CMRC: Doug Gore dominates Dover with his ABT-Audi TT-R

By Johan Laubscher

The Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) got underway at Dover in Jamaica last weekend. Two Audi race cars were entered in the event: The ATL Automotive ABT-Audi TT-R driven by Doug Gore and the extensively modified Audi A4 STW driven by Doug Maloney.

Dover is Jamaica’s premiere race circuit and Doug Gore has been unbeaten so far this year, within all the Jamaican events. Gore competes for the Team Jamaica squad within the CMRC competitors, listed by their Caribbean country of origin. It is the second season that the ABT-Audi TT-R has been allowed in the CMRC. The car arrived in the Caribbean during 2011 but was disallowed to compete in the CMRC, due to being underweight. 

The ATL Audi was finally allowed to compete during 2012, but misfortune struck the team at this very round last year, the CMRC season opener of 2012. Doug Gore was involved in a first-corner crash during the very first race of the season. The resulting damage ended the ATL Automotive team’s season, as the car needed to be returned to ABT Sportsline in Germany for serious repairs. The ATL ABT-Audi TT-R was eventually repaired and returned to Jamaica at the beginning of 2013, and has since been unbeaten all year.

The second Audi is that of Doug Maloney, an ex-Super Touring Audi A4 STW. His car arrived in Barbados during 2007 and has been modified by the Maloney Racing Team. He has competed in the Barbadian BARL series and the CMRC since the car’s arrival in 2007. Maloney competes for Team Barbados within the CMRC.

The 2013 season opener at Dover was set to be another clash between all the big names in Jamaica: Gore (Audi) vs Summerbell (Mitsubishi) vs Rae (Mazda), all competing within Group 4 of the CMRC. The weekend got off to a good start as Doug Gore dominated the proceedings by taking pole position, whilst Maloney qualified his A4 in eighth.

Doug Gore continued his dominant form as he went on to make it three from three on the day, taking all three CMRC race victories. Admittedly Gore’s biggest opposition, David Summerbell in the Mitsubishi, unfortunately retired from race one with gearbox issues, which put him out for the rest of the day. Doug Maloney also performed very well with his Audi A4 STW, as he finished on the podium in all three races. Maloney finished third in races one and three, and he finished second behind Gore for an Audi 1-2 in race two.

It was a great day for the ATL Automotive team, who remain unbeaten in Jamaica this year.  

More information:
Jamaican Tuner on Facebook
 

Photo credit: D_MONTii Motography N More (Donavan Montague) / Jamaican Tuner

Pole position for the Audi RS 5 DTM

Audi Press Release

•          Audi begins new DTM season at Hockenheim in position one
•          Timo Scheider decides thrilling qualifying session in his favor
•          Mattias Ekström in difficult conditions in fifth place

Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, May 4, 2013 – Audi is tackling the new DTM season at the Hockenheimring (Sunday from 13:15 live on “Das Erste”) from position one on the grid. In the first qualifying session of the year, Timo Scheider in the AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline secured the pole position in extremely difficult track conditions. 

Pouring rain in the morning, a track that became increasingly drier in the afternoon: In the battle for the best grid positions, the teams were confronted with continually changing conditions in the DTM opening round at Hockenheim – a case right up the alley of the most successful Audi DTM team and the two-time DTM Champion. In the third qualifying section (Q3), Timo Scheider switched from rain tires to un-treaded rubber at the right moment and on the crucial lap in Q4 was a tenth of a second quicker than BMW driver Augusto Farfus.

“Today you had to make the right decisions, and that’s what we did,” said an overjoyed Timo Scheider after posting his eleventh fasted qualifying time in total in the DTM. “Tomorrow, it’ll be about carefully handling the tires and making the best of this pole position. In any event, starting from the very front with the RS 5 DTM at the DTM season opener at Hockenheim is fantastic – particularly since, before the qualifying session, we really didn’t know where we stood after it was raining in free practice.”

Scheider’s team-mate Mattias Ekström, in fifth place in the Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM, barely missed the shoot-out of the top four. But the Swede showed a strong performance in each of the first three qualifying segments and with his place on the third row of the grid also has a good starting base for the race on Sunday, in which option tires and an adjustable rear wing (DRS) will be used for the first time in the DTM. Furthermore, changes to the set-up of the cars after qualifying are no longer permitted.

The other Audi drivers were less fortunate. Newcomer Jamie Green in his Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM was one of the quickest on a wet track but at the crucial moment had to settle for twelfth place. Adrien Tambay whose Audi ultra RS 5 DTM is starting from the Hockenheim grid featuring the colors of the new “Iron Man 3” movie and Mike Rockenfeller in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix will be sharing the seventh row.

Filipe Albuquerque in the Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Rosberg made it into Q2, but in the second segment complained about oversteer and will start from position 16 on Sunday. Miguel Molina (Audi RS 5 DTM) and Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM) were eliminated in Q1 in 18th and 19th place.

Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport: “Well done to Timo Scheider, his engineer and Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline: They did everything right today in these extremely difficult conditions and deserve clinching the pole position. But I think that qualifying was just a foretaste of the race tomorrow, which not least due to the conditions today will be a journey into the unknown. Of course it’s our aim to make it into the top ten with more than two cars.”

For the race, sunshine has been predicted. ARD will start airing live coverage from Hockenheim on “Das Erste” on Sunday at 13:15. The new DTM format no longer provides for a warm-up session. Instead, the fans on location will experience a pit stop practice of the DTM teams for the first time as part of the “Pit Walk” starting at 8:55.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Media

Audi teams do the Harlem Shake

By Johan Laubscher


The Harlem Shake has been a video phenomenon spreading all over the internet. All kinds of different versions have been made by people from around the world. The short video clip performance has even been adopted by three top Audi racing teams. 

The first Audi team to release a Harlem Shake video was APR in North America. The team's video featured a number of cars in their workshop, including an Audi R8 GRAND-AM. ABT Sportsline was the second Audi team to release a Harlem Shake which featured their mechanics having some fun with two Audi A4 DTM cars. The third video to come to light is that of WRT. The Belgian team revealed their Harlem Shake today and it features their mechanics with one of the team's Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. We have embedded all three videos below. Enjoy the lighter side of the Audi racing teams having some fun.

Photo credit: Screenshot from the above embedded WRT video.

The first modern DTM win for Audi and ABT

By Johan Laubscher

The first Audi win in the modern post 2000 DTM came in 2001. After a difficult debut season in 2000 the ABT Sportline team made their mark at round 2 of the 2001 season when Laurent Aiello took victory in his ABT-Audi TT-R. You can watch that race's hour long highlights film bellow.

More great DTM races can be watched at Motorsport.com

2001 DTM Round 2 - Nurburgring