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Friday, May 24, 2013
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By Tarek Ramchani
Silverstone is hosting the third round of the British GT Championship this weekend. A very special 3-hour endurance event and an impressive entry list. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be there aiming to do well. United Autosports drivers Mark Patterson and Matt Bell, the drivers of the #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra, are now second overall in the points standings. The two drivers have 42.5 points, only half a point behind the series leaders David Ashburn and Nick Tandy, with the Trackspeed Porsche. Last time out at Rockingham Patterson and Bell ended in a strong third place after the two-hour race.
The second Audi R8 LMS ultra car is from M-Sport. The World Rally Championship specialists had a very strong Rockingham round. Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes finished the race in second with their #10 Audi. At Silverstone the Scottish based team will again fight for strong points. Rembert and Hughes are now fifth overall with 27 points, not bad as they were not classified for points in the first round at Oulton Park.
PE Group Blendini Motorsport will field the third Audi, an older specification R8 LMS. Dom Evans and Tom Roche will be the drivers of the #11 R8 LMS. At Rockingham they finished in seventeenth place.
The Silverstone 500 event will have live coverage on Motors TV. No less than 48 cars will enter the race, with a format similar to the one used in the Blancpain Endurance Series. As was the case in the first two rounds, the Audi squad will have to fight hard against a great quality field of GT3 cars. The Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 R cars will be the ones to beat.
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Thursday, May 23, 2013
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Audi Press Release
The customer teams of last year's winner Audi experienced one of the toughest events of the Nürburgring 24 Hours this year. Heavy rain forced race control during the night to interrupt the race for more than nine hours. Numerous accidents caused a treacherous mix of oil, mud and rain water on the track. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars had accidents in these critical conditions and retired. In the end, Marcel Fässler/Mike Rockenfeller/Frank Stippler/Markus Winkelhock (CH/D/D/D) in fifth place were the best Audi drivers.
For the first time since the 24-hour Nürburgring debut of the racing version of the R8 in May 2009, there was no trophy for the GT sports car. Four times in succession, the R8 LMS won the GT3 class. In addition, Audi celebrated overall victory a year ago. Following this factory-backed commitment, customer teams exclusively relied on the most recent evolution of the R8 LMS ultra. Five teams put eight race cars on the grid. Frank Stippler (D) started the race weekend for Phoenix Racing by setting the best time in qualifying. From grid position one, last year's winner in car number 4 took the lead at the beginning of the race. Subsequently, the local hero from Bad Münstereifel, who was nominated for two cars, concentrated on his stints in car number 1, the R8 LMS ultra of G-Drive Racing by Phoenix.
Stippler with his team-mates Marcel Fässler, Markus Winkelhock and Mike Rockenfeller, who had directly arrived from Brands Hatch where he won a DTM round, was initially running among the top three teams. Due to an exchange of the oxygen sensor, car number 1 dropped to tenth place on Sunday night. Up to the interruption of the race the team had recovered to fourth place. On Monday, the quartet defended its position in the fiercely competitive field of the front runners as rain was repeatedly setting in again. In the end, they finished in fifth place.
Several Audi customers got to experience the trickiness of the conditions that prevailed after the race was interrupted. Michael Ammermüller (D) was fortunate when after an excursion only the tie rod on his number 4 Audi had to be exchanged. Consequently, together with Ferdinand and Johannes Stuck (A), he managed the leap onto position eight. One position behind them, Frank Biela/Christer Jöns/Luca Ludwig/Roman Rusinov (D/D/D/RUS) in the second car of G-Drive Racing by Phoenix reached the finish.
Almost simultaneously with Ammermüller, Laurens Vanthoor (B) had slipped into the guard rails on an oil leak. The suspension of his number 29 Audi of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was too heavily damaged for a repair. Around 80 minutes later, Christian Mamerow (D) was struck by misfortune. At the ‘Schwedenkreuz' he got off track on a slippery spot. He destroyed the suspension of his number 2 R8 LMS ultra so that Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow retired.
Car number 14 of the Audi race experience experienced a smaller accident as well on lapping a rival but Pierre Ehret (D) was able to continue to drive. Piloted by other enthusiastic customers and several professional drivers, the two R8 LMS ultra cars of the Audi race experience otherwise completed their laps in a commanding manner and in the end took positions 18 and 28.
"I've never experienced such a tough event of the 24-hour race since the R8 started running here," said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "Still, our customers demonstrated a great fighting spirit. Our congratulations today go to those who finished the race and of course to the overall winners of Mercedes-Benz. I'm sure that our customers will attack again at Spa in July at the next 24-hour race."
Romolo Liebchen, Head of Customer Sport at quattro GmbH, commented, "Every string comes to an end. Since May 2012, the R8 has won four 24-hour races - at the Nürburgring, at Spa, at Zolder plus the class victory at Daytona in January. That the R8 LMS ultra is a reliable and fast endurance race car we saw nonetheless at the Nürburgring in the fierce competition of more than 30 GT3 race cars. Together with our customers, we're already looking forward to the next challenges."
It wasn't to be. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT's race at the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, probably the toughest GT race in the world, ended on Monday morning when the Audi R8 LMS ultra of the Belgian squad suffered an accident after hitting a spot of oil on the track, sustaining heavy damage. Until then, Team WRT had been a win contender and was in fifth position at the moment of the accident. There was frustration among team members and the four drivers (Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Edward Sandström) but also satisfaction for the competitiveness shown throughout the weekend, in what was only the second participation of the Belgian squad in the landmark race on the Eifel track. This year's edition has matched in excess the epics of the Nordschleife, as the race had to be neutralized during the entire night because of heavy rain and fog. Eventually, Audi could not retain the crown, with the best-placed R8 only in fifth, in an edition dominated by the Mercedes SLS.
Following its positive debut in 2012, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was keen to show its potential in this second outing at the 24 Hours and that happened since the first practice sessions. The car proved well-balanced and fast, and was qualified in an excellent 10th position (out of 175 entrants!) by Edward Sandström.
The race started at 5 pm on Sunday and during the first hours, the Belgian R8 stabilized in the top ten, with very short gaps within the front-runners. Options for a big result remained open even a first alert, when the Battlefield4-livered R8 slightly touched the barriers after going into aquaplaning in the rain. The car could be perfectly repaired and re-prepared as the race was red-flagged around 11 pm. The rain had become heavier and heavier, with visibility made poorer by darkness and spots of fog. The situation went on for the entire night, with the race resuming shortly after 8 am on Monday morning.
The pace of the Belgian squad's car was again excellent and the car charged back to 5th, when, shortly before 10 am, it fell victim of an accident in the fast section of Bergwerk. Laurens Vanthoor was at the wheel at that moment and the young Belgian rookie was surprised by a sudden spot of oil, not flagged by the marshals. The car hit the barriers several times and was too heavily-damaged to continue, but luckily, Laurens escaped unscathed.
Team Principal Vincent Vosse was philosophical in wrapping up the experience: "That's the kind of thing that can happen anytime in a race such as the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, and you have to accept it. This year, things were made even more difficult by the apocalyptic weather conditions. It's a pity, because we proved competitive, we were in the top positions and very often the best-placed Audi, but that's racing. Now we are all trying to lift up Laurens' spirits. He feels a little bit miserable at the moment, and any driver would do so in his position, but there is nothing he should be blaming himself for, what happened would have occurred to anyone at the wheel at that moment. I am happy with what we showed, with the great work done by the team and the drivers, and we are going to turn the page and focus on what comes next".
This will be the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series scheduled on 1st - 2nd June at Silverstone.
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Sunday, May 19, 2013
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By Johan Laubscher The Nürburgring 24 Hours is taking place this weekend. Audi and Phoenix Racing are the reining champions with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. A total of eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are entered in this event, including a number of privately built Audi race cars. A total of seventeen cars wearing the four rings will be racing this weekend. It should be another great race and we have included a list of links below with which you will be able to follow the race live.
Frank Stippler posts best time in Audi R8 LMS ultra of Phoenix Racing
Christian Mamerow for Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow on second row
Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in top five
Ingolstadt/Nürburg, May 18, 2013 – The quickest Audi customers have completed their preparations for the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring with a very good qualifying result on the first three rows of the grid. The team of Ernst Moser is particularly happy: In the Eifel, the squad with the Audi R8 LMS ultra of Frank Stippler is at the very front, whereas Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM starts from the top spot of the grid at Brands Hatch in the DTM.
Frank Stippler starts the Nürburgring 24 Hours in 2013 where he finished the past race: in first place. In the final qualifying session, last year’s winner achieved the best time in the single timed laps of the top 40 teams. The local hero from Bad Münstereifel in the Audi R8 LMS ultra #4 of Phoenix Racing posted a time of 8m 17.212s.
The second-best Audi customer team in the Eifel was Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow. Christian Mamerow completed the lap around the circuit as the third-fastest driver in 8m 19.073s. On his second outing, the race driver from Waltrop was no longer able to improve his time when he was slowed by a car in front.
Team G-Drive Racing by Phoenix provided the third-best Audi in the field. Le Mans winner Marcel Fässler completed the lap around the Nordschleife including the Grand Prix circuit in 8m 20.320s. Another R8 team – the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT – qualified for one of the top ten grid positions. The Swede Edward Sandström drove the tenth-best time of 8m 22.055s. The other Audi customer teams achieved positions 18 (G-Drive Racing by Phoenix #3), 24 (Audi race experience #14), 27 (Audi R8 LMS ultra #16) and 29 (Audi race experience #15). The race will start on Sunday at 17:00.
Selected quotes
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport):“It’s nice to see that Audi’s customer sport concept that has been put into practice this year is working out well at the Nürburgring. With the support from Audi Sport customer racing, the teams have prepared in a way that put four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on the first five rows of the grid. My congratulations go to Frank Stippler and his team Phoenix who achieved the best time.” Romolo Liebchen (Head of Audi Sport customer racing):“Our customers were running superbly. They continued what we started with a factory-backed commitment. That makes us proud because it shows that our product is competitive in the customer’s hands as well. Qualifying, however, was just an initial, small step into the race and therefore shouldn’t be overestimated.” Frank Stippler (Audi R8 LMS ultra #4/Phoenix Racing):“Catching a clear lap on the Nordschleife is really something special. With my 38 years, I’ve never experienced this on this track before – neither in racing nor in tourist driving. It was a great qualifying session and I’m pleased to accept this position but it’s nearly meaningless for a 24-hour race.”
Qualifying results
1 Frank Stippler (Audi R8 LMS ultra #4) 8m 17.212s 2 Pedro Lamy (Aston Martin #7) 8m 18.362s 3 Christian Mamerow (Audi R8 LMS ultra #2) 8m 19.073s 4 Richard Lietz (Porsche #50) 8m 19.838s 5 Marcel Fässler (Audi R8 LMS ultra #1) 8m 20.025s 6 Sean Edwards (Mercedes #9) 8m 20.320s 7 Maxime Martin (BMW #25) 8m 21.007s 8 Jens Klingmann (BMW #20) 8m 21.036s 9 Andreas Simonsen (Mercedes #10) 8m 21.373s 10 Edward Sandström (Audi R8 LMS ultra #29) 8m 22.055s 18 Frank Biela (Audi R8 LMS ultra #3) 8m 23.975s 24 Marco Werner (Audi R8 LMS ultra #14) 8m 27.257s 27 Dennis Busch (Audi R8 LMS ultra #16) 8m 31.788s 29 Alexander Yoong (Audi R8 LMS ultra #15) 8m 35.327s
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Friday, May 17, 2013
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Belgian Audi Club Press Release
The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT heads to the Nürburgring this coming weekend for its first 24-hour race of the season. The journey may be a short one for the Belgian squad, but the challenge is definitely one of its kind: the 24 hours of the Nürburgring, held on the legendary Nordschleife, the historic 22-km long track in the Eifel, also known as the “Green Hell”, and arguably the toughest motor racing race in the world. This is only the second time that Team WRT takes part to the iconic race, which will again attract around 200 entries. Last year, for its debut, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT managed to finish the race, learning a lot about this unique competition. This year, it will contribute to Audi’s efforts to retain the title conquered in 2012 with one Audi R8 LMS ultra, entrusted to Laurens Vanthoor-Christopher Mies-Christopher Haase-Edward Sandström.
“Anything we can say about the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring falls short from reality”, admits Team Principal Vincent Vosse. “I have done it a number of times as a driver, and I am now discovering it in a different capacity. It’s really a special event and a very difficult one, because it is almost impossible to master all parameters.”
The track itself, in the first place, is unique: a fast, narrow and dangerous string of asphalt with over 170 corners up and down the Eifel hills, where weather conditions may change from one point to the other. In the 24 Hours race, endurance, weather conditions, darkness, traffic and the disparity of performance level among cars and drivers, which range from top professionals to perfect amateurs, are added issues.
Vosse looks at this 41st edition of the race with all the necessary humility: “We came here for the first time as Team WRT last year and we learnt a lot, but we are conscious that you can never have everything under control in such a race. Last year, we were among the top contenders, then a contact with another car put us in a final position (32nd) that did not reflect our potential. We’ll see how things go this time, but I fully trust the reliability of the R8 LMS ultra and of our drivers, and I think the Balance of Performance is correct. The first objective is to help Audi winning again.”
The driver line-up of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is among the strongest and is a perfect combination of experience and performance. Christopher Haase, Christopher Mies and Edward Sandström are all familiar with the 24 Hours, while Laurens Vanthoor will take part to the race for the first time.
As a matter of fact, one of the WRT boys has already tasted the sweetness of victory in this legendary race: Christopher Haase was part of the quartet that gave Audi its first win twelve months ago. “Winning here, especially for a German, really means something. It is the biggest GT race in the world and a real challenge. For me, it was a dream come true and certainly one of the major achievements of my career. Still, after winning it once, what you really want is to win it twice!” The 24-year-old Bavarian, though, knows that nothing is granted: “It is not necessarily the fastest car that wins here. What you need is a fantastic endurance car, like the Audi R8, a great team, like WRT, and excellent co-drivers, like my team mates. The most crucial thing is to avoid mistakes, stay focused, go through the night, and then adopt the right strategy for the final hours. You can never anticipate anything, but one thing is sure: it’s good to be driving an Audi!”
At the other end of the spectrum is Laurens Vanthoor. The young Belgian will be making his debut in the 24 Hours and, as any rookie, had to pass a sort of aptitude test. Any driver wishing to race the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, regardless of his status or CV, first has to enter two events of the VLN, the special championship that takes place exclusively on the Nordschleife. In his case, he could only do one race, a few weeks ago, as the other race he was scheduled to enter was cancelled. “This is why I had to come back for a test last week and I will have to pass a sort of theoretical exam as soon as I get to the ‘Ring’ later this week”, he explains. The young Belgian is taking all these duties with great diligence. “I think I couldn’t have prepared better for this race. I can say I start to feel comfortable about the track, but I approach the Nordschleife with great respect. This is really the kind of circuit and race you can never say you know everything about! The track, of course, is exciting, although a little bit dangerous. I like it a lot, it is so special, so different from anything else. But I still have to experience driving at night, on the wet or with so many cars around me. I’ll try to do my best and avoid mistakes…”
Such a special race justifies a special livery. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT car will sport a full black livery and a very … topical sponsor: Battlefield-4! The race itself runs this year on a special format. While free practice will take place on Friday, the Top-40 Qualifying that will determine the pole position on Saturday, the start of the race will be on Sunday at 17:00 hours, with the chequered flag falling at 17:00 hours on Whit Monday, which is a festive day in most European countries.
By Johan Laubscher The 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours is taking place this weekend. The race itself will be running from Sunday until Monday, over the Whitsun long-weekend in Germany. Phoenix Racing returns as the reigning champions with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. 2012 was the first Audi victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, and no less than eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are entered this year from, five different teams. A total of seventeen Audi cars have been entered, including a number of Audi Sport customer racing cars (Audi R8 LMS ultra & Audi TT RS), as well as a variety of privately developed Audi race cars. The Nürburgring 24 Hours always provides a tremendous spectacle and this year, with the projected difficult weather conditions, should provide another great race. Good luck to all of the Audi teams, and we cross our fingers for a repeat of the success achieved in 2012.
By Johan Laubscher The 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend has arrived. To kick off the weekend let us have a look at the track in one of the Audi Sport sport customer race cars which will be competing: An Audi R8 LMS ultra. This onboard video features the WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra during the 2012 N24 qualifying session. Phoenix Racing and Audi are the reining champions with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. This year eight Audi R8 LMS ultra are taking part in the event fielded by five different teams. A number of other Audis are also entered in the event which is set to be another great 24 Hours at the Green Hell.
By Johan Laubscher The 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend has arrived. To kick off the weekend let us have a look at this legendary track during the darkness of the night. The video below features an Audi R8 LMS competing during the night in the 2009 Nürburgring 24 Hours. The video gives one a taste of the challenges of racing on this track in the dark. Phoenix Racing and Audi are the reining champions with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. This year eight Audi R8 LMS ultra are taking part in the event fielded by five different teams. A number of other Audis are also entered in the event which is set to be another great 24 Hours at the Green Hell.
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Sunday, May 12, 2013
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By Tarek Ramchani
The second race at Spa-Francorchamps in ADAC GT Masters was very hard for the Audi squad in very difficult weather conditions. The race started very badly for Audi. In the first lap René Rast, driving the #27 Prosperia C.Abt Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra, had a very nasty crash. The three-time Prosche Supercup champion was collected from behind by another competitor after a spin. The safety car was deployed and there were big fears for René Rast. Fortunately René was conscious and was sent to the medical center.
The race resumed after several laps under full course yellow. The wet track conditions remained, and as was the case yesterday, only one Audi R8 LMS ultra finished in the top 10. The #28 car from Prosperia C.Abt Racing driven by Christian Mamerow and Christer Jöns crossed the finish line in seventh place.
The #16 Audi from YACO Racing shared by Philip Geipel and Dino Lunardi was eleventh. The third car from Prosperia C.Abt racing finished in seventeenth with the #26 R8 LMS ultra of Rahel Frey and Markus Winkelhock. Whilst the 2012 series champions from MS Racing had another quite difficult race. The #100 Audi of Daniel Dobitsch and Aditya Patel was eighteenth and their teammates, Sebastian Asch and Florian Stoll with the sister #1 machine, were only twentieth.
Overall the Belgian round was a very difficult weekend for all three Audi teams. We wish the best of luck for René Rast, that he will get well soon and be ready for the Nürburgring 24 Hours next weekend.
Editor's note: As it is now, no one can deny that the Audi R8 LMS ultra is penalized in the ADAC GT Masters. The R16, within this specific Balance of Performance, is not able to fight at the front, and it can be assumed that this will be the same case for the proceeding rounds if things remain as they are now. It is really hard to understand how some of the best drivers are in the Audis, and that they are always far behind. Even with fast and experienced youngsters such as René Rast and Christopher Mies or Markus Winkelhock and Rahel Frey, who both have massive experience in the demanding DTM, the cars are still relegated to not being able to battle at the front. MS Racing are another good example, they are the reigning ADAC GT Masters champions with a rival brand in 2012, but since their switch to Audi in 2013 they have also clearly suffered with the performance disadvantage, despite the Audi R8 LMS ultra being one of the best cars in international GT3 competition. This specific performance deficiency with the the BOP was also the case last year, and unfortunately things have not changed for 2013 in the ADAC GT Masters. (Editor’s note is stated by the Audi Motorsport Blog (an independent blog), this is NOT a statement made by the official Audi Sport / Audi Sport customer racing)
The GT Asia series held its first round in Japan this weekend. Twin Ring Motegi hosted the event and a total of five Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars took part.
Absolute Racing were out in force with three 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra cars and a strong driver line-up. Two more Audis were entered by Dilango Racing and Hitotsuyama Racing, fielding one car each, an Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013) and an older R8 LMS respectively.
The Audis performed well during the sessions and achieved good qualifying positions. All five Audis qualified within the top ten for race one, being lead by the #7 R8 LMS ultra in third place. For race two three Audis were within the top ten grid, again being lead by the #7 in third.
Race one saw very wet and difficult conditions on Saturday afternoon. The Audis dropped back during the race, but an overall top five result was achieved by the #98 Absolute Racing entry driven by Philip Ma and Cong Fu Cheng. The other Audis finished outside of the top ten. Hitotsuyama Racing also finished within the top five of their class, finishing fifth in the GTM class. The first race was won by the #2 Asia Racing Team Porsche 911 GT3 R. The results from race one can be seen HERE.
A sunny day greeted the competitors for race two on Sunday. The race got underway on a dry track, a complete contrast to race one yesterday. The race saw an improvement as three Audis finished within the top ten. The highest placed Audi was again a fifth place finish overall, this time with the #7 Absolute Racing entry driven by Marchy Lee and Jeffrey Lee. The #888 of Francis Hideki Onda and Alex Yoong finished sixth followed by the #88 entry from Hitotsuyama Racing in ninth overall and second in the GTM class. Race two as won by the #007 Craft Racing Aston Martin Vantage V12 GT3. The results from race two can be seen HERE.
The second round of the GT Asia series will also take place in Japan, to be hosted at Okayama in June.
The Spanish IBER GT Championship got underway at Portimao this weekend. The first round of the Spanish series was held alongside round two of the International GT Open. Team Novadriver entered their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at the event.
The Portuguese team were home soil and determined to do well. They showed promise during the practice sessions and performed very well in qualifying. The #81 entry of Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira took pole position in the GTS class (GT3 competitors), placing fourth overall as well. The sister #80 R8 LMS ultra driven by Manuel Gião and Lourenço Da Veiga qualified sixth in class, ninth overall.
The first race got underway with a confusing start but the racing was fierce on track. The #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra held its ground very well with a terrific performance. They finished the first race as the winners of the GTS class for both the GT Open and IBER GT, and finished third overall. Their teammates lost time after a spin and they ultimately finished in sixteenth place overall. The results from race one can be seen HERE.
The second race will take place today. The grid will see the two Audis line up close together in eighth and ninth overall. We wish the best of luck to the Portuguese team to repeat the great results achieved yesterday. Photo credit and more information: Team Novadriver on Facebook
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Saturday, May 11, 2013
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By Tarek Ramchani
Spa-Francorchamps hosted the first of two ADAC GT Masters races today. The Audi squad were able to improve after very hard qualifying sessions yesterday. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from Prosperia C.Abt Racing performed well and made it into the top 10. The #27 R8 LMS ultra shared by Audi regulars Christopher Mies and René Rast finished in a solid fifth at the end of the 1-hour sprint race. Mies and Rast started way back from eleventh place on the gird. The sister #26 Audi of Rahel Frey and Markus Winkelhock finished right behind them in sixth place. Not bad considering that the Audi cars are now a little bit penalized with the Balance of Performance. The drivers have to push to the limits to fight for the top spots.
The other Audi entries were outside of the top 10. Eleventh was the #1 car from MS Racing (Sebastian Asch/Florian Stoll), sixteenth the #28 Prosperia C. Abt Racing (Christer Jöns /Christian Mamerow), seventeenth the #16 YACO Racing (Philip Geipel/Dino Lunardi) and twentieth the #100 MS Racing (Daniel Dobitsch/Aditya Patel).
Race victory went the #14 Ford GT from Lambda Performance, driven by Frank Kechele and Nicolas Verdonck, the car started from pole position. #10 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 of Polarweiss Racing was second with drivers Maximilian Buhk and Maximilian Götz. In third the #12 BMW Z4 GT3 of DB Motorsport in the hands of Jeroen den Boer and Simon Knap. The race 1 results are here.
Race 2 is set for tomorrow, fingers crossed for all three Audi teams and their drivers.
The GT Asia Championship is getting underway in Japan this weekend, round one at Twin Ring Motegi. Audi entries are occupying almost 30% of the GT Asia gird, with five entries in total.
Absolute Racing is fielding three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, representing their customers. The three cars are the same which competed in the MSS at Sepang earlier this year, the international race debut for the 2013 specification Audi R8 LMS ultra. The cars are however now in the new 2013 homologated specification, having been fitted with the older rear diffuser, just like all the other 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra cars around the world.
The lead Absolute Racing car includes the #7 entry (J-Fly Racing) with Marchy Lee and Jeffrey Lee, the duo who also competed for Absolute Racing last year. The second car is that of Philip Ma and Cong Fu Cheng, who are sharing the #98 car (Team Hong Kong Racing). The third car will be driven by Francis Hideki Onda and Alex Yoong, sharing the #888 car (Tunewear Racing).
Two more teams have also entered one Audi each. Hitotsuyama Racing is fielding their older Audi R8 LMS for the driver pairing of Billy Fung and Akihiro Asai, driving the #88 entry. The third Audi team this weekend includes a new Audi R8 LMS team. Dilango Racing has entered a 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra for driver Dilantha Malagamuwa. This #24 entry was originally listed under the name of Nova Engineering, but it has subsequently been updated to Dilango Racing. They are another great addition to the ever growing Audi Sport customer racing family.
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Friday, May 10, 2013
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By Tarek Ramchani
Spa-Francorchamps is hosting the second meeting of the 2013 ADAC GT Masters this weekend. Six Audi R8 LMS ultra cars have entered the Belgian round from three different teams. The Audi squad has again faced very difficult qualifying sessions. In the first qualifying session only a single Audi R8 LMS ultra was able to enter the top 10. The #28 car from Prosperia C.Abt Racing was tenth with drivers Christer Jöns and Christian Mamerow. Eleventh were their teammates, Christopher Mies and René Rast, in the #27 Audi. The 2012 champions Sebastian Asch and Florian Stoll from MS Racing were fourteenth driving the #1 car, followed by the team's second car the #100 of Daniel Dobitsch and Aditya Patel in fifteenth place. The #16 Audi of YACO Racing with Philip Geipel and Dino Lunardi was seventeenth. The third Prosperia entry, the #26 R8 LMS of Rahel Frey and Markus Winkelhock, was twentieth. The first qualifying session results are here.
In the second qualifying session it was once again only one car that entered the top 10, the #27 of Christopher Mies and René Rast in fourth place. The other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were fifteenth (#28 Christer Jöns/Christian Mamerow), seventeenth (#26 Rahel Frey/Markus Winkelhock), nineteenth (#16 Philip Geipel/Dino Lunardi), twenty-second (#1 Sebastian Asch/Florian Stoll), and twenty-sixth (#100 Daniel Dobitsch/Aditya Patel). The second qualifying session results are here.
Two 1-hour sprint races are set for Saturday (race 1) and Sunday (race 2). We hope that the Audi teams and drivers will be able to recover and fight for the top spots. Spa-Francorchamps has always been a good track for the Audi R8 LMS, both inthe Spa 24 Hours and the Belgian national GT races.
M-Sport Racing drivers Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes took the team's first podium in the second round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Rockingham last weekend. Thanks to a strong team effort, the pairing finished second in the two hour endurance race.
Following a good test at the venue, M-Sport Racing started well by claiming the fifth fastest time in both the first and second practice sessions. However problems with traffic and a small mistake on the final lap of qualifying saw them starting from 11th on the grid.
A strong start from Berg vaulted the team well into the top-ten and slick team work in the pits - as soon as the pit window opened - gave Hughes a clear track and fresh tyres to maximise the chance to improve the result.
An aggressive strategy on fresh tyres enabled Hughes to continue the good work and push for a podium position. A technical problem for Phil Keen enabled Hughes to climb to second, a position he held to the chequered flag to take M-Sport Racing's first podium.
In addition to taking the podium, a superb drive from Berg also resulted in the Swiss-based Dutchman taking the coveted ‘Blancpain Driver Award'.
Rembert Berg said: "It has been a great day and I am delighted to be part of the M-Sport Racing team on their maiden podium. It was a tough race, but the car has been fast and reliable and Warren did a great job to finish the job in style. Winning the Blancpain Award was a nice bonus"
Warren Hughes said: "Rem did a great job off the start to get us through the first session in a strong position. The team made a really slick pit stop to give me the best chance to push for a podium position. It was then a case of controlling the tyre wear and bringing the car home in one piece. It was great to see all the hard work the team has been doing in the past few months and the lessons learned from testing pay off with this first podium."
M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: "It has been a good solid performance from all the team this weekend. Rem and Warren did a fantastic job in the car and the M-Sport Racing team supported them well over the course of the weekend. It all certainly looks to be moving in the right direction which is good. It is hard to believe the team have only been racing for six weeks!"
Posted by just sharing
Wednesday, May 8, 2013
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Audi Press Release
24-hour race at the Nürburgring with eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars
Five customer teams bank on Audi’s GT3 sports car
Technical support by Audi Sport customer racing
Ingolstadt, May 8, 2013 – Eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, five teams and a single aim: the next success for an Audi at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The prerequisites, however, are different than they were a year ago, as the Audi customer teams will now be competing with their own sponsors and driver squads – supported by Audi Sport customer racing.
In May 2012, Audi celebrated the first overall victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours. As a factory-backed team, Audi Sport Team Phoenix won for Audi with Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock. Since then, various racing versions of the Audi R8 have won three other 24-hour races – at Spa (B) and at Zolder (B), plus the GT class at Daytona (USA) in January 2013.
On May 19 and 20, the teams will be running at the Nürburgring under different circumstances than a year ago. In the fifth year of the globally successful customer sport program with deliveries of more than 100 race cars, the spotlight is on the customers. Ernst Moser’s squad which was victorious last year is competing as Team G-Drive Racing by Phoenix now. Last year’s winners Frank Stippler (D) and Markus Winkelhock (D) are joined by the Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler (CH) and Mike Rockenfeller (D) as team-mates. The second cockpit will be shared by five-time Le Mans winner Frank Biela (D), Luca Ludwig (D), Christer Jöns (D) and Roman Rusinov (RUS). A third car fielded by Phoenix Racing will be driven by Michael Ammermüller (D), Frank Stippler (D) plus Johannes and Ferdinand Stuck (A).
Peter Mamerow’s outfit, the 2012 runner-up, like the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, is returning to the Eifel track. Christian Mamerow (D), Thomas Mutsch (D) and René Rast (D) are sharing the cockpit in the Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow with last year’s winner Marc Basseng (D). The Belgian WRT squad has last year’s winner Christopher Haase (D) in its ranks, supported by the two-time Bathurst winner Christopher Mies (D). On board as well are Edward Sandström (S) and Laurens Vanthoor (B), who decided the Zolder 24 Hours in their favor last year. The Twin Busch team of Dennis and Marc Busch (D) will be contesting the Eifel marathon in an Audi R8 LMS ultra for the first time together with Manuel Lauck (D). The Audi race experience completes the line-up. The two race cars will be shared by talented and motorsport-experienced Audi customers with pros such as the three-time Le Mans winner Marco Werner (D), ex-DTM driver Rahel Frey (CH) and the former Formula 1 race driver Alex Yoong (MAL).
All eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will be running in the current FIA-homologated 2013 technical specification. The exterior rear-view mirror, which is more favorable in terms of aerodynamics, the suspended rear wing and the optimized exhaust system are new features. A balance-of-performance rating of the 33 GT3 race cars of all seven brands and the other entrants is still pending. In total, entries for 179 race cars have been submitted for Germany’s biggest race.
On television, Sport1 will air live coverage of the race for around 19 hours. A YouTube channel and Fan TV, which can be received on location by DVB-T, will cover the event as well. In 2012, ten national television channels carried 97 reports about Audi’s victory with total air time of 19:17 hours and a theoretical reach of 8.1 million viewers. In addition, there were 70:29 hours of international coverage by 163 channels.
The Audi customer teams at the 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours
#29 Christopher Haase/Christopher Mies/Edward Sandström/Laurens Vanthoor (D/D/S/B)
Quotes by the officials
Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing: “In 2012, Audi won the Nürburgring 24 Hours with a factory-backed commitment. This year, our customer teams are entering eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on their own and with help by their partners. Audi’s customer race car has been successful at the Nürburgring every year so far, scoring class victories in 2009, 2010 and 2011, plus overall victory in 2012. But everybody knows how difficult it is to continue such a string. The world’s best GT brands are competing in the ‘Green Hell.’ Audi Sport customer racing will be providing optimal assistance to the teams at their runs through customer sport consultants and provision of a support infrastructure.”
Selected quotes from each driver team
Frank Stippler, Audi R8 LMS ultra #1 (G-Drive Racing by Phoenix) “Thanks to our success last year I’m traveling to the Eifel as the hunted for the first time. That’s a nice feeling. This year, there will again be at least eight cars in contention for victory on their own power and another eight lying in wait behind them. Our team boss, Ernst Moser, has won the race with Phoenix three times before, our driver squad is good and the new Audi R8 LMS ultra is even better than its predecessor. The prerequisites are good. But at this race you should never feel too sure. Chance and fortune play a role.”
Christian Mamerow, Audi R8 LMS ultra #2 (Prosperia C. Abt Team Mamerow) “The Nordschleife is my second ‘living room.’ I feel comfortable there. But the competition did its homework during the winter too and is well-prepared. Unfortunately, we’re lacking a bit of experience with the latest evolution of the car because the first VLN round was canceled due to bad weather and the third round clashed with our run at the ADAC GT Masters. Fortunately, we’ve been familiar with the Nordschleife as a team and as drivers for years.” Frank Biela, Audi R8 LMS ultra #3 (G-Drive Racing by Phoenix) “Together with Roman Rusinov and Luca Ludwig I drove a VLN race in preparation. Roman is a rookie on the Nordschleife, was immediately quick and made no mistakes in difficult conditions. Luca’s been on the podium in this race before and Christer Jöns as a VLN Champion knows every meter of the track. If, as a team of four, we put the abilities of every one of us on track I think a good result will be possible. That the team has the capability is out of the question after last year’s victory. Now I’m just hoping that a fair rating of all the entrants has been achieved.”
Johannes Stuck, Audi R8 LMS ultra #4 (Phoenix Racing) “Naturally, every manufacturer travels to the Nordschleife extremely well-prepared and aims for overall victory. We can be self-confident but should not underestimate the competition in any way. Plus, fortune always plays a role in an endurance race. Motorsport is a team sport. I’m a part of this team and, like all the other members, will try and give my best. Team spirit is particularly important in endurance racing.”
Christian Bollrath, Audi R8 LMS ultra #14 (Audi race experience) “For the third time, I’m driving this race with the Audi race experience. Everything there simply fits: the car, the team and the environment. The Nürburgring is my track. I learned sporty driving there 15 years ago. One of my instructors at that time was Marco Werner. That makes it even nicer to drive in the same team with him today. Every year, I can learn something from him. That’s how I reduced the gap of one minute per lap in 2011 to today’s 15 to 20 seconds. At the Audi race experience, progress is measurable.”
Rahel Frey, Audi R8 LMS ultra #15 (Audi race experience) “The Nordschleife is new for me. I just recently gathered initial experiences. This will be a big challenge for me. Plus, there’s nighttime driving. Visibility and traffic have a big influence on your own rhythm. It doesn’t compare with Le Mans where I’ve driven a 24-hour race before. It’s great that I can race for the Audi driving experience and convey the fascination of Audi to the customers in the process. We aim to continually give our best in order to finish without any problems.”
Dennis Busch, Audi R8 LMS ultra #16 “Last year, we ran on the Nordschleife for the first time with Audi. We’re thrilled with the car’s handling. From a technical perspective, we’ve got optimum material in the R8 LMS ultra. I’ve been on the grid at the 24-hour race twice before, and since 2007 my brother and I’ve been driving on the Nordschleife. But for our team it’s the first 24-hour race. Our aim: to get through the night without any mistakes, see where we stand in the morning and then achieve a good result – maybe even in the top ten.”
Christopher Haase, Audi R8 LMS ultra #29 (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) “Last year, I won the race with Audi Sport Team Phoenix. Now I’m competing with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT against Phoenix. Edward Sandström, Christopher Mies and I are intimately familiar with the Nordschleife. On his VLN Nordschleife debut, Laurens Vanthoor immediately showed a very professional approach. As drivers we can directly feel the improvements of the latest evolution of the Audi R8 LMS ultra. The car is even more consistent.”
Schedule
Friday, May 17 14:25–15:55 Free practice 19:35–23:30 Qualifying 1
Saturday, May 18 11:20–13:20 Qualifying 2 17:50–18:45 Top 40 qualifying
