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

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

GT Asia: Five Audis enter the GT Asia at Twin Ring Motegi

By Johan Laubscher

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. 

Photo credit: J-Fly Racing

Audi Victorious in Rain-Affected GT Asia Series‏

Audi R8 LMS cup Press Release

·         Official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry scores first GT Asia Series victory in Round 9

·         Team now third in the championship race heading to Macau season finale

·         Rain-affected weekend sees race programme change

Autopolis, September 30, 2012 – The official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry celebrated its first win of the season in the GT Asia Series, with a lights-to-flag victory in a wet Round 9 at Japan’s 4.673km Autopolis International Circuit.

The Pro/Am pairing of Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee and Jeffrey Lee of Chinese Taipei were at their best as the race programme for the penultimate rounds of the championship had to be changed at the last minute to accommodate the treacherously wet conditions. As a result, both Rounds 9&10 were moved to Saturday, with Marchy and Jeffrey celebrating their maiden win together in Round 9, before just missing out on a podium finish with fourth-place in Round 10.

The team now lies third on the championship leaderboard heading into November’s show-stopping season finale held as part of the Macau GT Cup at the 59^th Macau Grand Prix. 

As the countdown to the conclusion of the season began, the team wasted no time in pushing their Audi R8 LMS ultra to the limits. The team set the quickest time in free practice and, with changes to the race programme seeing those practice times become qualifying for Round 9, Marchy and Jeffrey took pole position.

Marchy maximised their pole advantage, fully utilising his experience and the Audi lightweight technology to pull a gap from the chasing pack. The pit stop and driver change went swimmingly, and Jeffrey roared the Audi R8 LMS ultra back into action, determined to strengthen the team’s lead.

Heavy rain had made the track difficult to navigate and with several cars spinning, the Safety Car was called out two laps later and remained in place for the duration of the race.

Round 10 was moved to Saturday in anticipation of worsening weather conditions on Sunday.  On pole again after their Round 9 victory, Jeffrey took the first stint and got off to a strong start, but faced with furious competition, dropped down to fifth.

Following the driver change, Marchy set to work to fight back to podium contention. Demonstrating the speed and agility of the Audi R8 LMS ultra, Marchy set the fastest lap of the race on this charge.  With too few laps remaining to catch the race leaders, Marchy did manage to make up a place before the flag.

Commented Director of Audi Sport customer racing in China, Rene Koneberg: “We are thrilled to be celebrating our maiden victory with the official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry in the GT Asia Series, and congratulations to Marchy, Jeffrey and the team for putting together such a strong performance in incredibly challenging track conditions.  We have proved the performance and reliability of the Audi R8 LMS ultra in all conditions – not only by recording the fastest lap, but also through the stability and handling of the car in extremely wet conditions.”

Next up for the Audi R8 LMS Cup entry is the GT Asia Series’ showcase Round 11 season finale as part of the Macau GT Cup at the 59^th Macau Grand Prix in November.

Jeffrey Lee:

“We’re thrilled to celebrate our first victory of the season together at Autopolis.  It wasn’t easy with the weather conditions, but that makes the win all the more satisfying. It’s been a really challenging weekend, but a fantastic one and I’m looking forward to ending the season on a high note in Macau in November!”

Marchy Lee:

“This victory is such a great feeling because the whole team was so hungry for the win.  All season long we’ve had the pace to stand on the top step of the podium, and it is hugely gratifying to be able to deliver a winning result.”

Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com

GT Asia Series 2012

Provisional Calendar

Date	Event	Circuit	Rounds
May 26-27	Malaysian Super Series	Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia	1 & 2
June 9-10	Super GT Series	Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia	3 & 4
July 14-15	Formula Nippon	Fuji International Speedway, Japan	5 & 6
August 18-19	Super GT Series	Suzuka Circuit, Japan	7 & 8
September 29-30	Super GT Series	Autopolis International Circuit, Japan	9 & 10
November 16-18	59th Macau Grand Prix (Macau GT Cup)	Guia Circuit, Macau, China	11

Audi Gunning for GT Asia Glory‏

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release 

·         Official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry looks to build on podium success with first series victory

·         Team third in GT Asia Series championship standings

·         Penultimate rounds for 2012 support Japan GT at Autopolis

  

Autopolis, September 28, 2012 – With just three races of the 2012 season remaining, the official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry in the GT Asia Series will be gunning for the top step of the podium at this weekend’s double-header at Japan’s 4.673km Autopolis International Circuit.

The Pro/Am pairing of Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee and Jeffrey Lee of Chinese Taipei reunites for Rounds 9&10, with Marchy having missed Rounds 7&8 last month when he was contesting the Audi R8 LMS Cup in Ordos, Inner Mongolia.

As the countdown to the conclusion of the season begins, the team must use every opportunity to move up the championship leaderboard, and will be on the hunt for glory at Autopolis.  Marchy and Jeffrey plan to push their Audi R8 LMS ultra to the max, fully utilising the brand’s advanced Audi lightweight technology to give them the edge.

Their sights set on taking the first victory of their debut season, the team will need to be both on form and right on the pace for the remaining three races in the 11-round season.

Last month at Suzuka, Jeffrey and stand-in driver Alexandre Imperatori impressed with a third-place finish in the first of the two races, with the young Imperatori also posting the fastest lap of the weekend in Round 7.

Demonstrating the agility and the power of the car, the Audi R8 LMS Cup entry will look to build on their success at Suzuka to charge to outright victory at Autopolis. 

Commented Director of Audi Sport customer racing in China, Rene Koneberg: “Although we have had a challenging season in our debut year, the Audi R8 LMS Cup entry aims to end 2012 on a high note and that starts with taking a win at Autopolis this weekend. All season long we have shown the speed of the Audi R8 LMS ultra, and we’ll be looking to translate that into victory at the weekend.”

Rounds 9&10 will take place from September 28-30 at Autopolis in Japan, before the GT Asia Series’ showcase season finale as part of the Macau GT Cup at the 59^th Macau Grand Prix in November.

Jeffrey Lee:

“Last month we showed what we can do in the car and, if not for an incident out of our control, the Round 7 win could have been ours.  Still, we are looking forward to earning the first victory for the official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry in the GT Asia Series, and I’m confident that we can put together a wheel-perfect performance in Autopolis.”

Marchy Lee:

“Although we have had some podium success over the course of the season, finishing second or third isn’t enough anymore – the whole team is hungry for the win!  Autopolis is a beautiful circuit and I’m looking forward to getting behind the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS ultra.  Jeffrey and I make a great team, but our weekend has got to be perfectly executed if we’re going to take an outright victory.”

Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com

GT Asia Series 2012

Provisional Calendar

Date	Event	Circuit	Rounds
May 26-27	Malaysian Super Series	Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia	1 & 2
June 9-10	Super GT Series	Sepang International Circuit, Malaysia	3 & 4
July 14-15	Formula Nippon	Fuji International Speedway, Japan	5 & 6
August 18-19	Super GT Series	Suzuka Circuit, Japan	7 & 8
September 29-30	Super GT Series	Autopolis International Circuit, Japan	9 & 10
November 16-18	59th Macau Grand Prix (Macau GT Cup)	Guia Circuit, Macau, China	11

Gallery: GT Asia round 4 at Suzuka - Audi R8 LMS Cup team

By Johan Laubscher 

The fourth round of the GT Asia series visited Japan, at the iconic Suzuka circuit. The official Audi R8 LMS Cup team were there with the #7 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The team did well and achieved a podium finish. 

Thanks to the Audi R8 LMS Cup for the PR photos from the event. 

Audi R8 LMS Cup website

Event Press Rrelease