Building a championship-caliber sports car program from scratch in four months is a daunting task, but Dries Vanthoor is helping steer BMW’s top-class GTP effort through a rapid operational evolution in the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.
Now in his second full-time IMSA season, the 28-year-old Belgian driver finds himself at the center of a major transition for the manufacturer. Following last year’s campaign with Rahal Letterman Lanigan Racing as BMW’s factory partner, which featured three podiums and a win (Road America), the German brand shifted its efforts to Team WRT - the outfit it already built a Hypercar relationship with in the FIA World Endurance Championship and the same outfit Vanthoor has extensive history with. The revamped squad made an immediate statement with a podium at the season-opening Rolex 24 At Daytona, but turning fast starts into long-term dominance is requiring more patience.
