The Vehicles Earth

By Tarek Ramchani

Adelaide hosted the second race of the Australian GT Championship Clipsal 500 weekend today. Whilst two Audi R8 LMS cars were entered at Adelaide, only one started the second race. Race 1 on Saturday was a fatal event for the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon. The Melbourne Performance Centre car was heavily damaged and couldn't take part in race 2. Thus meaning that only a single Audi R8 LMS took part in race 2, the #71 car from Minda Motorsport.

Yesterday the Equity-One Motorsport car finished race 1 in eighth place. Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes shared the car in the one-hour race. Today it was a kind of deja vu in race 2. The white and red Audi R8 LMS again finished in eighth place after the 30-minute sprint race. Race victory went to Craig Baird with the SLS AMG GT3, his second win of the weekend. Klark Quinn's Porsche GT3 R was second and Christian Klien's Mercedes was third.

The third round of Australian GT will be at the Phillip Island Grand Prix Circuit this coming May. We hope that Rod Salmon's R8 will be there again and that other Audis will also join.

Photo credit: EquityOneMotorsport Twitter

By Tarek Ramchani

Adelaide is hosting the second round of the Australian GT Championship this weekend. Two races are planned supporting the Clipsal 500, the V8 Supercars season opener. Race 1 took place today with mixed results for the Melbourne Performance Centre supported Audi Sport customer racing teams.

Two Audi R8 LMS cars took part of the event. The #71 Audi R8 LMS from Minda Motorsport shared by drivers Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes, the car started from ninth place. The second car, the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon, started from eleventh.


Close battles on track around the famous temporary Adelaide street course. Two major incidents brought the safety car out onto the course twice during the race. Unfortunately the second safety car was caused by Rod Salmon in the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Following a touch from behind in turn 14 the "Orange" R16 with Rod Salmon was a passenger as he hit the wall whilst exiting turn 8. Due to the damage he was forced to retire from the race, and the rest of the weekend.

The #71 Minda Motorsport car completed a strong first race. Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes finished eighth overall, sixth in the " GT Championship" class. The race win went to Craig Baird with his Mercedes-Benz SLS AMS GT3 ahead of Roger Lago's Lamborghini Gallardo and Klark Quinn's Porsche GT3 R. Race 1 results are here.

Race two is set for tomorrow, a 30-minute true sprint race format. We wish the best of luck for race 2.

Photo credit: Melbourne Performance Center

By Tarek Ramchani

After a thrilling first round at the Bathurst 12 Hour, the Australian GT is now at another iconic track, the famous Adelaide street course. Two Audi Sport customer racing teams are entering the event.

At Bathurst four Australian Audi cars competed in the Mount Panorama enduro event, with two of them being entered for the first Australian GT round. For Adelaide only two Audi cars will been entered. Minda Motorsport debuted with the Audi R8 LMS last time out and finished in an excellent fourth place. The #71 white and red car will be driven by Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes. The other Audi car will be the #6 R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon. At Bathurst the "Orange" R16 was classified sixth in the Australian GT segment of the 12 hour race. Both cars will be supported by Melbourne Performance Centre.


Two free practice sessions have already taken place on Thursday. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Rod Salmon was 11th in the first session and sixth in the second. The #71 Audi R8 LMS of Dean Koutsoumidis and Andrew McInnes was tenth in the first session and eighth in the second. During qualifying the #71 placed ninth and the #6 in eleventh.

Two races are planned this weekend. A one hour race on Saturday and a second race with a 30-minute sprint format on Sunday. The competition is becoming fierce in Australian GT. The Audi entries will be up against all-pro line-ups at the front, however we hope that both teams will be able to fight for top spots and big points for the overall standings.

Photo credit: Bathurst 12 Hour

By Tarek Ramchani

The Bathurst 12 Hour was a special race this year. Not only was it a stand alone international endurance event, but it was also round 1 of the 2013 Australia GT Championship.

The Australian GT segment consisted of the first 50 minutes of the Bathurst 12 Hour race. Three Audis were originally entered for round 1 of the Australian GT. A total of seven Audis were entered for the Bathurst 12 Hour which included the three Australian GT entered Audis, who were also entered for the 12 Hour. Great action on track with a full field of GT3 cars mixing local and international teams. The battles were so fierce that the safety car had to came out twice and regroup the pack during the first hour. At the end of the Australian GT race two Audi R8 LMS cars had entered the top 10. The #71 Minda Motorsport entry finished in fourth place, the Melbourne Performance Centre supported team debuting with the car. Rod Salmon with their #6 R8 LMS ultra ended in sixth place. The car was shared during the 12 hour race by Rod Salmon and V8 Supercars aces and Audi regulars, Craig Lowndes and Warren Luff. Victory in the Australian GT went to the VIP Petfoods Porsche GT3 R ahead of the Bello Rosso Ferrari 458 in second and the Trofeo Motorsport Corvette Z06 in third.

The next stop for the Australian GT will be at Adelaide. The series will support the famous Clipsal 500, the V8 Supercars season opener.

Photo credit: Bathurst 12 Hour