Vincent Vosse is a name synonymous with success when it comes to the world of motorsport, and he never shies away from a chat on everything from the hottest issues to a quick post-race comment.
The WRT team principal always offers interesting insights into the activities he has been carrying out in partnership with BMW M Motorsport for the past four years, spanning GT racing, the FIA WEC and now also IMSA with the V8 LMDh hybrids.
Fresh from a major victory at the Spa 6 Hours in the World Endurance Championship, the Belgian manager spoke to the media at Monza, including Motorsport.com, to discuss the current state of his commitments as well as the future of the WEC both on- and off-track.
Andreas Roos, Head of BMW Motorsport; Vincent Vosse, WRT; #15 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Dries Vanthoor; #20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Robin Frijns
Photo by: Andreas Beil
Motorsport.com: It’s been a busy year for you – how’s it going?
Vincent Vosse: Great! It’s what we set out to do, so we’re happy!
MS: Finally, your first WEC victory at Spa-Francorchamps – how did you find it?
VV: It was brilliant, with an excellent strategy. We were very disappointed after qualifying but in the end, we knew we had a strong car for the race.
When the #20 stopped in the pits, we took a risk because we didn’t have the same number of laps left as the others to finish strongly. But everything worked perfectly and the #15 car also managed to fight its way back up; in fact, by finishing second, it was able to protect the #20 car, which saved fuel and energy to make it to the end without stopping again.
MS: How important is the IMSA programme for information sharing with the WEC?
VV: The flow of information couldn’t be better, and the staff working on it are a huge help too, such as the technical director, who is the same for both programmes. We have more data with two teams, but there are also people working on both, which helps tie everything together.
MS: Does this also help you improve, now that you have the EVO version of the M Hybrid V8?
VV: In certain situations, definitely yes. Although we feel we’ve lost a bit in qualifying in terms of pace and driveability. In any case, I think we’re in a good position and that was what we wanted to achieve.
#24 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Sheldon van der Linde, Dries Vanthoor
Photo by: Lumen for IMSA
MS: Have you already looked at any new Joker Evo options to use?
VV: Not at the moment, I wouldn’t say, but I’m not part of BMW’s technical staff so I can’t answer that precisely.
MS: What do you think of the new regulations coming into force soon, regarding potential convergence in the series?
VV: The BMW management are attending the meetings on this matter; I’m focusing on my own team.
But I believe it’s very important to achieve a good level of convergence: the potential is there, and it would make things easier for everyone. At present, there are two categories, LMDh and LMH, and we’re well aware of that. In the future, it would be better for everyone if they were merged into a single category.
Today, Ferrari is the winning car; I know what they would like and what would be best for everyone else. I’m simply saying that convergence is in the best interests of the championship and everyone should work towards that, without thinking of their own gain.
MS: Does the problem of achieving convergence also relate to a disparity in costs?
VV: I believe it is up to the WEC, FIA and ACO to find the best way to bring the costs of LMDh and LMH into line, so that everyone can accept it. The good of the championship and the sport is at stake.
Look at the success of the GT3s; they’ve been on the track for 20 years and are still going strong. Risks have been taken at times, but the platform is exceptional. And we should do the same with the Hypercars.
MS: Are you worried about the future of the WEC?
VV: The championship is very strong right now, but when you’re that high up, the chances of things going wrong and falling apart increase. We need to be very careful, and everyone saw that with Porsche and Alpine pulling out. McLaren and Ford are coming in, Genesis arrived today, but we need to be very careful.
#20 BMW M Team WRT BMW M Hybrid V8: Rene Rast, Robin Frijns
Photo by: Jakob Ebrey / LAT Images via Getty Images
MS: Moving on to GT3, the Spa 24 Hours is fast approaching – a race we haven’t won for quite some time…
VV: It’s the most important race for us, in general. It’s our home race and we care deeply about it. We won it on our second and fourth attempts, under immense pressure.
For many editions, we’ve found ourselves in the lead, without managing to capitalise in the end. I don’t think there’s such a thing as a perfect race at Spa. Naturally, I’d prefer to win it, but I remember that in 2021 we weren’t the fastest and we were spot on with every decision, finishing second.
Honestly, I prefer that result to a victory with a lap’s lead over the others because it fills me with pride and I love racing.
MS: Do you think there’s a chance of achieving that this year?
VV: I hope to have the car to be able to fight for the win; I don’t know if the situation will be better than last year and I don’t think the test results are relevant for understanding what scenario we’ll be in just yet. For our part, we’ve prepared well and we have a strong line-up, a strong car capable of winning. We’ll find out the rest when we get there.
MS: First up is Le Mans, though…
VV: We know full well that we need to stay out of trouble and get to the finish with a strong car. Let’s see how the battle between LMH and LMDh plays out; my personal opinion is that it’s about time an LMDh secured a victory.
The important thing is that it’s a great spectacle for everyone, as we saw at Spa. It was a close fight, with different strategies but similar performance levels. At Le Mans, I think it will be difficult to see something similar throughout the race, but we know what kind of event the 24 Hours is.
MS: In LMGT3 too, the aim will be to win…
VV: Of course, we always want to win. We were already doing that when we were in LMP2 and we’re continuing to do so now in Hypercar and GT. It’s going to be a fiercely contested challenge!
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