WRT Audi name strong driver line-up

WRT Audi name strong driver line-up
WRT have named the men charged with driving their two Audi R8 LMS ultras in the 2012 season. The former DTM racer Frank Stippler (Germany) and Audi factory driver Oliver Jarvis (Great Britain) are part of the squad as well as the former Le Mans winner Stephane Ortelli (Monte Carlo). The Belgian junior Laurens Vanthoor completes the squad.

Ortelli is a familiar face to Audi as well as to Team WRT. The 1998 Le Mans winner was part of Audi’s first sports car line-up a year later, enjoys an excellent reputation in endurance racing with numerous victories and champion’s titles under his belt. He has been driving the Audi R8 LMS since 2009 and has been with WRT since 2010.

Jarvis has completed four years in the DTM. At the Le Mans 24 Hours the Briton in the Audi R10 TDI was the best rookie two years ago. In addition, he has gathered experience in endurance racing in the Audi R8 LMS at the Nurburgring. This year, Jarvis is part of Audi’s sports car factory team for the first time.

Stippler has been a development driver for quattro GmbH since 2004. From 2009, the German has been making a valuable contribution to the success story of the Audi R8 LMS.

Vanthoor, 20, was a Volkswagen factory driver from 2009 to 2011 and won the Formula 3 Cup in Germany in 2009.

"This squad allows us to put an attractive and promising mix of drivers on the grid," said team director, Vincent Vosse. "International successes through to winning Le Mans, strong technical expertise, many years of professional racing experience, four drivers from four nations - these are optimum pre-requisites for a harmonious team that works together well.

WRT will decide the composition of the pairings for the two cars at a later date. Following track tests starting at the end of March, a long and challenging season lies ahead.

"Both in terms of the sport and logistics this is the biggest challenge our ‘young’ team has tackled so far," said Vosse.
FIAGT.