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Audi customers pass tough Eifel test

Posted by just sharing Thursday, May 23, 2013 0 comments

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."

Photo credit: Audi Media

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT pays toll to Nordschleife epics

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Belgian Audi Club Press Release

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.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT ready for the “Green Hell” challenge

Posted by just sharing Friday, May 17, 2013 0 comments

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.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club / Christopher Mies

VLN: Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra won a chaotic round 3 at the Nürburgring

Posted by just sharing Sunday, April 28, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

Round 3 of the VLN Endurance Series was held yesterday, the ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup 4-hour race. Very hard conditions on track, with extreme cold weather and heavy rain. Audi was victorious in the end with the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra, driven by Marcel Fässler and Frank Stippler.

A full field of GT3 cars (SP9) entered the event, the final VLN race before the demanding Nürburgring 24 Hours. Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars too part. Fässler and Stippler crossed the finish line victorious with a minute gap ahead of the second placed BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Schubert, third was the Timbuli Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R.

The other Audi R8 LMS ultra finished in ninth with #37 G-Drive Racing by Phoenix (Frank Biela/Roman Rusinov/Luca Ludwig), fifteenth with #44 Twin Busch Motorsport (Dennis Busch/Marc Busch), sixteenth with #15 Phoenix Racing (Johannes Stuck/Ferdinand Stuck/Michael Ammermüller, twenty-second with #11 Audi race experience (Florian Gruber/Ronnie Saurenmann), twenty-ninth with #22 Audi race experience (Marco Werner/Christian Bollrath/Dominique Bastien) and forty-sixth with #45 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Laurens Vanthoor/Edward Sandström/Christopher Haase).

In addition to the outright win, the Audi TT RS cars did well in the other classes. In SP4T it was the #249 Audi TT RS of team MSC Adenau e.V. im ADAC who took the class honors. In SP3T the #331 Audi TT RS of Raeder Motorsport was first. A positive second appearance for the privately built #130 Audi RS 5 GT from Dupré Motorsport, the car finished fourth in the SP8 class.

VLN round 3 results are here.

Photo credit: VLN official Facebook

Eight Audi R8 LMS ultra to defend the Nürburgring 24 Hours title

Posted by just sharing Thursday, April 25, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The 41st edition of the Nürburgring 24 Hours is set for May. The ADAC has published the provisional entry list for the demanding enduro event at the legendary Nordschleife. Audi won the 2012 race outright for the first time, an 1-2 Audi R8 LMS ultra victory with Audi Sport Team Phoenix ahead of the privateer Mamerow Racing. This year eight R16 cars will enter the top SP9 class for GT3 racers, entered by five different teams.

Phoenix Racing, the defending team champion, will have three cars. Two will be entered as G Drive Racing by Phoenix with the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra for the 2012 winners Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock, the fourth driver will be the two-time Le Mans 24 Hours winner Marcel Fässler. The #3 for Audi veteran Frank Biela joined by youngsters Christer Joens, Luca Ludwig and Russian driver Roman Rusinov. The third car will be the #4 for the Stuck brothers, Ferdinand and Johannes, joined by Michael Ammermüller and Frank Stippler.

Prosperia C.Abt Team Mamerow, who have a very strong effort with Audi in the ADAC GT Masters, is entering a single car. The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be in the hands of team owner Christian Abt joined by the three fast drivers. René Rast the three time Porsche Supercup champion and 2012 Spa 24 Hours winner. Oliver Jarvis who has already won the 2013 Rolex 24 at Daytona GT class with an Audi R8 GRAND-AM and the 2013 12 Hours of Sebring outright with an Audi R18 e-tron quattro. The fourth driver is Christian Mamerow who finished second last year.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is again very busy this year, in both the FIA GT Series and Blanpcain Endurance Series, where they are doing very well. As in 2012 only one car will be entered in the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring, with very strong driver line-up. The #29 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Laurens Vanthoor, who is leading the FIA GT Series points standing, the 2012 BES champions Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies, the fourth driver is Edward Sandstom. Last year was a first attempt for WRT, but this year WRT are clearly targeting the overall win.

The fourth Audi team is Audi race experience. The effort is run by TKL Motorsport and will have two cars. #14 Audi R8 LMS ultra will have Marco Werner as the leader, joined by Christian Bollrath, Piérre Ehret and Peter Venn. The sister #15 is for the Swiss Audi Sport factory driver and rookie at the event, Rahel Frey, she is sharing the car with Dominique Bastien and Ronnie Saurenmann.

The fifth and final team is Twin Busch Motorsport, a fully privateer effort and a regular team in the VLN Endurance Series. Last year they raced an old spec Audi R8 LMS (ex Abt Sportsline), this year they aquired a brand new 2013 spec R16.

The eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will face world class competition from different brands and teams, all of them capable of taking the outright honours. The opposition includes Porsche, BMW, Mercedes-Benz AMG and Aston Martin Racing.

The provisional Nürburgring 24 Hours entry list is here.

Photo credit: Berzerkdesign / Mamerow Racing / Belgian Audi Club / Audi Media

VLN: Hard round 2 for Audi teams at the Nürburgring

Posted by just sharing Sunday, April 14, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The first race of the 2013 VLN Endurance Championship was held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife today. In actual fact this was the second round of the season, as round 1 was cancelled two weeks ago, due to the bad weather. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra entered the four-hour event with very mixed results.

The best ranked Audi R8 LMS ultra car was the #44 Twin Bisch Motorsport driven by Dennis and Marc Busch. They come home in eight overall. The two other R8 LMS ultra cars faced troubles. The #14 Prosperia-C. Abt Team Mamerow entry, shared by Christian Mamerow and Thomas Mutsch, failed to make it to the finish line. The same fate befell the #15 Phoenix Racing entry in the hands of Johannes Stuck, Ferdinand Stuck and Luca Ludwig. The race results come after a very hard qualifying session, where it was quite obvious that the Audis would not battle for the win.

Race victory went to the factory supported #19 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Schubert, with drivers Jorg Müller, Dirk Müller and Augusto Farfus ahead of the #35 Porsche 997 GT3 R of Timbuli Racing, third was the #20 BMW Team Schubert Z4 GT3.

It was a far better race for the Audi TT RS and TTS cars in the SP3T class, with a fine 1-2-3 win. The #331 TT RS car from Raeder Motorsport took the class honours and nineteenth overall. The VLN round 2 saw the debut of the Audi RS 5 quattro in SP8 class, more about this car here.

VLN round 2 race results are here.

Photo credit: Nürburgring official Facebook

VLN: Audi RS 5 quattro has debuted at the Nurburgring Nordschleife

Posted by just sharing Saturday, April 13, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

The second round the VLN Endurance Series (first race of the season) at the Nürburgring had a very exciting debut. A privately built and run Audi RS 5 quattro made its first ever appearance in the Nordscheife based long distance championship.

The car is from Dupré Motorsport and entered in the SP8 class, open for cars with 4000cc up to 6250cc. The Audi RS 5 quattro was driven by Christoph and Klaud Dupré, carrying the number 130. Visually the Dupré machine has a similar appearance to the Italian built RS 5 quattro from Audi Sport Italia in the Superstars Series.

Photo credit and more information:
Dupré Motorsport official Facebook

Phoenix Racing back with Audi to VLN Endurance Series

Posted by just sharing Sunday, March 24, 2013 0 comments

By Tarek Ramchani

2013 will be a busy one for Phoenix Racing sportscar effort with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. The team confirmed their plans for both Blancpain Endurance Series and the FIA GT Series. Now the team will be back to their "home" series, the Nürburgring based VLN Endurance Series. Last year Phoenix Racing took two outright wins in VLN and a historical victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.

For the moment only one Audi R8 LMS ultra has been confirmed for the VLN season with some new faces. The Stuck brothers Ferdinand and Johannes sons of Audi legend Hans-Joachim Stuck will debut with team Phoenix. Last year they raced for Aston Martin with a Vantage V12 GT3 in ADAC GT Masters from Young Driver AMR The Stuck brothers will be joined at Nürburgring 24 Hours the by Audi and quattro GmbH regular Frank Stippler as well Michael Ammermüller.

Our friends at Berzerkdesign.de took charge of creating the car livery. The result is one of the most beautiful paint schemes ever on an Audi R8 LMS ultra.

Photo credit and more information:
Berzerkdesing.de official Facebook

Gallery: Upgrading an Audi R8 LMS to 2013 ultra specification

Posted by just sharing Thursday, March 21, 2013 0 comments

By Johan Laubscher

Twin Busch Motorsport is a German team who compete in the VLN Championship. During 2012 they acquired and raced an older specification Audi R8 LMS. The team have decided to upgrade their car this year. They have purchased an upgrade kit which would transform their older R8 LMS to the latest 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra specification.

The latest version of the Audi R8 LMS race cars includes a number of improvements and updated aerodynamic components. You can read more about the different Audi R8 LMS versions and their visual differences HERE.

Twin Busch Motorsport kept their fans updated during the upgrade process by posting various photos on Facebook during the build. We have included those photos below, which reveal a pictorial display of the transformation from an Audi R8 LMS to a 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The photos begin with the car in its original R8 LMS specification and then continue through the upgrade process (including a photo of the entire kit as delivered) and ends off with the completed 2013 specification race car.

More information:
Twin Busch Motorsport on Facebook

Photo credit: Twin Busch Motorsport

Norwegian Møller Bil Motorsport Audi TT RS is ready

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

By Johan Laubscher

Møller Bil Motorsport is a Norwegian team which has been competing with Audis for many years. The team’s primary focus has been on the VLN championship having previously competed with an Audi A4 B7 and an Audi TT. For 2013 the team has stepped up to one of the quattro GmbH developed Audi TT RS race cars. These cars were originally developed for the SP4T class which allowed the 2.5 five cylinder turbo charged engine.

Many of the TT RS teams have decided to switch to a 2.0 four cylinder engine this year, thus allowing them to run in the more affordable SP3T class. The Møller Bil Motorsport TT RS will be one of the SP3T specification cars. The TT RS arrived a few weeks ago and since its arrival the team has been working hard preparing for the 2013 VLN season. The car is in the team’s traditional blue livery and has been revealed in full form this week. The car looks stunning and it is ready for the 2013 season. Unfortunately the 2013 VLN test day was cancelled this weekend due to the weather conditions. However the Møller Bil Motorsport team are on site and have competed further work and seat fitting. They are ready for the first round of the VLN which is set to take place next weekend.

It is great to see more of these TT RS race cars in the VLN and even more so with a long standing Audi team such as Møller Bil Motorsport. We wish the team the best of luck for the 2013 season ahead.

Photo credit and more information:

Møller Bil Motorsport on Facebook