Marc VDS Racing to withdraw from World GT series at end of 2011
Marc VDS Racing has announced that it will not contest next year's World GT Championship
The team has been the leading Ford squad in this year's GT1 series, and was announced by World GT organiser SRO as one of the first group of signings for next season's revamped championship. SRO had said Marc VDS would switch from Ford to BMW for 2012, when World GT will be based around GT3 machinery.
But Marc VDS announced today that its sole four-wheeled motorsport focus next year would be the Blancpain Endurance Series, which is also run by SRO, and where the team already runs BMWs.
"Mounting a serious title challenge in such a hotly contested championship as the Blancpain Endurance Series will not be easy," said Marc VDS' sporting manager Bas Leinders.
"We will need to be at the top of our game at every round and the only way to achieve this is by making the series our priority in 2012 - which is why we've made the difficult decision to withdraw from the GT1 World Championship, after two successful seasons that saw the team finish on the top step of the podium on a number of occasions, to put all our efforts into the Blancpain Endurance Series."
Marc VDS took its first win in a GT1 championship race at Ordos in China last month. Its lead driver Maxime Martin is currently sixth in the points standings, with the squad occupying the same position in the teams' title race.
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