Dries Vanthoor Bio
Dries Vanthoor, born on 20 April 1998 in Heusden-Zolder, Belgium, is a professional racing driver currently competing in the FIA World Endurance Championship with BMW M Team WRT. A former Audi factory driver, Vanthoor has built a reputation in sportscar racing through major endurance wins and multiple GT championships. He is the younger brother of Laurens Vanthoor, a Porsche factory driver.
Early Life and Background
Dries Vanthoor was born and raised in Heusden-Zolder, a town in the Limburg province of Belgium. Growing up in a family with deep ties to motorsport, he was introduced to racing at a young age and followed the path of his older brother Laurens into competitive driving. The Belgian motorsport scene, with its strong karting culture, provided an early training ground for the young Vanthoor.
Vanthoor began his career in karting, a discipline in which he remained until 2014. In 2015, he stepped up to junior formula racing, joining Josef Kaufmann Racing in the Formula Renault 2.0 Northern European Cup. With a victory at Assen and a third place at the Nürburgring, Vanthoor finished sixth in the standings, signaling his potential for higher levels of competition.
Path to NASCAR
Dries Vanthoor does not compete in NASCAR. His professional career has been built entirely within the international sportscar and GT racing scene, with a later transition into the Hypercar category. Therefore, a NASCAR pathway is not applicable to his racing résumé.
Dries Vanthoor Career
Early Career (2016-2017)
For the 2016 season, Vanthoor switched to sportscar racing with Team WRT, where he performed double duties in the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup and Sprint Cup. Partnering Frédéric Vervisch in both series and joined by his brother Laurens in the Endurance Cup, the rookie scored two podiums and finished eighth overall. That year also included a class win at the 24 Hours of Nürburgring with Bonk Motorsport and a prototype debut at the 4 Hours of Spa in the ELMS, where he finished second.
In 2017, Vanthoor continued with the Belgian team in both categories, this time partnered by Marcel Fässler. The pair won two Sprint Cup races at the Hungaroring and added another podium in Germany, finishing fifth in the standings. The highlight of the season came at the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where Vanthoor set a class lap record in qualifying before winning the LMGTE Am race in dominant fashion alongside Will Stevens and Rob Smith. At the end of 2017, Audi Sport announced Vanthoor would become a factory driver from 2018 onward.
GT World Challenge Europe Breakthrough (2018-2022)
Vanthoor opened 2018 with victory at the Bathurst 12 Hours, sharing the red-flagged race with Robin Frijns and Stuart Leonard. In the Endurance Cup that season, he partnered Christopher Mies and Alex Riberas, winning the Monza round, while in the Sprint Cup he teamed with Will Stevens, taking pole and a win at Brands Hatch. Together they ended the Sprint campaign fourth in points. In 2019, Vanthoor added three more wins across the season, including the overall 24 Hours of Nürburgring with Team Phoenix.
The arrival of Charles Weerts as Vanthoor’s co-driver in 2020 launched one of the most successful partnerships in GT racing history. Driving for WRT in the newly rebranded GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, the pair won the title that year. In 2021, the duo defended the Sprint Cup crown with one event to spare, recording four wins including a weekend sweep at Misano, and added two second places in the Endurance Cup. In 2022, they secured a third consecutive Sprint Cup title at Valencia, winning five of ten races and becoming the most successful pairing in the series’ history. At the end of 2022, both Vanthoor and Weerts departed Audi to join the BMW factory lineup.
BMW M Team WRT Era (2023-Present)
In 2023, Vanthoor began his first campaign without an Audi GT3, contesting both the Sprint and Endurance cups with a BMW M4 GT3 prepared by WRT. He defended his 2022 win at the Dubai 24 Hours and added a Sprint Cup victory at Valencia, finishing the year third in points. In the Endurance Cup, retirements at Paul Ricard and Spa limited the team to eleventh overall.
For 2024, Vanthoor was confirmed in WRT’s BMW Hypercar program, driving a BMW M Hybrid V8 in the FIA World Endurance Championship. Sharing the #15 entry with Marco Wittmann and Raffaele Marciello, he put the car on pole at the 24 Hours of Le Mans regular qualifying, though a crash in Hyperpole forced a sixth-place start. Later that season, the trio scored BMW M Hybrid’s first FIA WEC podium with a second-place finish at the 6 Hours of Fuji. Vanthoor also took part in the Formula E Berlin rookie test with Envision Racing in May 2024.
Driving Style and Strengths
Vanthoor has built a reputation for consistency in long-distance endurance events and race-winning pace in shorter sprint formats. His partnership with Charles Weerts demonstrated strong strategic execution and pit-stop mastery, while his qualifying speed, highlighted by poles at Le Mans and Daytona, has translated well into the Hypercar category.
Notable Races and Milestones
Signature moments include the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hours win, the 2019 and 2022 24 Hours of Nürburgring victories, the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans class win, and the 2022 GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup title that made him and Weerts the most successful pairing in series history. His Daytona 24 Hours pole in 2025 marked BMW M Hybrid V8’s first ever pole position in major endurance racing.
Dries Vanthoor Career Wins
Dries Vanthoor has accumulated victories across endurance classics, GT World Challenge Europe, ADAC GT Masters, and the Dubai 24 Hours. His wins span the Bathurst 12 Hours, the 24 Hours of Nürburgring (2019 and 2022), the 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Am class (2017), and three consecutive GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup titles from 2020 to 2022.
GT World Challenge Europe Highlights
Across the Sprint Cup, Vanthoor and Charles Weerts won three consecutive championships from 2020 to 2022, a record-setting run. The pairing collected multiple race wins each year, including a Misano double in 2021 and 2022, and sealed the 2022 title at Valencia. The Endurance Cup also yielded wins at Monza in 2018 and Imola in 2022.
Other Wins and Performances
Beyond the GT World Challenge, Vanthoor won the 2017 24 Hours of Le Mans LMGTE Am class, the 2018 Bathurst 12 Hours, and the 2019 and 2022 24 Hours of Nürburgring. He also secured ADAC GT Masters victories, the Dubai 24 Hours in 2022 and 2023, and a win at the 2022 6 Hours of Fuji in the LMP2 category with WRT.
Dries Vanthoor Family
Family Background and Racing Lineage
Dries Vanthoor is the younger brother of Laurens Vanthoor, a Porsche factory driver and accomplished endurance racer. The two brothers have shared the track several times, including at the 2022 24 Hours of Nürburgring, where they were involved in an early-race collision. The Vanthoor family has produced two drivers competing at the highest levels of international motorsport.
Personal Life
Details about Vanthoor’s personal life, including marital status and residence, are not publicly documented in available sources. His professional life remains centered on endurance and GT racing in Europe and North America.
2025 Season Performance
The 2025 season began with the 24 Hours of Daytona in January, where Vanthoor delivered the BMW M Hybrid V8 its first-ever pole position in the GTP class. Driving the #24 entry with Kevin Magnussen, Raffaele Marciello, and Philipp Eng, the team led the race deep into the final hour. A deteriorating nose forced an unscheduled pit stop, and the crew ultimately finished fourth overall.
For the remainder of 2025, Vanthoor is scheduled to continue in the FIA World Endurance Championship with BMW M Team WRT, sharing the Hypercar with his established co-drivers. The combination of the BMW M Hybrid V8’s improving reliability and Vanthoor’s endurance pedigree positions the team as a consistent front-runner through the season’s remaining rounds. With podiums already secured in 2024, the team’s focus is on converting strong qualifying and race pace into the program’s first overall FIA WEC victory.