Vincent Vosse (Team WRT): “We’re just passengers”

How is confinement going in Belgium?

Here, we are more or less in the same type of confinement as in France. It was decreed one or two days later than at home, but bars and restaurants were closed earlier. Finally, we're not here to race... Concerning the team, part of them works from home; another was placed on technical unemployment.

We made this decision relatively early, to maintain a stable organization because part of the “construction” team continues to rotate. All this will have a major impact on motorsport in general, but what is motorsport in view of this crisis?

We are just passengers in this situation and we can just apply the rules and enforce them around us. We will already see if the confinement is bearing fruit, if the number of cases drops significantly.

I am not a doctor and I would be careful not to give an opinion. There are countries, Spain or Italy, which are much more impacted than us, and it is difficult to understand that Portugal is not, for example.

Personally, how are you coping with this situation?

I am lucky to live near Spa. It's already a blessing in general to live in the countryside, in the middle of nowhere. This is very quiet. I am with my wife and my children; I am learning to live with family, which has not often happened to me! Confinement in these conditions, without thinking about the economic impact it will have, is going well. I'm very lucky here.

Regarding these economic consequences, can you already measure their extent?

No, no one would know exactly. The decisions were taken on time, the people who needed to be stopped were stopped, and if the number of races remains the same this year, over a reduced period of time, in DTM as in GT, the impact will not be there.

It will rather be measured in the future investment of motorsport players, manufacturers, gentlemen drivers, etc. We can easily understand that motorsport is not a priority. For us yes, it's our job, but everything is relative. We will have to be careful, be attentive to the decisions that will be taken in the next six weeks.

But motorsport can also make its meager contribution to overcoming this health crisis. The biggest teams, in F1 in particular (but not only. Editor's note), have used their very advanced machines to manufacture equipment which can be useful to research staff, to nursing staff, and this is a great sign of solidarity on the part of the automobile industry.

On a sporting level, you announced in mid-March the entry of a third WRT car in the DTM this season, how could this come to fruition?

We're not going to hide it, it was done because the DTM needed it since the withdrawal of the Aston Martin ! The number of cars, which was 18 – which represents a good grid for a competition like the DTM – had dropped to 14. BMW entered an additional car for Robert Kubica and here is a 16th with the third Audi WRT.

Last year, when we started, I had been in extensive contact with Ferdinand von Habsburg, we were very close to reaching an agreement. This year, it was possible, things were made easier by Audi and it allowed us to take on part of the costs that we had on the GT program. So everyone found something to suit them. Now, let's see how this season will begin... and especially how it will unfold.