Rembert Berg and co-driver Warren Hughes are to swap from M-Sport to WRT team for the next round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship.
The Anglo-Dutch driving combination, who currently sit eighth in the season standings having scored podium finishes at both Rockingham and Snetterton in the first half of the championship.
M-Sport, the Cumbrian team best known for running Ford’s works World Rally team, entered the British GT series, fielding a 2013-spec Audi R8 LMS ultra for Berg and Hughes in preparation for their role with the GT3 Bentley Continental. They will now concentrate of the testing necessary before the car’s race debut, planned for during 2014.
“We always knew M-sport wouldn’t be able to do a full season of British GT due to their work with Bentley, it’s been a given,” said Berg. “M-Sport did a fantastic job for us, and we’re very grateful. Seeing as our season was going quite well, we felt there was more potential, so we said okay, it would be nice to finish the season in a good way; the best way to do that I thought was with WRT.”
“They are the number one GT team and they have a lot of experience, they just need to get used to the Avon tyres. I gave Vincent a call a few weeks ago and we finalised it all at Spa last weekend. It’s perfect, they know all the ins and outs of the Audi and we can’t be in a better place.”
WRT have been one of the top Audi teams in GT3 racing, taking the Blancpain Endurance Series title in 2012 to add to their Total 24 Hours of Spa victories of that year and the previous edition of the race.
However, while they have been regulars in other SRO promoted series, their agreement with Berg to run his machine will bring them to the British GT grid for the first time.
“We are of course delighted to be present on the Brands Hatch event,” said Team WRT team principal Vincent Vosse. “The British GT is one of the strongest national GT3 championship and we have already tried several times to set up a programme there in the past. It will be for sure a big challenge for all the team as the British GT is a championship with a lot of specialists. To have Rembert and Warren inside WRT is also very nice. We have already a small history with them as Rembert drove in the past in the super tourism championship together with René Verbist, my partner in the team, as engineer. On my side, I also know Warren quite well.”
Following the summer break the Avon Tyres British GT Championship bursts back into action next weekend at Brands Hatch. There also remain Berg’s home races at Zandvoort and the season finale at Donington Park.
