29/07/2026

I don’t want to win thanks to BoP, but nobody wants to talk about this issue

As a team owner and former racing driver, Vincent Vosse has always come across as a friendly and approachable figure in the sportscar paddock. The Belgian routinely makes time to talk to journalists about important matters, and has always shown openness to discuss controversial and heated topics.

His answers are always direct and politically correct, even though the GT World Challenge Europe does not explicitly restrict drivers and teams over what they can say publicly.

One might have expected Vosse to be a happy man after WRT’s #32 BMW M4 GT3 shared by Charles Weerts and Kelvin van der Linde scored a double win in the Misano round of GTWCE’s Sprint Cup. However, the 54-year-old struggled to derive much satisfaction from the result amid the wider situation.

His frustration, unsurprisingly, boiled down to the Balance of Performance system that underpins GT3 racing. Vosse wanted to raise the alarm following the concerns voiced by SRO Motorsports Group boss Stephane Ratel, with increasingly sophisticated and difficult-to-manage cars creating the risk of major swings in performance from one race to another.

Question: How would you assess your season so far in GT World Challenge Europe?

Vincent Vosse: «Unfortunately, as Team WRT, we are very disappointed with the situation. We weren’t in a position to challenge for victory at the start of the season at Bathurst, then again at Paul Ricard, and the same thing happened at Brands Hatch, Monza and Spa. The results at Misano do not change my view of the situation we face with the BoP in the GT World Challenge.

«After Spa, which was the mid-season race, we asked for a meeting to understand the situation, but we haven’t received a reply. And whatever happens in the next five races won’t change my mind. I hope they’re working hard to find a good solution, not because we want to win or have a better car than the others, but because I’m a racing enthusiast and I have a team that works day and night to make the best pitstops, adopt the right strategies and set up the car perfectly, bringing it all together.”

Do you feel you’ve never been on a level footing with the others?

VV: “We don’t need a car that’s three tenths faster than the others to win races, as has already been proven in the past and without the need to reiterate it. But I don’t want to win at Misano, Magny-Cours, the Nurburgring or any other race simply as compensation for what happened at Spa. I want this to be discussed properly because we mustn’t forget that WRT wouldn’t be the team it is today without SRO. We discussed this internally amongst ourselves first, then I chose to speak out publicly on the matter. The GT World Championship is a top-level series, with great line-ups of drivers, cars, teams and manufacturers. It’s a comprehensive series and has everything, but today it’s become harder to win here than in the WEC’s Hypercar class.”

#32 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO: Charles Weerts, Kelvin Van Der Linde

Photo by: Davide Cavazza

Was the Spa 24 Hours the final straw?

VV: “It’s a general problem; it’s not just about what happened at Spa. There are 10 engineers working on each car, and I cannot accept that one or two people are ruining everything with the BoP. Before Spa, we carried out two days of testing in May, but it seems they were of no use at all, so we wasted our time. Then we did some more laps on the Tuesday before the race; there were loads of free practice and qualifying sessions, but even then nothing was done to check that the situation was actually fair. That’s why I’m not satisfied.”

At this point, Vosse paused to look at the BMW press officer, asking if everything was all right. Upon receiving a nod of approval, he carried on….

VV: “I’ll say it again: I really love the SRO championship and have the utmost respect for it; I’m great friends with Stephane Ratel, a great man who has achieved outstanding things. But when there’s a problem, we need to talk about it. You can’t have an increasingly professional championship without the same level of professionalism from a technical standpoint within SRO. They need to accept this and adapt.”

Do you still believe in the SRO platform?

VV: «Not at the moment, and good results in the upcoming races won’t change my mind. We need to discuss this openly to improve things because we’re not happy, but there are others who feel the same way. Just look at what’s happening elsewhere – I love motorsport and I follow the DTM too; there, the BoP is set by the same group of people we have here, yet look what happened at the Norisring.»

Vincent Vosse, Team Principal WRT

Photo by: Francesco Corghi

A weekend of dominance by a single make…

VV: «Aston Martin were always out front, despite the 10kg ballast; Porsche and BMW were from 15th place downwards, and I really don’t think that was down to the quality of the drivers or teams. They won Race 1 from pole position; naturally, I’d like to congratulate Nicki Thiim, Comtoyou Racing and everyone who contributed to the success. On Saturday evening, they were handed 20kg of success ballast plus a further 15kg of BoP, whilst the Porsches – which usually perform well at the Norisring – had 15kg taken off and the BMWs 10kg. They’ve also thrown a spanner in the works with power settings and restrictors, yet in Q2 Thiim took pole again and then won once more – so how can you explain something like that? In my opinion, something isn’t quite right; if anyone could explain it to me, I’d be delighted.”

It makes it hard to make sense of it all…

VV: “Yes, but I reckon even Thiim, Aston Martin and Comtoyou aren’t happy about winning this way. We’re all racing men and we want to fight for success. Thanks to SRO, in recent years we’ve managed to come out on top in some races even though we weren’t the fastest; they teach us how to do it without being the best because we have no choice. But we like to fight, and when they send you so far back with no chance of competing with the others, we can’t be happy.”

Looking at it from the outside, it seems that the BoP works better in GT World than in the WEC, but…

VV: “In my opinion, what matters is how it’s drawn up and what lies behind it. In the WEC there are constructive discussions; if it doesn’t work, that’s just the way it is, but at least it’s being discussed. That’s the situation today, and I don’t think it can be resolved in a few weeks – it will take time. But I know what I’m talking about, and I hope these words are published because I’m putting my reputation on the line: BMW is investing a great deal of money to field four cars with us in GT World – across Endurance and Sprint – and two in the Intercontinental GT Challenge. There needs to be more respect.”

#32 Team WRT, BMW M4 GT3 EVO: Charles Weerts, Kelvin Van Der Linde

Photo by: Davide Cavazza

Will you be going to Suzuka?

VV: “As things stand, I can’t say for certain yet; the final decision hasn’t been made, but I’m speaking for myself and WRT, not for BMW. But I can also add that BMW isn’t happy with the situation. There’ll be people quick to think I’m saying these things to get a favourable BoP and win at Suzuka; no, I’m not interested in that at all. They can even give us an extra 50kg – this is a general point I’m making.”

You’re not looking for gifts…

VV: “Absolutely not, but let’s bear one thing in mind: from 2010 to 2014 was the first GT3 era, from 2014 to 2020 the second, and from 2020 to the present day we’re in the third GT3 era. We need to distinguish between the different eras. I believe SRO has done a great job of understanding the different situations and eras. In the first phase it was excellent; in the second, good, but more challenging. Today, however, it’s really much more complex because you need more engineers per car to be competitive. That’s why I say that SRO’s technical team must move in the same direction in terms of professionalism.”

Ratel has criticised the new GT3s on the way; do you think the problem is linked to the complexity of these cars?

VV: “Of course, that’s exactly right. And that’s why we need to work on it. But I’m not pointing the finger at any one person, partly because there’s only one boss at SRO… In fact, I’m sure that person is working hard on this, but we need to talk about these things and take the time to do so properly. After the terrible situation at Spa, we didn’t get the chance to discuss it because they had to focus on the Norisring; I don’t find that acceptable, not least because we’re investing energy, time and money. But to date, nothing has happened.”

Didn’t they give you any explanation as to why a meeting wasn’t granted?

VV: “No, and that’s what’s wrong. If there’s a problematic situation – a proper mess – and you’ve created it, then it’s up to you to sort it out. Not the person who has to put up with it.”

Earlier you mentioned other manufacturers who have complained – can you tell us who they are?

VV: “Honestly, I don’t care who they are; I simply said that we’re not the only ones who aren’t happy. For example, Valentino managed to take pole at Misano with a brilliant lap, and people immediately thought we’d been given a ‘consolation prize’ after Spa. That’s not the case, and it’s not the situation I’d like to be in. I hate it when that happens, and I want to fight to make sure it doesn’t, given that I didn’t go looking for it.”