Charles Weerts

Charles Pierre Julien Weerts (born 1 March 2001) is a Belgian racing driver who currently competes in the GT World Challenge Europe. On December 8, 2022, Weerts was announced as a factory driver for BMW M Motorsport where he would continue to drive for Team WRT.

Career Junior formula Weerts made his single-seater debut in 2017, joining Team Motopark for the 2017 ADAC Formula 4 season, alongside the final three races of the Formula 4 UAE Championship. During the 2017 ADAC F4 season, he would score 22nd in the overall classification and second in the Rookie Championship, scoring just three points towards the drivers' title. The following Formula 4 UAE season, Weerts was crowned series champion, sweeping the final quadruple-header round at Dubai Autodrome en route to a 50-point lead over second-placed David Schumacher. However, the victory would mark Weerts' final season with Team Motopark, as he would switch to Van Amersfoort Racing for the 2018 ADAC Formula 4 season. After finishing fifth in points, securing one win and four podiums, Weerts would leave the team at the conclusion of the 2018 season.

Sports cars

2019 saw Weerts explore a new discipline of motorsport, joining Belgian Audi Club Team WRT for the 2019 Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup campaign. After a lackluster 2019 season which saw Weerts' entries score a solitary point across five races, he was paired with Dries Vanthoor for full season campaigns in both series during 2020. After scoring two wins and six podiums in ten races, Vanthoor and Weerts claimed the Sprint Cup title in the Pro category. Following his title, Weerts was promoted to Audi factory driver status for 2021. He began the team's title defense on a high note, taking pole for the opening race of the weekend at Magny-Cours, before going on to win Saturday's event, further adding a podium finish the following afternoon. Following the fourth round at Brands Hatch, Weerts and Vanthoor successfully defended their Sprint Cup title. In 2022, Weerts, together with Vanthoor were able to clinch a third consecutive Sprint Cup title. They finished the season with five wins and nine podiums in ten races.

BMW M Factory Driver

At the end of the 2022 season, Weerts confirmed he would part ways with Audi Sport and was later announced as a factory BMW M driver from the 2023 season on. He was joined by his current teammate Dries Vanthoor and Team WRT, both making the switch from Audi as well. In his first race as an official BMW factory driver, the 2023 Kyalami 9 Hours, Weerts scored the overall victory alongside Vanthoor and Sheldon van der Linde. Weerts once again embarked on a full-season GT World Challenge Europe campaign. Weerts stated his ambitions to remain on top in the Sprint Cup, but argued that the change in machinery for 2023 ensured that the team's efforts to score a fourth consecutive title wouldn't be easy. Ultimately, the entry finished third in Sprint Cup points, tallying six total podium finishes and a sole race victory during the penultimate race weekend at Valencia. In Endurance Cup competition, Weerts, Vanthoor, and van der Linde registered a best race finish of sixth at Monza, finishing 11th in the final points classification.

Heading into their second BMW season, Weerts and Vanthoor remained in the Sprint Cup and once again partnered van der Linde in the Endurance events. The year began with two mistakes from Weerts, who first crashed with a lapped car at the Bathurst 12 Hours and then retired from the opening Endurance Cup event as a result of a collision with Alessio Rovera. He redeemed himself in the first pair of Sprint Cup rounds, winning at Brands Hatch due to a strong pit stop as well as taking pole and victory in race 2 of the Misano weekend. Weerts and the WRT team would continue their strong form through the year taking podiums in Monza, Spa, Hockenheim, and winning round 1 at Magny-Cours. However, following a podium-less conclusion to both their sprint and combined seasons at Barcelona and Jeddah respectively, Weerts would finish runner-up to the Winward pairing of Engel and Auer. 2.5 points separated them in either championship, marking definite progress in his second year as a BMW factory driver, but not quite the championship dominating form of previous races. He would, however be crowned Intercontinental GT Challenge champion following an excellent run of consistent podiums and race wins after initially retiring from the opening round at Bathurst.

Heading into 2025, WRT and many other BMW associated teams received an upgrade package from BMW for their M4 GT3. These improvements meant that Weerts and WRT seemingly got off to the perfect start, with Weerts opening the year with a win at the 6H of Dubai. He also showed marked improvement in the old car as well, following the sister car home in a 1–2 at the Bathurst 12H. The momentum would carry into the opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe season, with new teammates in recently announced BMW factory driver Kelvin van der Linde full time, and another newcomer in the form of the rising young talent Ugo De Wilde for endurance rounds. The new pairing would open the championship with a win at the 6 hour event at Circuit Paul Richard. They would then score a podium in round two of Brands Hatch and then secure their first spring win of the campaign in round two at Zanvoort. Currently, they sit atop all three championships as a result.

Personal life Weerts is heir to real estate and logistics company Weerts Group, with his father Yves having been its CEO since 1994. Yves Weerts is a member of the board of directors at W Racing Team.

Racing record Career summary † As Weerts was a guest driver, he was ineligible to score points. Season still in progress.

Complete Formula 4 UAE Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete ADAC Formula 4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap) Year Team 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 Pos Points 2017 Motopark OSC11 OSC12 OSC13 LAU1 LAU2 LAU3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 OSC21 OSC22 OSC23 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 SAC1 SAC2 SAC3 HOC1 HOC2 HOC3 22nd 3 2018 Van Amersfoort Racing OSC1 OSC2 OSC3 HOC11 HOC12 HOC13 LAU1 LAU2 LAU3 RBR1 RBR2 RBR3 HOC21 HOC22 NÜR1 NÜR2 NÜR3 HOC31 HOC32 HOC33 5th 195

Complete Italian F4 Championship results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete GT World Challenge Europe results GT World Challenge Europe Endurance Cup Season still in progress.

GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup Year Team Car Class 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 Pos. Points 2019 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 ZAN1 ZAN2 NÜR1 NÜR2 HUN1 HUN2 6th 40.5 2020 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo Pro MIS1 MIS2 MIS3 MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 CAT1 CAT2 CAT3 1st 89 2021 Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo Pro MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 BRH1 BRH2 VAL1 VAL2 1st 103.5 2022 Team WRT Audi R8 LMS Evo II Pro BRH1 BRH2 MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 VAL1 VAL2 1st 135.5 2023 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HOC1 HOC2 VAL1 VAL2 ZAN1 ZAN2 3rd 86.5 2024 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 HOC1 HOC2 MAG1 MAG2 CAT1 CAT2 2nd 104.5 2025 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 ZAN1 ZAN2 MIS1 MIS2 MAG1 MAG2 VAL1 VAL2 1st 88.5 2026 Team WRT BMW M4 GT3 Evo Pro BRH1 BRH2 MIS1 MIS2 MAG1 MAG2 ZAN1 ZAN2 CAT1 CAT2 1st* 49.5* Season still in progress.

Complete ADAC GT Masters results (key) (Races in bold indicate pole position) (Races in italics indicate fastest lap)

Complete Intercontinental GT Challenge results Year Manufacturer Car 1 2 3 4 5 Pos. Points 2020 Audi Audi R8 LMS Evo BAT IND SPA KYA 14th 18 2021 Audi Audi R8 LMS Evo SPA IND KYA 6th 40 2022 Audi Audi R8 LMS Evo II BAT SPA IND GUL NC 0 2023 BMW BMW M4 GT3 BAT KYA SPA IND GUL 9th 44 2024 BMW BMW M4 GT3 BAT NÜR SPA IND 1st 68 2025 BMW BMW M4 GT3 BAT 4th 78 BMW M4 GT3 Evo NÜR SPA SUZ IND 2026 BMW BMW M4 GT3 Evo BAT NÜR SPA SUZ IND NC* 0*

Complete 24 Hours of Spa results

Complete 24 Hours of Nürburgring results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2024 BMW M Team RMG Daniel Harper Max Hesse BMW M4 GT3 SP9 Pro 50 3rd 3rd 2025 FK Performance Motorsport Michael Bräutigam Ugo de Wilde Jens Klingmann BMW M2 Racing (G87) SP 3T 120 35th 1st 2026 Schubert Motorsport Philipp Eng Robin Frijns Marco Wittmann BMW M4 GT3 Evo SP9 Pro 154 8th 7th

Complete Bathurst 12 Hour results Year Team Co-Drivers Car Class Laps 2023 Team WRT Dries Vanthoor Sheldon van der Linde BMW M4 GT3 Pro 323 4th 4th 2024 Team WRT Dries Vanthoor Sheldon van der Linde BMW M4 GT3 Pro 120 DNF 2025 Team WRT Raffaele Marciello Valentino Rossi BMW M4 GT3 Pro 306 2nd 2nd