Written by Owen Bradley, Edited by Simran Kanthi
German manufacturer Audi and Belgian racing team WRT have decided to part ways for 2023 and ended their final race with each other on 2 Oct 2022 at the GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Race in Catalunya, Spain.
After 13 seasons together, this iconic duo of team and manufacturer will be parting ways for 2023. They have enjoyed much success in their run together, with victories in the Nurburgring 24 Hours, Bathurst 12 hours, and even 30 titles alone in the GT World Challenge.
Vincent Vosse, WRT Team Principal, has said that the journey with Audi has been "fantastic".
Speculation around why the partnership ended is circulating, some on social media claiming that Audi is backing out of GT championships and other categories like they did with Formula E and Endurance Racing, to focus more on their commitments to Formula One which we suspect they will be joining in around 2026 with the new engine regulations.
Others believe that the reason for the termination of this partnership was due to Audi not committing to Hypercar, which WRT has expressed great interest in.
WRT has decided instead to sign with BMW, a great rival of Audi. According to many sources, such as Autosport, WRT has signed this deal in the hopes to be involved with BMW's planned Hypercar programme for the World Endurance Championship.
WRT has never been in this position before, as, since their inception, they have always been with Audi. Therefore, their partnership with BMW will be an interesting one to watch.
Was the move from Audi to BMW the right call? Is Audi favouring its F1 hopes over that of its successful GT Programmes?
Let us know in the comments below!
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