Focussing this week on the weekend of 25 - 26 May 2013
2. The Events
Portuguese GT
Australian GT
British GT
CMRC
Tuner GP
2.1. Portuguese GT
Round two of the Portuguese GT Championship was held at Estoril this weekend. Team Novadriver took part with both of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. Both cars qualified within the top three, with the #1 Novadriver Audi taking pole. It was a very good two-hour race for the team. The lead had changed by the first pitstops with the #10 Novadriver Audi leading and their teammates in fifth. An Audi 1-2 had been established after the second pitstops and this was maintained to the flag. Victory went to the #1 of Cesar Campanico, Carlos Vieira and Mikko Eskelinen, followed by their teammates João Figueiredo, João Ramos and Manuel Gião in the #10.
The third round of the Australian GT took place at Phillip Island. Two Audis were entered in the event, an Audi R8 LMS ultra entered by Melbourne Performance Centre and an Audi R8 LMS entered by Minda Motorosport. Rod Salmon was joined by James Winslow in the MPC entry this weekend. Race one saw both Audis finished within the top six, as Minda Motorsport finished fifth ahead of the MPC entry in sixth. The second race saw a reversed Audi order as both finished within the top seven, with MPC leading Minda Motorosport, finishing sixth and seventh respectively.
The Silverstone 500 was held this weekend, round three of the British GT Championship. The 500 was a special three-hour event and three Audi teams took part. M-Sport entered one 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra, United Autosports with one 2012 Audi R8 LMS ultra and Blendini Motorsport with an Audi R8 LMS. The teams had performed very well at round two of the championship but they battled this weekend. None of the Audis qualified within the top twenty. The race itself saw M-Sport perform very well and they recovered to fourth place overall, the only Audi within the top ten. United Autosports finished seventeenth and Blendini twentieth.
Jamaica hosted the first round of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC). The event was held at Dover and two Audis were entered in the event. The ATL Automotive ABT-Audi TT-R of Doug Gore was part of Team Jamaica and the extensively modified Audi A4 STW of Doug Maloney was part of Team Barbados. Doug Gore claimed pole position by a healthy margin on Saturday. Gore converted pole into a dominant race one victory, with Maloney placing his Audi on the podium in third.
The annual TunerGP was held at Hockenheim this weekend, the High Performance Days at Hockenheim. This is a massive tuner event in Germany with a large number of tuning companies and competitors taking part. Many Audi cars took part on the day. APR also showed well with their Stage III TT RS which won their category, the car was entered by Wolf-Power. The overall victory went to MTM with an Audi R8 LMS, posting a 1.06.695 average lap time. Florian Gruber was behind the wheel of the R8 LMS. The car was modified to comply with the street regulation for the TunerGP, and competed under the name of the MTM R8 RS.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours was held over the long weekend (Whitsun) in Germany. A total of seventeen Audi cars took part, eight of which were Audi R8 LMS ultra entries. A large field of SP9 (GT3) cars took part and the Audis showed good pace. Frank Stippler was able to put in a tremendous qualifying lap to take pole in the #4 Phoenix R8 LMS ultra. The race got underway with a dry track and a very fast pace. The Audis lead initially and remained within the lead battle. As the race approached midnight the weather worsened and the race was red flagged for safety. The cars were brought back to the pits to wait for the restart, whilst the 24 Hours carried on counting down. The race was restarted at 08:00 and a nine hour race to the flag begun in continuing wet conditions which did dry out eventually. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra remained near the front and ultimately it was the top placed Audi finishing in fifth overall. The Audi TT RS cars won the SP4T and SP3T classes. Three Audis finished within the top ten overall, all three from Phoenix Racing.
The second round of the DTM took place in Britain this weekend, hosted at Brands Hatch (Indy configuration). The Audi teams arrived wanting to put the Hockenheim round behind them. They showed good pace in practice. Mike Rockenfeller was on point all weekend and set the fastest Audi time in qualifying, taking second overall. Martin Tomczyk's BMW, the original pole sitter, was found to be underweight and Rocky was promoted to pole. He took full advantage of the pole position and dominated the race with a flag to flag victory performance, also taking the lead in the championship points standings. Three Audis finished within the top ten.
Italian Superstars headed to the Czech Republic this weekend, for round two at Brno. Audi Sport Italia arrived with their two Audi RS 5 quattro cars. The Audis suffered at Monza, round one, but the team was confident that Brno would better suit the four wheel drive cars. Gianni Morbidelli topped the first wet free practice session and qualified fifth, but unfortunately he retired from race one. His teammate Ferdinando Geri finished within the top ten. Race two saw Morbidelli perform very well, taking second place.
The SCCA Pirelli World Challenge headed to a new venue, the Circuit of the Americas. GMG Racing arrived with five Audi R8 LMS cars and JCR Motorsports entered their Audi R8 GRAND-AM. The Six Audis performed well this weekend. James Sofronas, in the #14 Audi R8 LMS, arrived as the championship leader and maintained that lead. He qualified second and achieved third in race one, followed by another sensational race victory in race two, taking three wins in the first five races of the season. Four Audis finished within the top ten during race one and five during the second race.
The European Le Mans Series held round two at Imola in Italy. The MOMO Megatron DF1 Audi R8 LMS took part in the event. They qualified third in class, but unfortunately they retired from the race.
The Superstars GT Sprint also took place at Brno this weekend, alongside the Superstars Series. MTM entered their Audi R8 LMS for Johan Kristoffersson and Thomas Schöffler. The car was seen with a new red and black livery. The team showed good pace and qualified well within the top ten, highlighted with a fourth for race one. Their highest finish was seventh in race two.
The French GT-Tour held its second round at Imola, a support event for the ELMS. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars took part in what turned out to be a very difficult weekend for the Audi teams. The highest Audi finisher this weekend was the Sainteloc entry who finished ninth during race one, this was the only Audi top ten finish this weekend.
Melbourne Performance Centre entered two cars in the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships. It was round two of the series held at Sandown. Rod Salmon competed in the #66 R8 LMS ultra and Audi newcomer, Ockert Fourie, competed in his #79 R8 LMS. Salmon qualified on pole and finished well during the races. He did not win any races, but he was classified as the overall winner for the day on aggregate.
The SVRA hosted the Spring Vintage Fesitval at Road America this weekend. Two Audis were entered for the event: Audi R8 LMP (#606) driven by Travis Engen and an Audi S4 Competition driven by Mike Fisher.
The third round of the RCN was scheduled to take place on Friday, before the proceedings of the Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend got underway. However, very difficult weather conditions and fog resulted in the RCN event being cancelled and the entire day's proceedings being adjusted due to the weather. Rahel Frey was entered to take part in the RCN event, in one of the Audi race experience (TKL) Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.
The French Rallycross Championship got underway with the “Rallycross des Ducs”. Two Audi cars took part, the Jagu Audi A1 and the ex-Jagu Audi A3. Jimmy Terpereau performed very well in his Audi A3 and won the Division 4 Group A final.
Round four of the Midas Clubmans was held at Killarney, Cape Town, SA. Two Audi A4s (ex national class A) took part. Nieyaaz Modack won the first race in his ex-JFR Audi A4 and Andre Johnson finished third overall for the day in his ex-Sipuka A4. An Audi R8 spaceframe racer and a TT also competed in the Sports and GT classes on the day.
The Canadian Super Production Challenge held round two at St-Eustache. Three Audis were present at the event, an Audi TT, an Audi A5 and an ex-Stasis SCCA World Challenge TC Audi A4.
Continental Racing took part in a SCCA Regional at the Autobahn Country Club. Joel Weinberger won his class in an ex-Stasis SCCA World Challenge TC Audi A4. Continental Racing FB page Results
2.15. Sonoma Historics
The 2013 Sonoma Historic Motorsports Festival was held this weekend. A very special Audi race car made an appearance at the event, as was the case last year. The Audi 200 Trans Am owned by Eurospec was entered in the event. The car is chassis #TA4 and was driven by Steve Zlotkin. Eurospec website Results
2.16. Other Audi News
A total of thirty Audi cars were used as official vehicles at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, all supplied by quattro GmbH. The fleet of Audi cars were highlighted by Audi R8, RS 4 Avant and RS 6 Avant cars. Audi Sport Communication / Media
The APR Motorsport Audi R8 GRAND-AM was on display at SOWO 2013.
Another new Audi R8 LMS entry has come to light in Australia. Melbourne Performance Centre is now fielding a white/bright green liveried Audi R8 LMS for Ockert Fourie, who has purchased the vehicle. He is a graduate of the Australian Audi race experience program. The car is a 2011-spec Audi R8 LMS.
The Racing Team Jagu Audi A1 has been completed. The team has built an Audi A1 rallycross car for the French Rallycross Championship. The car will be driven by Yvonnick Jagu. More can be read HERE.
The fifth GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS entered the third round of the SCCA World Challenge this weekend. The fifth car has a new driver for the GMG Audi R8 LMS squad, in the form of Mike Hedlund.
The official Audi Sport App has been updated and is a must-get app for any Audi motorsport fan. The App is available for Apple and Android smartphones / devices. The App can be downloaded for Apple HERE, and for Android HERE. Audi Sport Communication / Media
3. Next Weekend’s events (25-26/05/2013)
Australian GT
British GT
Italian GT
MSS
IMG Racing
Portuguese GT
Super Taikya
CMRC
All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
The Nürburgring 24 Hours was held over the long weekend (Whitsun) in Germany. A total of seventeen Audi cars took part, eight of which were Audi R8 LMS ultra entries. A large field of SP9 (GT3) cars took part and the Audis showed good pace. Frank Stippler was able to put in a tremendous qualifying lap to take pole in the #4 Phoenix R8 LMS ultra. The race got underway with a dry track and a very fast pace. The Audis lead initially and remained within the lead battle. As the race approached midnight the weather worsened and the race was red flagged for safety. The cars were brought back to the pits to wait for the restart, whilst the 24 Hours carried on counting down. The race was restarted at 08:00 and a nine hour race to the flag begun in continuing wet conditions which did dry out eventually. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra remained near the front and ultimately it was the top placed Audi finishing in fifth overall. The Audi TT RS cars won the SP4T and SP3T classes. Three Audis finished within the top ten overall, all three from Phoenix Racing.
The second round of the DTM took place in Britain this weekend, hosted at Brands Hatch (Indy configuration). The Audi teams arrived wanting to put the Hockenheim round behind them. They showed good pace in practice. Mike Rockenfeller was on point all weekend and set the fastest Audi time in qualifying, taking second overall. Martin Tomczyk's BMW, the original pole sitter, was found to be underweight and Rocky was promoted to pole. He took full advantage of the pole position and dominated the race with a flag to flag victory performance, also taking the lead in the championship points standings. Three Audis finished within the top ten.
Italian Superstars headed to the Czech Republic this weekend, for round two at Brno. Audi Sport Italia arrived with their two Audi RS 5 quattro cars. The Audis suffered at Monza, round one, but the team was confident that Brno would better suit the four wheel drive cars. Gianni Morbidelli topped the first wet free practice session and qualified fifth, but unfortunately he retired from race one. His teammate Ferdinando Geri finished within the top ten. Race two saw Morbidelli perform very well, taking second place.
The SCCA Pirelli World Challenge headed to a new venue, the Circuit of the Americas. GMG Racing arrived with five Audi R8 LMS cars and JCR Motorsports entered their Audi R8 GRAND-AM. The Six Audis performed well this weekend. James Sofronas, in the #14 Audi R8 LMS, arrived as the championship leader and maintained that lead. He qualified second and achieved third in race one, followed by another sensational race victory in race two, taking three wins in the first five races of the season. Four Audis finished within the top ten during race one and five during the second race.
The European Le Mans Series held round two at Imola in Italy. The MOMO Megatron DF1 Audi R8 LMS took part in the event. They qualified third in class, but unfortunately they retired from the race.
The Superstars GT Sprint also took place at Brno this weekend, alongside the Superstars Series. MTM entered their Audi R8 LMS for Johan Kristoffersson and Thomas Schöffler. The car was seen with a new red and black livery. The team showed good pace and qualified well within the top ten, highlighted with a fourth for race one. Their highest finish was seventh in race two.
The French GT-Tour held its second round at Imola, a support event for the ELMS. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars took part in what turned out to be a very difficult weekend for the Audi teams. The highest Audi finisher this weekend was the Sainteloc entry who finished ninth during race one, this was the only Audi top ten finish this weekend.
Melbourne Performance Centre entered two cars in the Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships. It was round two of the series held at Sandown. Rod Salmon competed in the #66 R8 LMS ultra and Audi newcomer, Ockert Fourie, competed in his #79 R8 LMS. Salmon qualified on pole and finished well during the races. He did not win any races, but he was classified as the overall winner for the day on aggregate.
The SVRA hosted the Spring Vintage Fesitval at Road America this weekend. Two Audis were entered for the event: Audi R8 LMP (#606) driven by Travis Engen and an Audi S4 Competition driven by Mike Fisher.
The third round of the RCN was scheduled to take place on Friday, before the proceedings of the Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend got underway. However, very difficult weather conditions and fog resulted in the RCN event being cancelled and the entire day's proceedings being adjusted due to the weather. Rahel Frey was entered to take part in the RCN event, in one of the Audi race experience (TKL) Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.
The French Rallycross Championship got underway with the “Rallycross des Ducs”. Two Audi cars took part, the Jagu Audi A1 and the ex-Jagu Audi A3. Jimmy Terpereau performed very well in his Audi A3 and won the Division 4 Group A final.
Round four of the Midas Clubmans was held at Killarney, Cape Town, SA. Two Audi A4s (ex national class A) took part. Nieyaaz Modack won the first race in his ex-JFR Audi A4 and Andre Johnson finished third overall for the day in his ex-Sipuka A4. An Audi R8 spaceframe racer and a TT also competed in the Sports and GT classes on the day.
The Canadian Super Production Challenge held round two at St-Eustache. Three Audis were present at the event, an Audi TT, an Audi A5 and an ex-Stasis SCCA World Challenge TC Audi A4.
Continental Racing took part in a SCCA Regional at the Autobahn Country Club. Joel Weinberger won his class in an ex-Stasis SCCA World Challenge TC Audi A4. Continental Racing FB page Results
2.15. Other Audi News
A total of thirty Audi cars were used as official vehicles at the Nürburgring 24 Hours, all supplied by quattro GmbH. The fleet of Audi cars were highlighted by Audi R8, RS 4 Avant and RS 6 Avant cars. Audi Sport Communication / Media
The APR Motorsport Audi R8 GRAND-AM was on display at SOWO 2013.
Another new Audi R8 LMS entry has come to light in Australia. Melbourne Performance Centre is now fielding a white/bright green liveried Audi R8 LMS for Ockert Fourie, who has purchased the vehicle. He is a graduate of the Australian Audi race experience program. The car is a 2011-spec Audi R8 LMS.
The Racing Team Jagu Audi A1 has been completed. The team has built an Audi A1 rallycross car for the French Rallycross Championship. The car will be driven by Yvonnick Jagu. More can be read HERE.
The fifth GMG Racing Audi R8 LMS entered the third round of the SCCA World Challenge this weekend. The fifth car has a new driver for the GMG Audi R8 LMS squad, in the form of Mike Hedlund.
The official Audi Sport App has been updated and is a must-get app for any Audi motorsport fan. The App is available for Apple and Android smartphones / devices. The App can be downloaded for Apple HERE, and for Android HERE. Audi Sport Communication / Media
3. Next Weekend’s events (25-26/05/2013)
Australian GT
British GT
Italian GT
MSS
IMG Racing
Portuguese GT
Super Taikya
CMRC
All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
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