showed its superior pace. Without any surprise the WRT Audi was at the top of the time sheets during all of the sessions. They ended the day with the overall pole position. The pole lap was set by Laurens Vanthoor, a staggering GT3 lap record breaking 1:28.712.

The race is set to begin at 16:00 local time tomorrow. We wish the best of luck to Belgian Audi Club Team WRT for this 24 Hour race in Belgium.  

It is also interesting to note that the WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra has been fitted with the original 2013 rear diffuser. The car has also been seen with a number of rear wing combinations during the running on Thursday. It has been fitted with the 2012 specification rear wings, as well as the 2013 rear wing during the final qualifying run. 

Photo credit: Audi Sport Communication / Media

Zolder 24 Hours: One WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra on the entry list

By Johan Laubscher

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are the two-time reigning Zolder 24 Hours race winners, having taken victory at the event in 2011 and 2012, both times with Audi. The Belgian team will be returning to Zolder for their title defense at the end of August.

The provisional Zolder 24 Hours entry list was released this week, and it includes one Audi entry, the Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. Twenty-five cars are included on the entry list, a mixture of GT and smaller sports prototype cars.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will entrust their #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra to four Belgian race drivers: Laurens Vanthoor, Anthony Kumpen, Enzo Ide and Bert Longin. Their Audi R8 LMS ultra will also be featuring a creative livery. WRT along with GrafiWrap hosted a design competition which invited fans to submit livery designs for the Audi R8 LMS ultra. The winning livery will be seen on the WRT Audi at the Zolder 24 Hours. This livery is yet to be revealed ahead of the race.

The provisional entry list can be seen via RallyandRaces.com HERE.

On the provisional entry list:

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT 

#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra - Laurens Vanthoor / Anthony Kumpen / Enzo Ide / Bert Longin

The 2013 Zolder 24 Hours will take place on the final weekend of August, 28 August to 1 September 2013.

Photo credit: 

Audi Sport Communication / Media

GrafiWrap

Video: 1998 Zolder 24 Hours - The first 24 Hours for the Audi A4 STW

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi A4 STW, the Super Touring car version of the B5 Audi A4, was a brilliant race car. Its quattro system and superior traction made it one of the best cars of its time, highlighted by an international championship sweep in 1996, when Audi claimed the title in seven countries: Germany, Britain, Italy, Australia, Belgium, South Africa and Spain.

The 1998 Zolder 24 Hours was the scene for the first 24 Hour race for one of these A4 STW cars. It was however not the first 24 Hour race for an Audi Super Touring car, that was back in 1994 with an Audi 80 Competition entered in the Spa 24 Hours, run by the Belgian Audi Club (Dubois Racing).

The 1998 Zolder 24 Hours entry was also entered by the Belgian Audi Club. The driver line-up included the team’s regular two Belcar drivers: Jean-Francois Hemroulle and Timo Verbergt. The team needed a third driver for the 24 hour race, and they called upon the services of South African Terry Moss. Terry was the 1996 South African Super Touring champion and had also competed for the Belgian Audi Club twice before, at the 1995 Spa 24 Hours and a Belcar event at Spa in 1997, where the South African won the second race of the day.

The Audi A4 STW performed very well in the event, aided greatly by the wet weather. The team lead most of the race but technical issues resulted in sixth place overall, but with race victory in their class. A year later the Belgian Audi Club was able to win the 1999 Zolder 24 Hours overall with their A4 STW, which added another achievement for this great Super Touring Car.

Below we have embedded a video which features highlights from the 1998 Zolder 24 Hour race, the first time the A4 STW competed for 24 Hours. This rare short highlights video aired in South Africa during 1998 and was produced from a Belgian Audi Club perspective with Terry Moss. 

Photo credit: Jean-François Hemroulle old website

WRT wins the Zolder 24 Hours, a historic win for Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

WRT Belgian Audi Club just won the Zolder 24 Hours. The #32 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossed the finish line victorious after a very hard twice around the clock endurance race.

For Audi as a brand this is a history making win. A fourth 24 hour race win this year after great victories at Le Mans, the Nürburgring and Spa-Francorchamps. The victory is also the third for the Audi R8 LMS ultra this year, an amazing achievement. No other brands has done this before.

The race itself was far from easy for the Belgian Audi squad. The car shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Anthony Kumpen, Edward Sandström and Marco Bonanomi started from pole postion. However the first hours were very difficult for the single R8 LMS ultra in the event. Both BMW with Marc VDS and Porsche with ProSpeed Competition were a lot faster. The Audi dropped some laps behind and were not able to follow the leader’s pace in the early stages of the race. Entering into the night the WRT run car started to set very strong lap times and catch the two leading cars. Later real drama hit the BMW Z4, technical issue forced the Marc VDS run car to retire. By Sunday morning the Audi team was able to put great pressure on the leading Porsche and got back into the leaders lap. Moving into the race lead the #32 Audi R8 LMS held its leadership to the finish line, mainly after a last hour problem hitting the #75 ProSpeed Porsche. Title defended for the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT after the 2011 win.

Team WRT won their first 24 hour race this year after two unlucky attempts at both Nürburgring and Spa. For Audi as brand this a magical fourth victory. The Audi R8 LMS ultra once again proved to be a "Master of Endurance".

Photo credit: Fabrice Bergenhuizen / Endurance-Info.com

Follow the Zolder 24 Hours LIVE - WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra

By Johan Laubscher

The 2012 Zolder 24 Hours is now LIVE. Good luck to Belgium Audi Club Team WRT as they try to defend their 2011 victory. The WRT team got their title defence off to the best possible start by taking pole for the race this weekend. 

The event also holds the possibility for a special quadruple achievement for Audi. Audi race cars have already won the 2012 Nurburgring 24, Le Mans 24 and the Spa 24 Hours. With the possible Zolder victory this could become a magical fourth 24 hour victory this year.

Below we have listed links to the live coverage available for the race. Enjoy the coverage!

Live Video stream from Zolder website 
Alternative live video stream
Live video stream from Dutch Supercar Challenge

Live Timing

Results of the weekend sessions

Video: Inside look into the Zolder 24 Hours with the Audi R8 LMS

By Johan Laubscher

The 2012 edition of the Zolder 24 Hours kicks off today in Belgium. One Audi WRT LMS ultra fielded by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will be in the event this weekend. WRT will try to defend their 2011 race victory with the #32 R8 LMS ultra race car.

Here is an onboard video from the 2011 Zolder 24 Hours. The video features the Brinkmann Motorsport Audi R8 LMS at the start of the race last year. The video offers a great insight into this unique European endurance race. Enjoy the onboard video and the 2012 edition of the race this weekend. The race begins at 4pm local time today.

Onboard the Brinkmann Audi R8 LMS at the 2011 Zolder 24 Hours start

WRT and Audi on pole at Zolder 24 Hours

By Tarek Ramchani 

The Zolder 24 Hours is this weekend, the 34th edition of this Belgian endurance event. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra is entering the race from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.

Team WRT Audi achieved a well deserved pole position for the race tomorrow after a very fraught qualifying session. The Belgian team had a fantastic three-way battle with the BMW Z4 GT3 of Marc VDS and the Porsche 997 GT3 R from ProSpeed Competition. The defending champions in this event are entering the #32 R8 LMS ultra which is shared by four strong drivers: Laurens Vanthoor and Anthony Kumpen both from Belgium, accompanied by Edward Sandström from Sweden and Audi factory driver Marco Bonanomi from Italy.

Only three GT3 cars are on the entry list. The three cars are from the top three Belgian GT teams. They will be the big favorites for the overall win. The other competitors are mainly smaller prototypes called CN, the best of these are three seconds down on the pole setting Audi.

The race start is set for tomorrow at 4:00 PM local time. Good luck to WRT.

Qualifying session times

Photo credit: Fabrice Bergenhuizen / Endurance-Info.com

Audi targets a fourth 24 hour win in 2012

By Tarek Ramchani

In addtion to the world famous Spa 24 Hours, Belgium has a second twice around the clock endurance event, the Zolder 24 Hours. Audi has achieved an unprecedented "Triple Crown" this year, by winning the Le Mans 24 Hours, the Nurburgring 24 Hours and most recently, the Spa 24 Hours. Next month another car from the Ingolstadt brand will try to add a fourth magical 24h victory. 

2011 Belgian Audi Club WRT victory

Last year the WRT Belgian Audi Club won the race overall with drivers François Verbist, Enzo Ide, Bert Longin and Xavier Maassen after a great battle with a ProSpeed Porsche and a Mercedes-Benz SLS. This year the customer Audi team is back to defend its title. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra for a very strong four driver line-up. The car will feature three WRT regualrs, Laurens Vanthoor from Belgium, Edward Sandström from Sweden and the Audi works driver Marco Bonanomi from Italy. These three drivers have already been racing together in the Blancpain Endurance Series, where they have suffered extreme bad luck with a DNF last month at the Spa 24 Hours. The three drivers will be joined by a familiar name, Anthony Kumpen. The Belgian driver raced for WRT in 2010 and won the Belcar Endurance Championship that year. 

WRT at the Nurburgring 24h 2012

During the last couple of years the race has suffered from a lack of competitors, but major changes are happening this year  for the Zolder 24 Hours. The race is no longer open only for production based GT cars and touring cars. Smaller prototypes called "CN" are allowed to compete, and the 2012 entry list is expected to be the best in years. The Audi R8 LMS ultra will have to fight hard against these much lighter prototypes. However, as it has been proven many times the reliability of the R8 LMS is its ultimate weapon. Adding to that the extreme motivation at WRT who are trying to win a 24h race this year after two unlucky attempts at the Nurburgring and Spa. Audi will be among the big favorites for the overall win and add a fourth outstanding 24 hour win in the same year.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

More information:
Belgian Audi Club official website
Zolder 24 Hours official website