Rast Narrowly Misses top-10 for APR Motorsport in Stacked GT Qualifying

APR Motorsport Press Release

Team will run Live Blog throughout Rolex 24 at Daytona

January 25, 2012 (Daytona Beach, Fla.) – A strong qualifying session highlighted a busy day for the APR Motorsport team at Daytona International Speedway on Thursday.
In the stacked thirty-four car GT field Rene Rast drove to 11th place in the day’s qualifying session in the no. 52 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am. Such was the depth of the GT field at the Rolex 24 at Daytona that Rast’s time was less than a second behind the pole sitting car. Rast, a defending GT-class winner at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, will partner with Ian Baas, Marc Basseng, and Frank Stippler in the no. 52 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am.

“I am pretty satisfied with the car and with qualifying the APR Audi R8 in 11th position,” said Rast. “It isn’t as fast in qualifying as we would like, but. I think we have a good car for the race. On Saturday, we will see.”

In the sister no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am, Matt Bell qualified in 27th position as he and the team continued to work on the setup of the Audi. Bell will be partnered with David Empringham, Alex Figge, John Farano and Dave Lacey for the twenty-four hour contest.

“We went in a certain direction for qualifying and it didn’t work out for us,” said Bell. “The car was really good, except for in a couple of spots on the track. As strong as this field is, you can’t really have a weakness anywhere and hope to be competitive. But now we know which direction to go and we have plenty of practice to get it right before Saturday.”

To give fans behind-the-scenes access throughout the Rolex 24 at Daytona, the team will run a Live Blog throughout the race. Stephen Hooks, team owner of APR Motorsport, will be online throughout the race from APR’s pits on the front straightaway of Daytona International Speedway to answer questions from Audi fans around the world. APR’s Live Blog will be available at SPEED2.com, starting at 3:00 PM ET on Saturday, January 26.

About APR Motorsport
APR LLC is an automotive engineering firm operating a 36,000 sq. ft. performance campus in Opelika, Ala. APR was founded in 1997 with a corporate philosophy of Integrity, Excellence and Innovation. APR’s sole mission is to provide the highest quality and most highly-engineered aftermarket performance parts available for Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT and Skoda vehicles. Learn more at facebook.com/APRMotorsport, and on twitter (@GoAPR).

Photo credit: APR Motorsport

APR Motorsport Sets Driver Lineup for Rolex 24 at Daytona

APR Motorsport Press Release

Matt Bell, John Farano, Alex Figge and Dave Lacey will team up in no. 51 APR Audi R8; Ian Baas will join no. 52 APR Audi R8

January 2, 2013 (Opelika, Ala.) – Not only is APR Motorsport unveiling a new-look testing livery for this weekend’s Roar Before the 24, but the team is proud to announce its driver lineup for the 51st Rolex 24 at Daytona. Americans Matt Bell and Alex Figge will join Canadians John Farano and Dave Lacey in the no. 51 APR Audi R8.



Additionally, APR Motorsport driver Ian Baas will compete in the Rolex 24 in the no. 52 APR Audi R8, joining Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler, and Rene Rast.

Competing in his fourth Rolex 24 at Daytona, Matt Bell, from Los Altos, California, will join APR Motorsport for the first time. A veteran in Daytona Prototypes and GT cars, Bell has also scored several wins in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge.

“I’m really excited for the opportunity to race with APR, after racing against them for so many seasons,” said Bell. “My first year in GRAND-AM was also their first year, so since day one they’ve been sort of the enemy. But they wouldn’t be if they weren’t doing things right so you respect them for what they’ve been able to do. I also work for the Audi Sportscar Center at Sonoma Raceway so the combination is pretty cool – and I probably have more miles in an Audi R8 than anyone else on the team, though not in an R8 race car! We have a strong driver lineup – I have competed against Dave this season and I truly trust driving alongside him – and I’m excited to see how our test goes this weekend.”

John Farano, from Toronto, Ontario, is the reigning Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS-class champion and Rookie of the Year and will be taking part in his third Rolex 24 at Daytona. Farano’s racing history includes the Grand-Am Ferrari Challenge series, Rolex Daytona Prototypes and GT class, as well as the Canadian Tire NASCAR Series. Farano will be busy during the Rolex 24 weekend, as he will also drive in the Ferrari Challenge races as well as the CTSCC season opener with co-driver David Empringham.

“I am very excited to be driving with APR alongside Alex, Dave, and Matt,” said Farano. “I can’t wait to be on track amongst this strong driver lineup and the rest of the APR team. It is my hope that this will be the beginning of a solid relationship between Tower Events and Grandstand Seating and APR Motorsport that will allow this association to continue to race together for years to come.”

Currently competing in the World Challenge GT class, Alex Figge, from Denver, Colorado, is a veteran of GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series, American Le Mans, and ChampCar competition. He has scored numerous podiums and wins in his sports car career, and looks to pick up where he left off after competing in the Rolex 24 at Daytona in 2008.

“I am extremely excited to be back at the Rolex 24,” said Figge. “I last did the race in 2008 and I’ve been dying to do it again. Obviously in a 24 hour race you’ve got to have reliability and spot-on teamwork. Knowing that, I couldn’t be more positive about being with APR and Audi. I know from reputation and seeing with my own eyes that APR is a first class organization and I can’t wait to get started with them. The test can’t come soon enough.”

Lacey, from Toronto, Ontario, brings 20 seasons of GT-class racing to APR Motorsport. Twice a podium finisher at the Rolex 24 at Daytona, Lacey is also an Audi enthusiast – owning both an S5 as well as an R8 V10 – and is understandably excited about the APR relationship.

“I’ve known John Farano as a fellow Canadian and a competitor for a number of years, so I’m thrilled to join APR, Matt, Alex and John in what I think will be a very strong entry for the Rolex 24 at Daytona,” said Lacey. “Clearly APR has learned a great deal about the R8LMS platform over the last season and I believe that the car will be very competitive not only for the 24 Hours, but for the entire season.”

The four drivers will join APR for the first time in this weekend’s Roar Before the 24 at Daytona International Speedway.

As the fourth member of the no. 52 APR Audi R8, Baas, from Indianapolis, Indiana, is thrilled to rejoin APR for the Rolex 24 at Daytona. A former GT-class winner at the race, Baas also drove the no. 51 Audi R8 at both the Rolex 24 and Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen last season.

“Being asked to be a part of the Rolex program is an honor and I’m really excited to drive with Marc, Frank, and Rene,” said Baas. “APR has learned so much in the past year about the R8 and I’m really excited to put all of that experience to use at this year’s Rolex 24. After last year’s two races in the car, I have some unfinished business.”

The Roar Before the 24 begins this Friday, with practice sessions scheduled throughout Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.

About APR Motorsport
APR LLC is an automotive engineering firm operating a 36,000 sq. ft. performance campus in Opelika, Ala. APR was founded in 1997 with a corporate philosophy of Integrity, Excellence and Innovation. APR’s sole mission is to provide the highest quality and most highly-engineered aftermarket performance parts available for Audi, Volkswagen, SEAT and Skoda vehicles. Learn more at www.goapr.com, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/APRMotorsport, and on twitter (@GoAPR).

Super Weekend at Indianapolis Motor Speedway will be Super Busy for APR Motorsport

APR Motorsport Press Release

July 25, 2012 (Opelika, Ala.) – It will be a quick, one-day, in-and-out event for APR Motorsport as the team travels to Indianapolis, Indiana for the historic first sports car race in the history of Indianapolis Motor Speedway.



Part of the Super Weekend, this Friday will see Grand-Am’s Rolex Sports Car Series and Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge take part in a one-day event at the world famous Brickyard. With a total of six cars competing, it will be a very busy day for the team.

Fielding two cars for the first time in the Sahlen’s Six Hours at the Glen, the no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am will be back at the hands of regular drivers Dr. Jim Norman and Dion von Moltke, who took part in a recent tire test at the Speedway. After a practice accident at Watkins Glen left the car starting last on the field, it advanced as high as tenth before losing several laps with a mechanical issue. After a frustrating result, the team is anxious to get back on track at the Brickyard.

“Finally, the Indianapolis race day is almost here!” said von Moltke. “The track has two different surfaces – going from high grip on the oval to low-grip in the infield. This presents a really tough challenge for the drivers and engineers to find the right compromise on a setup to get the best overall car throughout the lap. The guys at APR Motorsport have tried to learn as much as possible throughout the last few weeks and we hope to show up with the right compromise. It is even more vital than ever to have a good setup right away as we will only have one one-hour session to really learn the track!”

“After having only two ST cars at Watkins Glen, it’s nice to get all four cars back on track for Indy,” said Hurley, the lead driver for APR’s CTSCC ST program. “All of the drivers have been progressing very well and we all had a big boost after David and Aleks got their win at Road America. Watkins Glen was a challenge for all of us, but we are hoping for good things at Indy.”

While the team has been busy preparing for the Super Weekend, they’ve had other events to keep busy with. This past weekend, APR Motorsport attended Waterfest, the largest VW/Audi car show and Motorsport event in North America, at Raceway Park in Englishtown, New Jersey.

Over 20,0000 attendees had the opportunity to see the no. 51 and no. 52 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am, the no. 41 APR Audi S4, and the team’s ST-class Volkswagen GTI’s and Jetta GLI’s, on display. Owners were also able to purchase track-tested performance parts for Audi’s and VW’s and have them installed, including computer reflashes, exhaust systems, and other hardware.

“Waterfest is a great opportunity to showcase the proof of performance of our products,” said Stephen Hooks, owner of APR. “We also have the opportunity to let our customers get an up-close look at our Rolex Series and Continental Series cars, and not only expose them to Grand-Am racing, but show them how we test and derive the products we sell for their street cars. All the race cars, especially the R8's, were a hit with the crowd.”

The Brickyard Grand Prix, the ninth round of the 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, will go green at 4:00 PM ET and will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel. The Brickyard Sports Car Challenge, the eighth round of the 2012 Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, will go green at 1:00 PM and will be shown live on SPEED2.com. The race will also be shown on Sunday, August 5 at 12:00 PM ET.

APR Motorsport’s Audi R8 Grand-Am Just Misses First Top-10

APR Motorsport Press Release

April 2, 2012 (Birmingham, Ala.) – With Dr. Jim Norman and Dion von Moltke at the helm of the no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am, APR Motorsport – from nearby Opelika, Ala. – put on a strong show in front of its home crowd at Barber Motorsports Park on Saturday afternoon and narrowly missed the team’s first top-ten in Rolex Series GT action. At the end of the two hour and forty-five minute race, von Moltke took the checkered flag in 11th place.

When von Moltke’s qualifying run to seventh was disallowed because of a ride-height infringement – a bolt on the Audi R8 Grand-Am’s front splitter was too low – the team started from the back of the GT field with Norman at the wheel. From shotgun on the field, Norman made up six positions before turning the car over to von Moltke. The team went on an alternate strategy to the leaders, pitting for splashes of fuel during the early caution periods of the race. By extending the pit stop window, the team would be in great shape for the end of the race.

In the middle part of the race, von Moltke was able to stay on track longer than the bulk of the GT field, getting the no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am as high as second during pitstops. After the APR Motorsport team executed a perfect pitstop with under 45 minutes remaining, von Moltke was back in the hunt and thrust into a battle with the Marsh Racing Corvette of Eric Curran. However, a full course caution period with under ten minutes remaining negated von Moltke’s fuel advantage. A frantic restart with only minutes remaining saw von Moltke get past Curran for good when the Corvette slipped off course, putting him in eleventh at the finish.

“It’s clear to see the progression of the Audi R8 from Daytona to now,” said von Moltke. “On new tires and over a single lap, we are just as fast as any other car out there. But Barber is so hard on tires, and you lose so much grip when they fall off, that you really need to be patient. It’s the same for everyone. Our car was great over a stint at Daytona, but we have definitely found more speed. We enjoyed a bit of a home town advantage here and had a great time with all of our supporters who came to cheer for us, and thanks to Parathyroid.com, PR Newswire, and South Africa Airways for their support.”

The abrasive surface of the Barber circuit also posed a challenge for Norman, who drove a strong opening stint in the no. 51 APR Audi R8.

“We had a solid weekend, and we learned a lot about our Audi,” said Norman. “The car is great on new tires, but Barber is extremely tough on tires and you must be extremely patient to save them – especially the rears. After twenty laps they fall way off. But thanks to the team, the car was great and we showed we can be competitive.”

Team owner Stephen Hooks was thrilled to see the Audi perform well in front of the hometown crowd.

“To have a strong result here at our home track, with Dr. Jim and Dion battling all day long, putting on a show in front of all of our friends, family, and staff is a great feeling,” said Hooks. “Everyone has worked very hard since Daytona and it is great to have progress and get a good result. We will take what we learned here and build some momentum for Homestead. We aren’t where we want to be yet, but we are getting there.”

The next round of the Rolex Sports Car Series is the Grand Prix of Miami, on April 27-29, at Homestead Miami Speedway in Homestead, Fla., which will be shown live on SPEED Channel on Sunday, April 29 at 1:00 PM ET.

More Informations:

APR Motorsport official website

APR Motorsport official Facebook

APR Tuned official website

Photo Credits: APR Motorsport

Oryx Racing unlucky Rolex Series round 2 at Alabama with the Audi R8 GRAND-AM

Oryx Racing Press Release

Oryx Racing recorded an unrepresentative 15th placing in the “Porsche 250” at the Barber Motorsports Park in Birmingham, Alabama. A handling imbalance frustratingly restricted the pace of the Oryx Racing #74 Audi R8 GRAND-AM throughout the 165-minute race, neither Humaid Al Masaood or Steven Kane confident of pushing hard in the mid-engined sportscar.

Al Masaood, having posted the 12th best GT class time in the 28-car field comprising of 19 GT cars during the black flag interrupted 15-minute qualifying session on Saturday morning, began the race around the picturesque, undulating 2.3-mile, 17-corner track with high hopes. But while Al Masaood was content and happy with the Audi’s handling in qualifying, Humaid’s feelings were the exact opposite for his 54mins stint from the green flag – lack of rear end grip heavily restricting the UAE driver’s pace.

Kane took over from Al Masaood during the race’s second full course yellow and was posting times comparable with the top-six in class before the outright race leading Daytona Prototype class car of Memo Rojas forced Kane wide and off the track. The Ulsterman rejoined without hitting anything but the Audi now had steering damage – Rojas subsequently penalized for avoidable contact for the manouvre.

“It was very hot today and we struggled but we finished the race so the reliability is there.” Commented Steven Kane “There were brief phases when the Audi allowed me to set good, fast lap times before the handling deteriorated rapidly again. Overtaking was difficult with no long straights and no big braking zones. Like Daytona, Birmingham was again completely new to us and the complete opposite of the Florida track with Barber having an undulating nature. The team worked hard on achieving a good balance with the R8 and they did a great job for qualifying. But for whatever reason, the car’s handling was not right in the race – from the start to the finish. Oryx Racing is a great team and everyone is working exceptionally hard on what is a very new GT programme for us, and for that matter, Audi, in GRAND-AM. We knew it would be a steep learning curve but with every lap and mile we clock up, our databank of knowledge increases. It’s a challenge but one that we look forward in cracking as the season progresses.”

Humaid al Masaood, who had qualified the car, noted “The set-up wasn’t ideal for qualifying but overall I was happy. I only managed seven laps and data showed I was up by at least two-tenth’s of a second on my fastest lap but I spun after pushing too hard on my final lap. It actually marked the first time I’ve ever qualified myself for a race in the US since racing here for almost a year. I was very optimistic for a good race but immediately from the green flag the handling was poor with just no rear grip. I was not prepared to be aggressive due to the unpredictable handling – I’m bitterly disappointed. But it’s a case of each race we are learning about the R8 GRAND-AM and improving. The entire team is working very hard which makes it doubly frustrating and depressing but we’ll go away and come back stronger at Homestead.”

Follow Oryx Racing's USA adventure at the next race in the 13-round schedule is at the Homestead Miami Speedway on April 29 – a 2.3-mile combined speedway and road course.

Oryx Racing Audi R8 GRAND-AM: Progress to Barber

Oryx Racing Press Release

Oryx Racing is gearing up for the second race of the 2012 Grand-AM Rolex Sports Car Series this weekend at the Barber Motorsports Park circuit in Birmingham, Alabama.

The team with just one race behind them in the all new, Audi R8 Grand-AM, will come up against some of America’s most renowned and competitive sports car teams. Commenting on the upcoming race, Al Masaood said, “The first race at Daytona was all about gathering as much performance data as possible which gave us a good knowledge base to develop the car throughout the season.  We hope to be more competitive at Barber, but as always our goal is always to run without mistakes at a consistent pace and work with the Audi engineers to further develop the car.”

The 2.4 mile Barber Motorsports Park circuit is considered, one of North America’s finest road courses.  “I’ve never raced at the Barber Motorsports Park.” said Al Masaood. “I have friends who live in the lovely state of Alabama and I know how much they love their racing, it should be a thrill to race the challenging circuit in front of an enthusiastic and well informed crowd”

"I can't wait to get back in the car" Steven Kane commented, "we learned a lot about the car at Daytona and had stong lap times but we were hampered by the clutch problems.  I am confident we can run near the pace of the quickest GT cars at Barber and I am looking forward to mixing it with the front running teams."  

Oryx Racing fans can now follow the team direct from the pit box via the twitter feed below or by following the team @OryxRacing

More Information:

Oryx Racing official website

Oryx Racing official Facebook