Last year's Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup driver champions Katsumasa Chiyo, Alex Buncombe and Wolfgang Reip have all gone in different directions for the 2016 season. Chiyo returned to Japan to race in the Super GT championship, while Buncombe stays with Nissan GT Academy Team RJN. For Reip the winter was more difficult, but the Belgian managed to get a top drive at Bentley Team M-Sport. The 29-year-old now has high hopes for the upcoming season.
At the end of last season Wolfgang Reip was one of the success stories of the Nissan GT Academy. The gamer-turned-racer had taken his first major title by claiming the drivers' title in the Blancpain Endurance Series, sharing the Nissan GT-R with Buncombe and Chiyo, and the future was looking bright. But then the GT Academy programme underwent a major overhaul and suddenly Reip was without a drive for 2016. Fortunately for him, his performances did not go unnoticed with other teams and the Belgian was offered several testing opportunities. At one of them he quickly convinced the Bentley Team M-Sport staff, and the young man that was racing on PlayStation a couple of years ago is now a Bentley factory driver.
"I am extremely happy to have signed with Bentley Team M-Sport", the tall Belgian admits. "It is a very professional team, the atmosphere is great and together with my co-drivers Andy Soucek and Maxime Soulet we have one goal: to be at the front of the pack."
"But you only need one look at the entry list to realize that the competition will be tough this year", Reip continues. "There is plenty of new cars and there are the number of top drivers has increased as well. Still, I can't wait to get behind the wheel of our Bentley Continental GT3 in Monza!"
Blancpain GT Series action at the Autodromo di Monza starts on Saturday 23 April at 9am, with the Bronze test, Free Practice and Pre-Qualifying Sessions scheduled for later that day. Qualifying starts at 9am on Sunday morning before the three-hour race gets underway at 3pm.