Vincent Vosse has an unusual motorsport biography. Unlike many of his colleagues, he was late to the game, deciding to pursue a career in racing when he was already 19. Vosse also skipped kart racing, a popular entry-level series, and went straight to Formula Ford. Via touring car racing, Formula 3 and the Belgian Procar series, Vincent Vosse found his way into the major endurance series, making his debut at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 1999. Among the highlights of his racing career are the overall victory in the GT class of the 2006 Le Mans Series, multiple podium finishes at the 24 Hours of Spa including an overall victory in 2002, as well as several Belgian Championship titles. In 2010, Vosse ended his successful career as a racing driver to build an equally successful career as a racing team principal.
Team WRT, which he founded in 2009, is now one of the most successful teams in GT and endurance racing. When they began their partnership with BMW M Motorsport in 2023, it got right off to a flying start. With nine BMW M4 GT3 EVO and three BMW M Hybrid V8 Hypercars, the Belgian team has the largest pool of BMW M racing cars of any works teams. Currently, WRT competes in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, the GT World Challenge Europe and the WEC. We met Vincent Vosse for a chat at the WRT base in Belgium.
Team principal Vincent Voss, right, and BMW M works driver Sheldon van der Linde at Bathurst, 2024
VINCENT VOSSE.
VINCENT VOSSE.
Profession: Team principal, co-owner of Team WRT
Passion: Motorsport, BMW M, winning with BMW M
Motto: "I am driven by passion.“
5 POWERFUL FACTS ON WRT:
- 2009: founding year of Team WRT
- 9 podium finishes including 2 victories at the 24h Spa-Francorchamps
- 64 Championship titles
- 12 BMW M race cars in operation
- Team of 140
Thank you, Vincent, for taking the time to talk to us. From racing driver to racing team co-owner and manager of BMW M Team WRT: you have come a long way in the world of car racing and show no sign of slowing down – what drives your passion for motorsport?
I think what started it was cars. Racing those cars, of course. Because I’ve been racing myself for more almost 20 years. And also, the people. The people drive me. To have them around me, to find the right ones. It’s something which gives me this passion. To see those people working. How hard they are dedicated to their jobs. It’s something that drives my passion.
When you started to race at the age of 19, how did you picture your career path? Would you have imagined back then that one day you’d be the manager of a highly successful team in a highly competitive field?
When I started my racing career, I was hoping to be a racing driver, which I was for almost 20 years. I had quite a good career as a racing driver. I would never have imagined the path I took, because my first goal was to be a racer. So, when I started racing, I was already 19, so it was quite late. My goal in my career was to be an endurance driver. I started with single seaters and so on, but already back then my goal was to be in endurance racing. So, I had different goals than my colleagues at the time, who all wanted to be in Formula One. My goal was to be driving Le Mans one day, or the 24 Hours of Spa, races like these. And then slowly, my career would progress, and I started to race some very nice sports cars. GT cars, prototypes, touring cars. And I was quite fascinated by the racing teams, by their quality, the organization, what a team would do to attract manufacturers and drivers.
I would never have imagined – even after we started WRT – that we would be where we are today. But of course, we always had a vision for the next three years, five years. We always had a vision of where to go, why to drive in this category or that category. When we started the team, we wanted to drive GT3. Because I believe in this particular racing category. And we were right to do so because GT3 is still existing. I think, it’s one of the most successful stories in motorsport. To have a regulation that lasts for more than 15 years. It’s incredible. So, I was attracted by this category right off. And we also drove Touring Car Racing. We drove, of course, in the DTM. And then we decided to do LMP2 where we had three very successful years in the WEC and in the European Le Mans Series. And Le Mans gave us the opportunity to discuss our future in hypercar racing with automobile manufacturers.
We don’t enter a single race where we don’t say to ourselves: ‘we want to win’.
Team principal Team WRT
The end of your career as racing driver was also the beginning of your career as racing team co-owner and manager at BMW M Team WRT; what do you miss about your old job and what do you love about your current one?
I never really had the time to think about what I was missing from my old job. I did everything that we had the chance to do. I did it with a lot of passion, with a lot of effort. I started working more than I had ever worked before. I was in my late thirties. I did not really want to stop racing, but I said, “okay, if I want the team to be successful, I better concentrate on this”. So yeah, in the end I never stopped working and never got back to racing myself again. I’m driving from time to time in Fun Cups or classic car races. But I’m not interested anymore in professionally driving a modern car. I like so much what I’m doing now.
What do you like about the job you do now the most?
I think it’s to create an environment for the people who work for WRT. And to have those people and to have this connection with them. I think it’s the human side which interests me the most.
Team WRT is maintaining no less than 12 BMW M race cars; how do you manage a team of this size and make sure to bring in victories?
We have nine M4 GT3 EVO and three hypercars, one of which is a test car. I am surrounded by an incredible team, incredible people. I believe I have the best people around me. So, it’s quite an easy job for me. The difficult job is to keep them. To find them. To make sure that we win. Which we do. We don’t enter a single race where we don’t say to ourselves: “We want to win”. I mean we just want to win. It’s so important because it brings you success, and overall success for the company. Winning is everything.
Vincent Vosse, centre, with his team and the #15 and #20 BMW M Hybrid V8 hypercars at Le Mans
The drivability of the car is just there. And we proved it when we won Dubai. It was the first race for the EVO, and we won.
Team principal Team WRT
Team WRT began their partnership with BMW M in 2023 and hit it off right in the first race by clinching a victory in the BMW M4 GT3 at the 24H Dubai; did you expect the new partnership to pay off like this, right from the get-go?
It wasn’t the 24 Hours of Le Mans or the 24 Hours of Nürburgring or Spa. But it was our first race, at Dubai, and we were super happy to start with a victory. It’s the way you want to start a collaboration.
You have been driving the new M4 GT3 EVO since the start of the new season. What makes the car special for you, and how does this new generation race car contribute to the success of your team?
The M4 GT3 EVO is a car which has been developed by BMW Motorsport. It’s based on the M4 GT3, but they went into a lot of detail to improve the car. I think it’s nicer and easier to drive. The drivability of the car is just there. And we proved it when we won Dubai. It was the first race for the EVO, and we won Dubai. Again. Then, we won Abu Dhabi, then Bathurst. So, it was a nice way to start the season. I would say perfect.
With the first results of the season being so promising, what do you hope to achieve for the future of Team WRT?
The 2025 season started on a good note. Winning Dubai, then Abu Dhabi, winning Bathurst, winning Paul Ricard. It would have been difficult to start the season in a better way than that. We had also a good start of the season in the hypercar class where we held second place in the manufacturer standing. Until Le Mans. Le Mans hit us quite badly. But this is why victory feels so sweet. You have to go through the difficult times first. And we did go through some difficult times, but I have the feeling that we will finish the season with some very good results. On the other hand, in the GT World Challenge Europe and the Intercontinental GT Challenge, both Sprint and Endurance Cups, we are currently leading the championships. Which means that the beginning of this season was not too bad.
You have a particularly high-profile and successful lineup of drivers in your team. How do you balance a diverse drivers team like that to secure racing victories?
I think you need to know the driver quite well. You cannot have only one type of driver in a car driving and thinking all the same way. You need different people; you need all the ingredients. And I have to say, we are super lucky with our lineup. We have drivers which have incredible talent, but who also work super well together. And I think there is quite a good atmosphere in between them. And I’m super proud that we were able to fine-tune this. As we saw in Le Mans, when we saw Marco Wittmann and Philippe Eng who came to support us, how much they worked to help us during the racing week. It’s a good feeling to see how people can work together and I’m super proud of that.
Your career in car racing spans more than 30 years with more than 60 championships secured for Team WRT. Is there a formula for success?
I think the fist ingredient that you need to achieve this is to keep the passion. I am driven with passion. To have this passion and to have a bit of luck, of course, and to be at the right time at the right place, to be able to pit or not pit, or to make the right choice with the tyres – you need that. But you also need the best drivers, the best car. And when you put all this together, it gives you some opportunity.
Which BMW M model do you drive off track?
I am super lucky to be able to drive BMW M models. I am currently driving a BMW M5, which is a great car. Great fun. And it’s also nice to do long distance with it. I was on my way back from the Nürburgring and to have this car on those twisty roads, it can be so much fun. But I like to test different cars. I had few BMW models before, and I have to say you understand why they are so successful.
If you could race any racetrack in the world, which would it be? And what BMW M car would you pick for?
I would probably choose to drive Suzuka in Japan with the winning Le Mans ‘99 car, the BMW V12 LMR.
Vincent, thank you for talking to us.
BMW M AND ME: VINCENT VOSSE OF TEAM WRT.
The team principal on cockpit vs. pit lane, endurance racing and the successful partnership with BMW M Motorsport.
