Temperatures rise as Yoong takes Audi R8 LMS Cup pole

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release 

• Alex Yoong beats the heat to claim his first Audi R8 LMS Cup pole
• Adderly Fong continues strong form with front row performance
• Jeffrey Lee takes his second Amateur pole position of the season
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Zhuhai, June 2, 2012 - The debut season of the new international Audi R8 LMS Cup continued to thrill as a closely fought qualifying session saw championship points leader Alex Yoong of Malaysia with Audi GQ snatch pole position for Round 3 at the Zhuhai International Circuit ahead of Hong Kong driver Adderly Fong with KLM Team.

Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee of Audi Ultra secured third position on the grid. Sun Zheng, of Team Erdos Xinan, will line-up alongside Lee on the second row. With the top four cars all qualifying within a second of each other, the fight for the Round 3 win is expected to be close and intense.

Consistent throughout the 30-minute session was Jeffrey Lee of Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing who qualified fifth overall. The Amateur Drivers Cup contender took the battle to the professional drivers, taking his second Amateur Cup pole position of the season.

Celebrity and entertainer Aaron Kwok of Team Audi R8 LMS Cup claimed second in the non-professional category ahead of Byron Tong of AK Racing.

Championship front-runners, Yoong, Fong and Marchy Lee, all waited before going out to set a qualifying time to avoid the rising temperatures

 at the Zhuhai International Circuit. All three joined the fray within a lap of each other and a thrilling battle ensued.

Marchy Lee was the first to achieve provisional pole, before being topped by Adderly Fong, fresh off his first gutsy sportscar win in Round 2 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup. Just when Fong seemed to have pole position secured and with time expiring on the session, Yoong jumped past Fong by 0.048 of a second. Not one to rest on that result, Yoong continued to go quicker still, recording the session's fastest time of 1:36.108.

Round 3 of the Audi R8 LMS Cup takes place this afternoon at the Zhuhai International Circuit.

Alex Yoong (Audi GQ)

"I had a few steering problems with the car yesterday and went out to do a couple of laps to check everything was ok. We checked the pressures and temperatures in the pits and then it was time to push. I didn't expect it to happen on that first [fast] lap, but I know that against these guys it wasn't enough. So, I decided to push on. I used up more of the tyres, but it's a pole position, so I'm happy with that.

"I was quite conservative in Shanghai but this is a sprint race so I'm going to go for it as fast as I can."

Adderly Fong (KLM Team)

"I'm really learning more and more about the car. On my part I feel I can go a little bit quicker and certainly for the race it will be100 per cent from the first lap."

Marchy Lee (Audi Ultra)

"I first raced here in 1994 so Zhuhai is like my home, it is very special to me. The tyre temperatures came up a lot faster than yesterday so I went back into the pits to reduce the temperatures. When I went back out there were some other cars on the track and I couldn't get a clear run, but third is not bad and I am looking forward to my race performance here. Qualifying is qualifying and the race is the race - 21 laps is long enough and I will see how Adderly and Alex lead the pace and see where to overtake them in the race."

Jeffrey Lee (Paulian Archiland J-Fly Racing)

"The qualifying time between the cars in front and behind me are very close so this will be an intense race. I am looking forward to a stable performance. I think on the first corner I can get a little bit faster than previously, so I will look to overtake other drivers from there.

No.	Comp No.	Name.	Class	Entrant	Time
1	8	Alex YOONG		Audi GQ	1:36.108
2	68	Adderly FONG		KLM Team	1:36.210
3	1	Marchy LEE		Audi Ultra	1:36.449
4	33	SUN Zheng		Team Erdos Xinan	1:36.944
5	7	Jeffrey LEE	Am	Paulian Archiland J-Fly Racing	1:37.140
6	9	WANG Jian Wei		Team Betterlife	1:37.163
7	6	HAN Han		Team Zhe Jiang Aotong	1:37.308
8	77	SUN Chao		P D GROUP Team	1:37.750
9	88	Aaron KWOK	Am	Team Audi R8 LMS Cup	1:38.435
10	23	Byron Tong	Am	AK Racing	1:38.512
11	27	Daniel BILSKI	Am	Audi Driving Dreams	1:38.708
12	99	HUA Xia Wei		Team Chengdu New Elements	1:39.545
13	3	Hughes RIPERT	Am	Spark Motorsport	1:39.641
14	66	ZHANG Ran	Am	Audi Castrol	1:39.818
15	13	Adrian FU	Am	FuSpeed Racing	1:40.693
16	75	Clifford CHEN	Am	J-Fly Racing Team	1:41.032

(Am) Amateur Drivers Cup

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

Race on as Audi R8 LMS Cup arrives in Zhuhai

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

Zhuhai, June 1, 2012 - Hot on the heels of a dramatic world debut in Shanghai last month, Asia's newest international racing series, the Audi R8 LMS Cup, heads to the Zhuhai International Circuit in Southern China for a thrilling double-header this weekend.

As the series prepares to make its debut in the Southern Chinese city of Zhuhai, winner of the opening round of the first-ever Audi one-make series in Shanghai, Audi GQ driver Alex Yoong of Malaysia, leads the battle for the inaugural championship title.

The former Formula 1 driver will be looking to increase his six-point championship lead in Zhuhai. However, 22-year old rising star Adderly Fong of Hong Kong with KLM Team, whose gutsy performance in just his second career sportscar race saw him grab victory in Round 2, is just as determined to make a name for himself in the high-profile series. Three points behind Fong is fellow Hong Kong driver Marchy Lee with Audi Ultra. Twice on the podium in Shanghai, Lee has put his ill-luck in Round 2 firmly behind him, and is in fighting form heading to Zhuhai.

The rivalry between Yoong, Fong and Lee is set to intensify in Zhuhai, but there is plenty of talent amongst the 16-strong field ready and able to upset the trio's party. 

Says Yoong: "It's been a great start to the championship, but it's clear from the fierce on-track battles, especially in Round 2, that every last point is going to be hard-fought."

Having already captivated both the Asian racing fraternity and motorsport fans across the region, the highly-competitive Audi R8 LMS Cup field welcomes racer, novelist and blogger Han Han with Team Zhe Jiang Aotong for Rounds 3&4 this weekend.

Highly-acclaimed singer and actor Aaron Kwok, the official driver with Team Audi R8 LMS Cup, leads the Amateur category, having proven his racing mettle with a class win in Round 2.

Making their debuts in Zhuhai in the Amateur category will be Frenchman Hugues Ripert with Spark Motorsport, Daniel Bilski of Hong Kong with Audi Driving Dreams and Clifford Chen of Chinese Taipei with J-Fly Racing Team. Chen will share racing duties on the team this season with Eric Hsiang.

Commented Director of Audi Sport customer racing in China, Rene Koneberg: "It's been a delight to see such a thrilling, competitive start to the inaugural Audi R8 LMS Cup season. The level of competition all the way through the field makes the series exciting to watch and to be a part of. We're delighted to be bringing this extraordinary new series to motorsport fans in Southern China."

With its exciting mix of experienced professionals and fledging talent, the Audi R8 LMS Cup has already attracted attention far beyond China and Asia. As the marque's first-ever one-make series, the Audi R8 LMS Cup aims to both showcase the best of Asian motorsport, and provide a platform for young talent to hone their skills.

Three titles will be up for grabs in 2012: The Audi R8 LMS Cup overall title, an Amateur category, and a Teams award, with each round points-scoring.

After a magnificent season launch in Shanghai last month, the Zhuhai meeting will also see double the drama with two races. The series then travels to Ordos in Inner Mongolia, before returning to Zhuhai in September and on to Shanghai for the triumphant grand finale of the inaugural season in November.

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

Rounds 3&4 Entry List:

No.1/Marchy LEE (HKG)/Audi Ultra

No.3/Hugues RIPERT (FRA)/Spark Motorsport/Am

No.6/HAN Han (CHN)/Team Zhe Jiang Aotong

No.7/Jeffrey LEE (TPE)/Pauian Archiland J-Fly Racing/Am

No.8/Alex YOONG (MAL)/Audi GQ

No.9/WANG Jian Wei (CHN)/Team Betterlife

No.13/Adrian FU (HKG)/FuSpeed Racing/Am

No.23/Byron TONG (HKG)/AK Racing/Am

No.27/Daniel BILSKI (HKG)/Audi Driving Dreams/Am

No.33/SUN Zheng (CHN)/Team Erdos Xinan

No.66/ZHANG Ran (CHN)/Audi Castrol/Am

No.68/Adderly FONG (HKG)/KLM Team

No.75/Clifford CHEN (TPE)/J-Fly Racing Team/Am

No.77/SUN Chao (CHNG)/P D GROUP Audi Team

No.88/Aaron KWOK (HKG)/Team Audi R8 LMS Cup/Am

No.99/HUA Xia Wei (CHN)/Team Chengdu New Elements

Audi R8 LMS - Audi R8 LMS Cup

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT eager to shine in the ‘Blancpain’ at Silverstone

Belgian Audi Club Press Release

The race season of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT is going through one of its busiest periods, as the team heads to Silverstone for a third international event in three weeks. After the 24 Hours of the Nürburgring and the Navarra round of the FIA GT1 World Championship, it is now time to get reunited with the Blancpain Endurance Series, whose next stop will be at Silverstone. The British circuit, one of the iconic temples of speed in the world, will host the round 2 of the endurance series based on 3-hour races, and the entire Belgian squad is determined to go for a good result and defend and improve the current positions (2nd and 6th) in the championship. The R8s will be entrusted to Sandström-Vanthoor-Piccini and Haase-Mies-Ortelli, with the only novelty of Andrea Piccini replacing his country fellow Marco Bonanomi, who is taken this weekend by his Le Mans commitment with Audi Sport.

Following a not entirely satisfying couple of outings, there is even greater determination to do well n the Belgian camp. Team Principal Vincent Vosse speaks quite clearly about the team's mood: "It is about time that we have a proper, good event and to bring back home a good result, such as a podium finish", he states. "We have gone through a couple of frustrating events in the FIA GT1, and we are eager to correct that. The Blancpain is certainly a series where the Audis are less penalized in terms of balance of performance, and we clearly want to be at the forefront. I am sure the team will do excellent work, as usual, and I feel everybody is anxious ahead of this weekend at Silverstone, a circuit that we know well and where have been competitive last year."

The main change ahead of the British race regards the driver line-up. With Marco Bonanomi taking part in the preliminary tests of the 24 Hours of Le Mans, where he will be part of the Audi Sport team, it will be another Italian joining Laurens Vanthoor and Edward Sandström at the wheel of the #1 Audi. The Tuscan, unanimously appreciated in the team, is delighted: "I am very happy to be racing again for WRT, it is always a pleasure, and even more so to do it at Silverstone. I know the circuit well and I like it a lot, it remains one of the most beautiful tracks around. While the R8 is not the fastest car in the Blancpain, I think it will be competitive, as the aerodynamics updates of this year are really effective. Given that I'm not involved full-time in the championship, my role will be to support the team as much as I can and to contribute my experience of Silverstone to work out the best set-up for the car."

The #2 Audi will see racing its usual line-up, with Stéphane Ortelli, Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies, who will seek revenge after an unlucky start of the season in Monza, marked by a technical issue.

The Silverstone round will follow the usual Blancpain format, with all practice and qualifying sessions on Saturday, and the 3-hour race starting at 12:45 (local time) on Sunday.

Photo credit : Markus Berns / SRO

More information:

Belgian Audi Club official website

WRT official website

Blancpain Endurance Series official website

Audi R8 LMS ultra - Belgian Audi Club WRT

Audi RS5 to challenge Mugello and weight penalty at Superstars Series round 4

By Tarek Ramchani

The Superstars Series is at the Mugello circuit this weekend for round 4. The Audi squad has dominated the previous two rounds at Imola and Donington Park with the Audi RS5 quattro. Four straight race wins has been seen as “too much” domination by the series organizers.

Again three Audi RS5 cars will be fielded. Audi Sport Italia with driver Gianni Morbidelli was the strongest in Britain with pole and double race victories. The two time series champion will look forward to do well and chase for the series points lead. KMS Motorsport with Johan Kristoffersson is leading the overall championship table. The young Swedish ace did a perfect job at Donington with double second place finishs and will fight to keep his points lead this weekend. The third car will come from MTM Motorsport and their young and improving German driver Thomas Schoeffler. In Britain the 18-year old driver qualified in a very strong second but was really unlucky in both races.

The Audis were fully dominant during the last two rounds. Perhaps too much for the championship organizers. The Audi RS5 will have to face no less than a 100 kg of extra weight and an air restrictor. The Mugello circuit with its up hills and down hills will be a real challenge for the RS5 quattro and the drivers will have to push really hard to fight on track with the penalties. Audi has been penalized and the rivals will enjoy reduced weight and restrictions. The Superstars Series being a performance balanced series has proceeded with this move in order to balance the performances of the cars and bring equal chances between the different bands to ensure close racing.

Both races are set for Sunday. The Audi teams are now penalized for their strong performances in the opening stages of the season. However, despite the penalties the RS5 will be among the big favorites for race victories.

More information:

SuperstarsSeries official website

Audi SportItalia official Facebook

KMS Motorsport - Audi RS5

MTM Motorsport - Audi RS5

Grand-Am: APR Will Introduce Audi’s 5.2-liter V10 to the Motor City

APR Motorsport Press Release

The howl from the Audi R8 Grand-Am will be heard at the Chevrolet Grand-Am Detroit 200

(Opelika, Ala.) – Standing out from the crowd of GT cars in the GRAND-AM Rolex Sports Car Series’ Chevrolet Grand-Am Detroit 200 will be the distinctive no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am. The eyes – and ears – won’t confuse the Audi, competing in its first season of Grand-Am competition with drivers Dion von Moltke and Dr. Jim Norman with anything else.

As the only team racing the Audi R8 in the entire 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, APR Motorsport – working closely with Audi Sport Customer Racing – has been tasked with most of the development work on the new car. This weekend’s Chevrolet Grand-Am Detroit 200 represents a new challenge for the program, as the race on Detroit’s Belle Isle will be the first for the car on a temporary street circuit.

Von Moltke, who has become acquainted with the Belle Isle circuit with on-board videos from previous Belle Isle races, appreciates the unique challenge of racing on a street circuit.

“Street courses are much more mentally taxing than a purpose-built road course,” said von Moltke. “There is absolutely no room for error and you have to be on your game 100% of the time – completely focused on the corner in front of you and nothing else. So in preparation I have been working on mental toughness during workouts and training drills that I have learnt from the Performance Prime and Formula Fitness programs. I have watched all of the races at Belle Isle from 2008 – putting every inch of my study skills to the test. My focus has been on the technical aspects of the track – the corners, the surfaces, the bumps and kerbs, the places to attack and defend, and how the track changes throughout a race. We continue to develop our APR Audi R8 Grand-am with each race and are extremely hungry for a good result!”

Norman, who will also be making his first appearance at the Belle Isle circuit, is anxious to race on the circuit in the no. 51 APR Audi R8 Grand-Am.

“Competing on a street circuit is a new challenge, but one that I am really looking forward to,” said Norman. “The penalty for making mistakes is extremely high, and when you add in the faster Daytona Prototype cars, it will make for a very exciting race. I can’t wait to get back into our Audi, I know the guys at APR Motorsport and Audi Sport Customer Racing have worked hard to improve the car.”

Fans of APR Motorsport can speak with team owner Stephen Hooks during the Chevrolet Grand-Am Detroit 200 on its Live Blog, which can be accessed at www.goapr.com. Fans can ask questions throughout the race to get a glimpse of what goes on behind the scenes.

The two-hour Chevrolet Grand-Am Detroit 200, the fifth round of the 2012 Rolex Sports Car Series, will go green on Saturday, June 2nd at 5:00 PM ET. The race will be broadcast live on SPEED Channel.

Photo credit: Arin Ahnell / APR Motorsport

More information:

APR Motorsport official website

Grand-Am Rolex Series official website

Audi R8 GRAND-AM - APR Motorsport

Marc Gené to replace Timo Bernhard at Le Mans

Audi Press Release

• Audi reserve driver Marc Gené to compete at Le Mans 24 Hours
• Timo Bernhard’s full recovery has priority
• Audi will fight for eleventh overall victory at Le Mans

After three consecutive runs for Audi at the Le Mans 24 Hours and his overall victory at the wheel of the Audi R15 TDI in the 2010 season, Timo Bernhard will not participate in the endurance classic this year. In close coordination with the physicians and with Audi Sport the Audi factory driver attaches major importance to making a complete recovery after his accident.

Following the testing accident in March in which he was not at fault Timo Bernhard started a rehabilitation program with his personal trainer and received comprehensive medical care. “I’m very pleased with the steps I’ve managed to make during this time,” says Bernhard who hails from Germany’s Saar-Palatinate district. “We’ve created a tight system of medical checks, so my progress has constantly been monitored. Unfortunately, there’s not enough time before the Le Mans 24 Hours to become 100 percent fit again. Le Mans is a world-class race that doesn’t allow any compromises. I only want to compete at this event in perfect physical condition. That’s why on the advice of my doctors and in close coordination with Audi I decided not to run at Le Mans this year.”

For the Le Mans 24 Hours, the 31-year-old Audi factory driver was planned to run in the Audi R18 ultra designated as car number “3.” His place will now be taken by Audi’s reserve driver Marc Gené. The Spaniard drove his first race for Audi in early May at the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC where together with Romain Dumas and Loïc Duval he clinched overall victory.

“All of us had very much been wishing for Timo to be fit again for the test day and the Le Mans 24 Hours,” stresses Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Unfortunately, the time was too short for this. That’s a real shame for Timo and for us too. Despite this responsible and probably not easy decision there’s generally positive news as well, as we all know that Timo will completely recover again. Naturally, he will continue to enjoy our full support. By signing Marc Gené in April as a reserve driver we’ve got a tried and tested solution for the current situation. Marc will now be nominated as a racer driver in the number “3” car. At Spa, he took advantage of the opportunity to get to know the team and to immediately show a very good performance.”

Marc Gené will take Timo Bernhard’s place as early as on the test day at Le Mans on June 3. On that day, the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro as the first diesel hybrid sports car in history as well as its sister model, the new Audi R18 ultra, will be driven on the 13.629-kilometer circuit for the first time. On June 16 and 17, Audi will be battling for its eleventh overall victory in the world’s most important endurance race with two cars of both models. 

Audi R18 ultra - Audi Sport Team Joest

Video: McNish's Facebook interview with Audi UK

By Johan Laubscher

Link to Audi UK Facebook page

The Audi UK Facebook page recently asked their fans to send in question for the "Facebook interview" with Allan McNish. A week after the request for questions the Audi UK page has posted the interview with McNish on Youtube. A few of the fan’s questions were chosen and the Scotsman McNish sits down in this video to answer those questions. Here is the video with one of the most popular Audi factory drivers, enjoy: 

McNish's Facebook interview with Audi UK