Comtoyou Racing has presented its full 2023 Fanatec GT Europe line-up, with experienced Audi Sport drivers and young talents among its 10-man roster.
Led by team principal Jean-Michel Baert and team manager François Verbist, the Belgian squad has added GT racing to a busy agenda this season, alongside longstanding programmes in TCR and the Fun Cup. It will use the Audi R8 LMS Evo II, expanding on what has already been a successful relationship with the Ingolstadt marque.
The team has taken an ambitious approach, committing three cars to compete in the 10-round Fanatec GT Europe championship. Its Endurance programme will consist of crews in the Pro, Gold Cup and Silver Cup classes, while in Sprint it will field two Pro cars and a Gold Cup entry.
The #11 Audi will be anchored by long-time factory driver Christopher Haase. The German ace represents a significant signing for the new team, brining more than a decade's worth of experience in Fanatec GT Europe competition. At Endurance rounds he will be joined by fellow Audi Sport representatives Fred Vervisch and Gilles Magnus, the former building on his longstanding presence with Comtoyou's TCR effort.
The #12 will compete for Silver Cup honours at Endurance rounds with Sam Dejonghe, Loris Hezemans and Finlay Hutchison sharing the wheel. The experienced Dejonghe will return to the series having previously contested the 2018 CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa. Hezemans is also a returnee: the Dutchman last ran Fanatec GT Europe in 2018, since when he has become a champion in the NASCAR Euro Series. Hutchison, meanwhile, is set for his fifth Fanatec GT Europe campaign with a fifth different Audi squad.
Comtoyou's third Endurance entry will compete in the new Gold Cup class, with Nicolas Baert, Max Hofer and Maxime Soulet in the #21 machine. Baert will undertake his second season in Fanatec GT Europe after competing with Saintéloc last term, while Audi Sport driver Hofer made his most recent appearance with the Attempto squad in 2021. The experienced Soulet needs little introduction: the Belgian was previously a member of Bentley's works line-up and won the the Liqui-Moly Bathurst 12 Hour in 2020.
In Sprint, Haase will be joined in the #11 machine by Lucas Légeret. The 21-year-old Swiss earned his maiden overall victory at Hockenheim last season while driving for the Saintéloc squad. The #12 machine will also compete in Pro with a youth-and-experience pairing as Baert links up with fellow countryman Vervisch. Finally, the #21 will contend for Gold Cup honours with Magnus and Hutchinson.
“Even if this will be the first season in GT for Comtoyou Racing, we will be able to count on new recruits with experience in the discipline," commented Sébastien Breuil, who is leading the squad's Fanatec GT Europe project. "The challenge is great, especially as there are two distinct competitions in Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe with the Endurance Cup and the Sprint Cup. This will require different approaches at times and the entire team will have to show its ability to adapt.
"But I am confident: the motivation is enormous, we know the qualities of the Audi R8 LMS GT3 Evo II and we have succeeded in forming competitive crews for the different classes in which we will be competing, whether in the Pro class for the overall classification or in the races within the race which are the Silver Cup and Gold Cup."
Comtoyou Racing will make its Fanatec GT Europe debut when the Endurance Cup launches at Monza on 21-23 April. The Sprint campaign gets under way at Brands Hatch on 13-14 May, while its home event – the marquee CrowdStrike 24 Hours of Spa – is scheduled for 29 June–2 July.
ENDURANCE
#11 (Pro): Christopher Haase / Frédéric Vervisch / Gilles Magnus
#12 (Silver Cup): Sam Dejonghe / Loris Hezemans / Finlay Hutchison
#21 (Gold Cup): Nicolas Baert / Max Hofer / Maxime Soulet
SPRINT
#11 (Pro): Christopher Haase / Lucas Légeret
#12 (Pro): Frédéric Vervisch / Nicolas Baert
#21 (Gold Cup): Gilles Magnus / Finlay Hutchison