Audi squad WRT slims down line-up for Blancpain Endurance assault

The Belgian team, which has won three drivers' and four teams' titles in the championship formerly known as the Blancpain Endurance Series, plans to run two Audi R8 LMS GT3s in 2018 rather than the four it fielded last year.

Team boss Vincent Vosse told Autosport: "I want to get back to fighting for the championship, so we need to focus on fewer cars at a time when the level is going up.

"I still think we did a good job last year, but we were not always perfect and sometimes the reason for that was that we were running so many cars."

Vosse could not confirm drivers for its pair of full-series Endurance Cup entries.

"At the moment, we are still putting the programme together," he said.

WRT ran a total of six R8s at the Spa 24 Hours double-points round of the BGTS last year when it expanded to run a pair of full-factory Audis alongside its regular entries.

Vosse said that WRT's inclusion on Audi's factory roster was "on the map, but not confirmed" for 2018.

WRT will return to the Sprint Cup section of the BGTS with four cars in defence of the title won last year by Robin Frijns and Stuart Leonard.

Founder leaves team

Technical director Rene Verbist, who founded the team along with Vosse and Yves Weerts ahead of the 2010 season, has parted company with WRT.

The 62-year-old, who had already largely stepped back from the team's on-track operations, has decided to leave the team to spend more time with his family.

WRT's Blancpain endurance titles

2011 Teams' and drivers' champion (Greg Franchi)
2012 Teams' and drivers' champion (Stephane Ortelli/Christopher Mies/Christopher Haase)
2014 Teams' and drivers' (Laurens Vanthoor)
2015 Teams' champion