Vincent Vosse (WRT) cautious after the Imola Prologue: "When we develop a car, we think about Le Mans."

Vincent Vosse readily admits it: drawing definitive conclusions after the Prologue of WEC Imola would be premature. A key figure in modern endurance racing, Vincent Vosse leads the Belgian WRT team, whose No. 20 BMW M Hybrid V8 finished the day fourth with a time of 1:31.709. The Italian circuit, like Daytona and Sebring, hosts the first two rounds of the...IMSA, however, does not constitute a sufficiently characteristic reference. “We haven’t yet built a truly representative track, and besides, you can imagine that when we develop a car, we’re thinking about Le Mans,” the team boss launched. I think that to give an opinion on the progress, we'll have to wait until mid-season, that is to say, after Le Mans » This did not prevent the team from acquiring some key information: "These tests were positive in relation to our progress." he added on a more positive note.

The postponement of the 1812 km Qatar Rally to October, which deprives the teams of ten additional hours of racing before Le Mans, also weighs heavily in the equation. Vosse, in this instance, assesses the impact without dramatizing it: "It's clear that we're going from three to two races before Le Mans. So we're reducing reaction time and we have less data, that's for sure." WRT, competing simultaneously in IMSA, has a higher volume of track time than several purely WEC competitors — a potential advantage on the new Michelin tires, which Vincent Vosse nevertheless puts into perspective: "Of course, if we don't gain anything from it, someone would have to explain it to me. However, we'll see if it's an advantage that brings us anything."

A bi-continental organization

The dual WEC and IMSA campaigns require WRT to have a meticulously planned organization. The Belgian boss details the structure put in place to ensure the flow of information between the two continents. “We have key people on the team. My LMDh program technical director, Adam Hardy, is involved with both leagues. He's in constant contact with his technical team in Long Beach. We also have Bernhard Demmer, the program manager, in Long Beach. We have key people in strategy—one person for each league, plus a central person.” An organizational chart designed to capitalize on every kilometer traveled, regardless of the series.

However, an incident disrupted the Prologue involving one of the two cars: an engine problem, accompanied by flames visible from the outside, forced the team to change the power unit as a precaution. "We made the decision to change it for safety reasons. We didn't want to break an engine."Vosse explains. The engine in question had been returned to Munich within twelve hours of the incident. "Generally, when there's a small fire, it can happen near the injectors or something like that."

Reliability, the top priority after a frustrating 2025 season

It is undoubtedly in the area of ​​reliability that Vosse is showing the most determination. The 2025 season highlighted the car's potential without allowing it to be realized. “We have shown, unfortunately not often enough, a certain level of performance. Only in the first three races of the season — Qatar, Imola and Le Mans. In Qatar and Imola, we were the best behind the Classic Ferrari for saleAt Le Mans, we weren't as fast as Porsche"But we weren't far off—we would have been fighting for a top-five finish. But reliability issues let us down, and everything is being done to ensure it doesn't happen again."

He specifies that the room for improvement lies primarily in editing and exploration: "We don't decide the engine order, the quality, or the design of the car. We handle assembly and operation." A ground-level effort, less visible than lap times, but potentially decisive over the course of a season built around a single objective: Le Mans. But before that, the season begins in Italy with the 6 Hours of Imola this weekend, from April 17th to 19th.

Interview by Valentin Glo, in Imola.

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