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GT Asia: Top 5 finishes for the Audi R8 LMS ultra at Twin Ring Motegi

Posted by just sharing Sunday, May 12, 2013 0 comments

By Johan Laubscher

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.

Photo credit and more information:

J-Fly Racing on Facebook

Hitotsuyama Racing on Facebook

Super GT: A weekend to forget for Audi teams at Okayama

Posted by just sharing Sunday, April 7, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

Okayama hosted the season opener of the Japanese Super GT series this weekend. As in 2012 the Audi R8 LMS ultra is taking part in the demanding GT300 class. Two Audi teams were present at the event, Hitotsuyama Racing and äpr racing, with some disappointing results in the end.

Both Hitotsuyama Racing and äpr racing are returning to the series with Audi. Hitotsuyama Racing, unlike last season, is entering a single Audi R8 LMS utlra, a brand new 2013 spec car on Hankook rubber. The #21 ZENT car had an extra 40 kg added by the GTA, the series organizers, as the car is not yet homologated by the FIA. The other car from äpr racing was in its 2012 specification, using Yokohama tires. Both teams struggled in the qualifying sessions. Hitotsuyama Racing finished eighteenth in class, even worse for äpr racing with no time at all.

On race day things were not different, both Audi cars were forced to follow behind. In the end the #30 IWASAKI R8 of äpr racing ended fourteenth in the GT300 class with drivers Yuki Iwasaki and Fairuz Fauzy. The #21 ZENT R8 of Hitotsuyama Racing finished in sixteenth, in the hands of Richard Lyons and Akihiro Tsuzuki. The race win went to the #11 GAINER DIXCEL Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3, the same team that gave Audi its first and only GT300 class win in Super GT last year. One thing is clear now, the Audi R8 LMS ultra is severely penalized in Super GT. Since its debut race win last year, at the same Okayama circuit, the car has been facing a very unfair Balance of Performance. The race results of Okayama race are here.

Next stop for Super GT will be at Fuji in three weeks time. We hope that both Audi teams will be allowed to compete fairly.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing

2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Hitotsuyama Racing testing at Fuji

Posted by just sharing Saturday, March 2, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The all conquering Audi R8 LMS ultra has received aerodynamic changes for the 2013 season. Two fully detailed threads about the 2013 R16 can be read here and here.

Hitotsuyama Racing is the first team to unveil their new 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The Japanese Audi Sport customer racing team recently tested their car at the Fuji Speedway. The team is set to return to the Japanese Super GT series, the car will be shared by drivers Akihiro Tsuzuki and Richard Lyons. Last year Hitotsuyama Racing entered two older specification Audi R8 LMS cars in the demanding GT300 class with mixed results all season long.

Our friends from RacerLink were on site and offered great photo coverage of the new Hitotsuyama Racing racer. Their topic about Fuji's tests can be seen here.

Photo credit: RacerLink

First 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra delivery

Posted by just sharing Friday, February 15, 2013 0 comments

By Johan Laubscher

The first 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra delivery follows shortly on the heels of the first public sighting. On Thursday a new white R8 LMS ultra was spotted in the Netherlands at Schiphol whist in transit, more can be read HERE. Following this sighting in Europe another car, claimed to be the first delivery worldwide, arrived in Japan for Hitotsuyama Racing, on Friday 15 February. The Japanese team have recently put their two older Audi R8 LMS cars up for sale, after making the decision to acquire a new specification Audi R16 for the first time.

They have taken delivery of a brand new white Audi R8 LMS ultra. They published the first photos on their Facebook page late last night followed by Racerlink and QuattroWorld running the first stories, those can be read HERE and HERE respectively. More detailed photos are available via Racerlink.

For now it remains speculation whether these two cars are different or indeed the same car in transit. Inspection of the wood foundation in the packaging suggests that they are not the same car, and that the car spotted in Schiphol may be heading to a customer team else where. So far only the cars in the Netherlands and Japan have been widely seen by the public, but more deliveries are expected to come to light soon.

More information:
Hitotsuyama Racing on Facebook
Racerlink on Facebook
QuattroWorld article
Racerlink article

Photos by Hitotsuyama Racing

Mixed Fuji Sprint Cup race 1 for Audi teams

Posted by just sharing Saturday, November 17, 2012 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The Japanese Super GT series is hosting its annual non-championship special event this weekend. The Fuji Sprint Cup at the Fuji Speedway. Unlike the usual endurance format, the Fuji Sprint Cup consists of two separate sprint races. Each car is driven by only one driver for each race of the two races individually. Race 1 was already run today in apocalyptic weather.

Four Audi R8 LMS race cars entered the event. The R16 had a very hard qualifying session for race 1. Richard Lyons was the best ranked in twelfth place, with the #21 ZENT Audi R8 LMS. Katsuyuki Hiranaka was fourteenth in the #11 GAINER DIXCEL R8 LMS. Yuya Sakamoto with the #30 IWASAKI MODA KUROCO apr R8 was seventeenth, while Igor Sushko was twenty third driving the #77 investors Audi R8 LMS.

The race do not have a Le Mans style rolling start, but a standing start. Right after the start Richard Lyons with the #21 Audi was forced to retire after damaging the clutch. Heavy rain made the race very difficult. However the Audi drivers were able to recover and improve. In the end Katsuyuki Hiranaka come home in seventh with the #11 Audi, while a great charge by Igor Sushko in the #77 Audi gave him a ninth place finish, not bad starting from the back of the pack.

Race 2 is set for tomorrow. The Audi cars will again start from behind. Tetsuya Tanaka in the #11 Audi will start from fourteenth, Akihiro Tsuzuk #21 R8 from fifteenth, Yuki Iwasaki #30 car from sixteenth and Kenji Kobayashi #77 machine from twenty first. We wish the best of luck for the three Audi teams and the four drivers.

Photo credit: GTA/Super GT

More information:
Super GT official website

Gallery: Audi R8 LMS at Suzuka 1000Km by motorsport.com

Posted by just sharing Monday, August 20, 2012 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The Suzuka 1000Km was round 5 and the stellar event of the Japanese Super GT. This year marked the debut of the Audi R8 LMS in this demanding and prestigious Grand Touring endurance race. Four Audi cars were entered in the GT300 class. After a hard and chaotic race with high attrition, the best ranked R8 LMS car was the #11 R8 LMS ultra from GAINER DIXCEL, fifth in class. The second Audi R8 LMS ultra also placed in the top ten, the #30 car from äpr racing. Hitotsuyama Racing had a very hard race with their two R8 LMS cars. The #99 finished outside the top ten after contact during the race and unfortunately the #21 retired late in the proceedings. Motorsport.com, as always, were covering the event with great photos as well. Here the very best from the Audi squad at Suzuka shot by motorsport.com's Eric Gilbert.

Thanks to Motorsport.com for these great photos, and remember to have a look at their online gallery, the biggest motorsport and archive gallery on the internet.

Motorsport.com full photo gallery of Suzuka 1000km

Suzuka 1000Km GT300 results

Another Audi R8 LMS ultra debut and another victory - Japanese Super GT

Posted by just sharing Sunday, April 1, 2012 0 comments

By Johan Laubscher

The latest generation GT3 racer from Audi is quickly picking up where its predecessor left off. The original R8 LMS started winning races straight out of the box and the new R8 LMS ultra is doing exactly the same.

Less than a week after the R8 LMS ultra had its debut race and debut win in Malaysia the R8 LMS ultra lined up in the land of the rising sun. Two Audi R8 LMS ultras and two older R8 LMS cars were entered for the opening round of the 2012 Japanese Super GT series at Okayama. The Super GT is the top motorsport category in Japan and is well known for being a very competitive environment consisting of two race classes, GT500 and GT300. The 4 Audis all compete in the GT300 category.

The two new Audi R8 LMS ultras were fielded by GAINER and äpr racing while the two older cars, which will be upgraded to ultra spec later in the season, were fielded by Hitotsuyama Racing.

The first race of the Japanese GT season had a lot of Audi headlines. Firstly it would be the German marque’s long awaited debut in the Japanese series and also the debut of a certain star lady racer. The #21 R8 LMS from Hitotsuyama Racing would see Cyndie Allemann’s debut in the series alongside teammate Akihiro Tsuzuki. Cyndie’s arrival in the series has sparked a lot of media interest surrounding the Swiss race driver.

Qualifying was a bitter sweet affair with the #11 GAINER Audi in 3rd and the #21 Audi of Allemann and Tsuzuki in 12th. The other two Audis placed lower down the grid.

GT300 race start

The 300km race would see some very exciting racing which became very physical towards the end of the race. The battles for the lead were very tight in both the GT500 and GT300 classes. The GAINER R8 LMS ultra was amongst the GT 300 front runners all race long and endured a fantastic battle for the lead with the #911 Porsche 911. As the race drew to a close all eyes were fixed on the GT500 lead battle which went straight down to the line. In the background the #11 GAINER Audi R8 LMS ultra crossed the line to a well dissevered GT300 race victory. A brilliant debut race for the new car. The other Audis also had a strong showing with 3 of the 4 cars finishing in the top ten.

Victory in the debut race has shown the potential of the car yet again, and the R8 LMS cars will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season. The next race of the season is set for the 500km race at Fuji on the 4th of May 2012.

Audi Results:

1st - #11 Audi R8 LMS ultra - GAINER - Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka

8th - #30 Audi R8 LMS ultra - äpr racing - Yuki Iwasaki and Yuya Sakamoto

9th - #21 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

18th - #20 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

Full Results HERE

More information:

Motorsport.com

Hitotsuyama Racing Website

Hitotsuyama Racing FB page

Photos by Eric Gilbert and hosted at Motorsport.com

Race highlights Video:

#11 Audi R8 LMS ultra - GAINER - Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka

#30 Audi R8 LMS ultra - äpr racing - Yuki Iwasaki and Yuya Sakamoto

#21 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

#20 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

Audi R8 LMS Strong Qualifying at Okayama's Super GT

Posted by just sharing Saturday, March 31, 2012 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

Japan's Super GT has started, round 1 is at Okayama circuit. Four Audi R8 LMS race cars are there in the GT300 class.

First time out and already the R8 LMS showing a strong pace in the class. The #11 GAINER DIXCEL R8 LMS ultra of Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka got a stunning third in class behind the two leading Porsche 997 GT3 RS cars. Not bad for a debut in the extremely fought GT300 division. Next in a 12th spot is the #21 ZENT Audi R8 LMS of team Hitotsuyama Racing shared by Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki. The car got a strong pace just missing the Q3 session for the top 10. The other two Audi R8 LMS cars struggled. The #30 IWASAKI MODA KUROCO äpr racing R8 is only 18th in class. The second car from Hitotsuyama Racing the #20 Racerbook Audi R8 LMS is last.

The Okayama race is a 300km race. Starting in third is a great debut for the Audi R8 LMS ultra in the top Japanese motorsport series. We are all hoping for strong performances from the four cars and why not the class win, fingers crossed for the race.

Photos hosted at http://www.motorsport.com/

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