Dries Vanthoor had a mixed season during his first campaign in the Hypercar category in the World Endurance Championship.
The Belgian drove for BMW this season as the German manufacturer combined efforts in the WEC and IMSA in North America.
Vanthoor endured a tough start to the season as he plus teammates Marco Wittmann and Raffaele Marciello didn’t score a point in the opening four rounds.
They were even disqualified from the second round of the year at Imola and didn’t see the chequered flag at the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
The BMW driver’s brother Laurens Vanthoor was also racing in the Hypercar class for Porsche Penske Motorsport, and even fought for the Drivers’ Championship this season.
Now, Vanthoor has revealed on the Over The Limit podcast what BMW told him when the Belgian asked about helping his brother and Porsche in the title fight during the 8 Hours of Bahrain.
BMW told Dries Vanthoor it ‘wouldn’t be a big problem’ if he let Porsche driver Laurens Vanthoor overtake
Laurens Vanthoor knew that a top-eight finish in Bahrain would be enough to clinch the championship. Yet the No. 6 Porsche car still took the title despite finishing in P10, as their two nearest rivals failed to score points.
During the race, the two Vanthoor brothers also battled on the track at the front of the field as the Porsche driver was getting close to the title.
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Dries and his team were out of contention and unable to win the championship. So, he was cautious about getting involved in the title fight and asked BMW if they would mind him giving up track position to his older brother if Laurens needed the position.
He explained that he didn’t want to fight his brother and shared what BMW said when Dries asked for their opinion on letting the Porsche pass.
Vanthoor said: “When we were together, of course, I asked who was driving behind me because I didn’t want to get involved in this championship thing.
“Because, to be honest, I actually had a discussion with Andreas [Roos] and stuff before the race because I went to him and I said, ‘Well, If it comes down to, let’s say, I’m P8 and they have to be P8, would you [mind]?’ Because I understand both points.
“They are fighting everything they have for points. Everybody’s working flat out. I said, ‘Well, what is your opinion?’ He said, ‘Well, if it’s a close thing behind, then it would not be a big problem. But then we see how it is then. But if he’s 30 seconds behind, then for sure not.'”
Dries Vanthoor drove well in his rookie Hypercar season while balancing GT racing
Vanthoor took a best finish of second place this year, standing on the podium in Japan at the 6 Hours of Fuji after a race of attrition.
The Belgian driver has balanced Hypercar while continuing with GT3s and taking three wins in the GT World Challenge Europe.
This is due to his impressive versatility over the season. His Hypercar and GT3 car have very different amounts of power and downforce.
Vanthoor will be looking for more success in 2025, and winning the championship with Porsche was a very emotional experience for his brother Laurens.