Carroll reunited with WRT after 11 years for GTWCE Endurance

The Northern Irishman has signed a deal to race a BMW M4 GT3 for the Belgian squad in the Bronze Cup class for Platinum-Silver-Bronze lineups alongside his regular partner in the 2022 GT4 European championship Tim Whale and team returnee Lewis Proctor.

The team had announced in December that MotoGP legend Valentino Rossi, Maxime Martin and Augusto Farfus would helm one of its two Pro entries, with the second driven by last weekend’s Kyalami 9 Hours winners Dries Vanthoor, Charles Weerts and Sheldon van der Linde.

Formula 2 convert Calan Williams will race the team’s fourth Endurance Cup entry with Niklas Krutten and reigning Silver champion Jean-Baptiste Simmenauer in the Gold class.

It will be 2008-09 A1 champion Carroll’s first time back at Vincent Vosse’s team since 2012, when he replaced Stephane Ortelli alongside Vanthoor’s elder brother Laurens for the final round of the 2012 GT1 world championship at Donington in an Audi R8 LMS GT3.

In only Carroll’s second sportscar outing, after he had shone in a Vita4One BMW at Silverstone, the pair finished second in the qualifying race and fourth in the main race which was shortened by the title-deciding crash between Yelmer Buurman and Markus Winkehlock.

Adam Carroll, driver of A1 Team Ireland

The former Jaguar Formula E racer’s best finish in GTWCE Endurance remains a third place in the opening round of the 2013 championship for the Gulf Racing McLaren team at Monza.

He continued with Gulf for the next three years in the European Le Mans Series and World Endurance Championship following its switch to Porsche, scooped the 2019 Ferrari world finals and has won British GT Championship races in Lamborghini and Audi machinery – including last year’s season-opener.

“I will be giving my all, opportunities like this do not happen often when you have the might and experience of WRT with a great car in the BMW,” said Carroll, will also campaign an Esses Racing Mercedes in GT World Challenge America this season.

“Tim is quickly becoming one of the best Am drivers in the world and Lewis is one of the best Silvers, so to say I’m excited is an understatement. We will fight hard for the championship.”

Whale made his debut in a WRT BMW in January’s Dubai 24 Hours, finishing third alongside Rossi, Martin, Max Hesse and Sean Gelael, while Carroll’s former British GT rival Proctor took a best finish of third in the Silver class at Paul Ricard with a WRT-run Audi in last year’s Endurance Cup.

WRT will also enter four cars in the Sprint Cup. In addition to the previously announced pairings of defending champions Vanthoor/Weerts and Rossi/Martin, Williams and Krutten will also pair up for Sprint Cup, with Simmenauer joined by his 2022 Endurance partner Thomas Neubauer.