The British GT Championship is at Rockingham this weekend, for the round two of the series. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars from three different teams have entered the event As seen at Oulton Park last time out, United Autosports is clearly the leading Audi entry in the British GT. The #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012), shared by Matt Bell and Mark Patterson, qualified in a very positive sixth place for the 2-hour event tomorrow. They qualified with a time of 1.23:288, the car was only 0.711 slower than the pole setting Trackspeed Porsche GT3 R. Both Patterson and Bell are fifth in the overall points standings.
The second Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013) in the field is from M-Sport. The #10 entry of drivers Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes will start eleventh on the grid. The 2013 R8 LMS ultra, which is now fully homologated by the FIA, will able to score points.
The third Audi R8 LMS entry is E Group Blendini Motor. / Dom Evans. An older specification R16 in the hands of Dom Evans and Tom Roche. The car qualified in twenty-seventh.
The two-hour race is set for tomorrow. The event will have very special coverage by the talented team from Radio Le Mans. We wish the best of luck to all three Audi teams
Timo Scheider in sixth place best Audi driver at Hockenheim
Two Audi RS 5 DTM cars in the points
87,000 spectators experience turbulent start into the season
Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, May 5, 2013 – With an Audi RS 5 DTM at the front of the field, the new DTM season started at Hockenheim with 87,000 spectators (throughout the weekend) in attendance. After 42 spectacular laps with plenty of on-track action and gripping overtaking maneuvers the opening round ended in a disappointment for Audi. With Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller in positions six and eight, only two Audi drivers scored points.
After having started from the pole position, Timo Scheider in the AUTO TEST Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline made an optimal start and immediately took the lead. Up to a safety car period on lap six he was engaged in a duel with the subsequent winner Augusto Farfus. While most of the drivers, including Farfus, immediately made their first mandatory pit stop Scheider was only called into the pits by his team a lap later, which caused him to drop to the end of the field.
Scheider managed to advance again from 18th place to position six. During his recovery he managed posting the third-fastest race lap. Shortly before the finish, the Audi driver still caught up with Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) and Bruno Spengler (BMW) but was no longer able to attack the two DTM Champions.
“Unfortunately, this wasn’t our day,” Timo Scheider said after the race. “During the safety car period we didn’t optimally respond. As a result, we threw away a better place. But the important thing is that we had the speed in the race – we’re going to fully attack again at Brands Hatch.”
Another driver to advance into the points was Mike Rockenfeller, who had started in the Schaeffler Audi RS 5 DTM of Audi Sport Team Phoenix from position 14. Despite losing some time due to a slow second pit stop and a few tussles, the 2010 Le Mans winner finished the season opener in eighth place.
Jamie Green (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM) tried to make up ground by a long last stint on option tires. For failure to comply with the track limit, the Briton initially received a lap penalty and subsequently a drive-through. As a result, Green had to settle for 14th place.
Miguel Molina suffered a puncture in his Audi RS 5 DTM right on the starting lap. Filipe Albuquerque (Audi Financial Services RS 5 DTM/Audi Sport Team Rosberg) received a drive-through penalty for exceeding the speed limit in the pit lane. Molina and Albuquerque finished the race in positions 15 and 16.
Mattias Ekström (Red Bull Audi RS 5 DTM), Edoardo Mortara (Playboy Audi RS 5 DTM) and Adrien Tambay (Audi ultra RS 5 DTM) did not finish the race. Mattias Ekström damaged the front end of his RS 5 DTM in the commotion of the starting lap, subsequently lost the hood and ultimately had to give up because of damage to the driveline. The front splitter of Edoardo Mortara’s car was so heavily damaged on the starting lap that continuing to drive made no sense. “Iron Man” Adrien Tambay had to park his RS 5 DTM after only four laps due to a fire in the engine compartment.
“That was a disappointing season opener for Audi,” said Dieter Gass, Head of DTM at Audi Sport. “None of our cars made it without any incidents. Particularly frustrating was the fact that we didn’t call Timo (Scheider) into the pits right on the first lap of the safety car, which deprived him of a possible podium finish. That he was able to advance from 18th all the way to sixth place by achieving strong lap times shows that more would have been possible today.”
The next DTM race is on the calendar at Brands Hatch on the outskirts of London (Great Britain) only two weeks from now.
Focussing this week on the weekend of 4 - 5 May 2013
2. The Events
FIA WEC
DTM
Audi R8 LMS cup
SA Production Cars
Italian GT
Swedish GT
British GT
Brazilian GT
BTCC
RCN
2.1. FIA WEC
The Six Hours of Spa was the second round of the FIA World Endurance Championship. The headlines for the weekend featured the variety of cars entered by Audi and Toyota. Each entered one low downforce Le Mans specification car. The #3 Audi was the low downforce “long-tail”, whereas the #1 and #2 Audis were in the more suited high downforce specification. The Audis dominated the practice and qualifying sessions with a string of 1-2-3 results. The race itself saw a good battle between Audi and Toyota, alternating the lead on pitstops for the first four hours. The battle continued until the #7 Toyota unfortunately retired due to technical problems. In the end the race finished as an Audi 1-2-3, with the cars finishing in their number order of Audi #1 ahead of #2 and #3.
The DTM season got underway at Hockenheim. The series has had a number of changes, most notably the new DRS and option tires. The Audi teams performed well during the sessions and pole position went to Timo Scheider in his RS 5 DTM, in what was a chaotic and weather affected qualifying session. The race saw Timo lead at the start, but many issues and retirements dropped the Audis down the field. Ultimately the top placed Audi was Scheider who finished in sixth, after a very good recovery drive.
The second season of the Audi R8 LMS Cup held its first round of the year this weekend. The event took place at Zhuhai in China. Twenty Audi R8 LMS cars are taking part in the championship this year. Alex Yoong and Andre Couto were the race winners at this round.
The South African Bridgestone Production Cars Championship were at Zwartkops this weekend, in Pretoria, South Africa. The four regular Audi S4 entries were present at the event, which was dominated by the BMW team. Despite the BMW domination, the second race victory went to the reigning champion, Michael Stephen, in his Terry Moss Racing Audi S4. Stephen remains the clear leader in the championship points standings.
The Italian GT got their season underway at Misano. Audi Sport Italia are once again entering a two-car team this year. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, both in 2013 specification. A difficult qualifying session was followed by an unlucky race with the cars finishing in sixth and eighth, after one start from the back of the gird and the other suffered a penalty. The second race was another hard race for the team, finishing seventh and ninth.
Round one of the Swedish GT was held at Knutstorp, alongside the new-look STCC. JB Motorsport have entered their Audi R8 LMS and performed very well this weekend. A good tire strategy saw the team claim victory on the very last lap of the race.
The British GT held round two of the championship over the long holiday weekend, running from Sunday until Monday. Three Audi teams were entered at Rockingham, an Audi R8 LMS from Blendini Motorsport, a 2012 Audi R8 LMS ultra from United Autosports and a 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra from M-sport.
The streets of Sao Paulo hosted the first round of the Brazilian GT Championship. Ebrahim Motors have continued to enter their Audi R8 LMS ultra. This year they will receive support from Audi Brazil, competing in a red/silver Audi Top Service livery. The team were very fast during all of the sessions and qualified very well, consistently within the top four. During the two races they were very competitive and finished second in both races, collecting valuable points.
Thruxton is the fastest circuit in Britain, and hosted the third round of the British Touring Car Championship. Rob Austin Racing have been plagued by low top speed performance this year. It was evident at Donginton, but even more so at Thruxton. The team struggled for pace and qualified in the lower half of the field. The three races on the day yielded similar results for the team and their Audi A4s, as they were confined to the rear of the grid.
Round two of the RCN took place at the Nürburgring this weekend. Five Audi cars took part in the series which is similar to the VLN, including the TT RS (SP4T) of Rotek Racing.
Iron Man 3 was released internationally this week. Audi Sport had previously announced that Adrien Tambay would be racing at Hockenheim with an Iron Man 3 livery, round one of the DTM. The theme was further continued this weekend as Tambay and his crew had special Iron Man themed suits.
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are planning to compete at round three of the French GT-Tour. The third round of the series will be at Spa and WRT are planning to enter two cars, as part of their preparation for the Spa 24 Hours this year.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup cars have been updated for the 2013 season. Last year sixteen cars took part in the first season of the series and a total of twenty cars are competing in 2013. The cars are all in the original R8 LMS specification, but they have received a few updates this year. The first visual addition is that of the front dive-planes / double side splitters on the nose of the cars, this greatly aids downforce. The second major update has been the installation of new engine mapping, which has improved the performance, especially under acceleration. Audi R8 LMS Cup website
The Audi R8 LMS Cup has begun streaming the races live on the internet, featured on the official website of the series. It is a great addition for Audi fans worldwide, as this one-make Audi championship, with twenty R8 LMS cars, can now be watched live online. Audi R8 LMS Cup website
3. Next Weekend’s events (11-12/05/2013)
ADAC GT Masters
Spanish GT
BRCC
GT Asia
All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
Audi Sport Italia had a very unlucky race 1 at Misano today. Race 2 was a kind of deja vu. A very frustrating season opener for the official Audi Italia dealer team.
Johan Kristoffersson and Alex Frassineti, who shared the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra, finished in seventh place. They started from the back of the field, just as in race 1, and had to make an unscheduled pit-stop due to a puncture. The sister #4 car of Dindo Capello and Andrea Sonvico was ninth, a lap down. Andrea Sonvico faced brakes problems in his stint, after taking over the car from Dindo Capello.
Race victory went to the #77 Porsche GT3 R of Antonelli Motorsport, second was the #41 Ferrari 458 of MP1 Corse, and in third another Porsche GT3 R the #44 of Ebimotors. Race 2 results are here.
The next round of the Italian GT Championship is set for June, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.
The 6 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps was a great race for Audi. A great 1-2-3 victory for Audi Sport Team Joest and their factory R18 e-tron quattro cars. The team battled hard in the opening stages with the strong rivals from Toyota Racing, with their new 2013 TS030 Hybrid cars. As was the case at Silverstone last time, there was no mercy between the Audi cars, both #1 and #2 R18 battled hard for the race lead and big points for the FIA WEC championship. It was a strong debut for the new "Long-Tail" as well.
Here is a great video review from our friends at Le Mans Live. Audi and Toyota will meet again next month for another epic battle, the one these cars were built for: Le Mans.
The first race of the 2013 Italian GT Championship took place this morning. Audi Sport Italia had a very unlucky race with their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.
The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Johan Kristoffersson and Alex Frassineti finished in sixth place, they started from far behind, after failing to complete a flying lap in qualifying. Both Kristoffersson and Frassineti bounced back and gained a lot of positions. Their teammates Dindo Capello and Andrea Sonvico started sixth, but finished eighth in the end. The #4 Audi R8 LMS ultra was hit by a drive through penalty just after Capello took over from Sonvico, for contact with a Ferrari 458. A very big shame as the car was battling for the podium and third place. Ahead the two Porsches were flying on track and untouchable, victory went to the #44 997 GT3 R of Ebimotors ahead of the #77 from Antonelli Motorsport.
Race 2 is set for later today, fingers crossed for Audi Sport Italia and their drivers.
One-two-three success of the R18 e-tron quattro at WEC round two
Victory makes Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer new leaders of the standings
New body version for Le Mans successfully tested
Ingolstadt/Spa, May 4, 2013 – Audi was pleased about a flawless second race weekend in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). At Spa, the brand started from the three best positions with the R18 e-tron quattro and after the six hours of racing mounted the podium with all three driver teams. Audi won the Belgian WEC round a year ago as well.
Maximum efficiency: With positions one, two and three in qualifying and the race, the three Audi hybrid sports cars achieved the best possible result. In the competition of the hybrid vehicles, Audi celebrated a victory against Toyota for the second time in succession this year. In the season opener at Silverstone, the race cars from Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm managed a one-two win three weeks ago.
On the way to their first WEC victory of the season, the World Champions Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Treluyer (CH/D/F) delivered a strong performance. The trio crossed the finish line with an advantage of 1m 05s after having suffered misfortune on the roller-coaster in the Ardennes at the beginning of the race. In the second hour of the race, a piece of debris damaged a tire and forced André Lotterer to make an early pit stop. From seventh place Benoît Tréluyer, who had taken over driving duties at the stop, battled to recover. 74 minutes later, car number one was running in front again.
The Silverstone winners Loïc Duval/Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish (F/DK/GB) achieved second place. In the standings, the French-Danish-Scottish duo is trailing their fellow drivers in car number 1, who are taking an additional point home for having posted the best qualifying time in Belgium, by only one point. A remarkable performance was achieved by Marc Gené/Lucas di Grassi/Oliver Jarvis (E/BR/GB). They shared the number 3 hybrid sports car, which has already been aerodynamically optimized for the upcoming run at Le Mans. With that, the car was not the optimum solution for the 7.004-kilometer circuit in the Ardennes but Audi is able to gain valuable findings from the data of both vehicle types. The lower downforce of the race car certainly did not make handling it in the many fast turns in Belgium any easier. Still, the Audi driver trio crossed the finish line in front of the best Toyota, car number 8. The result in Belgium marked an amazing fourth endurance race victory for the brand this year. The success of the Audi R8 GRAND-AM in the GT class at the Daytona 24 Hours and victory at the Sebring 12 Hours with the Audi R18 e-tron quattro were followed by the two WEC wins. The next station on the calendar will be Le Mans on June 9 when Audi Sport Team Joest is going to prepare for the Le Mans 24 Hours on the official test day. On June 22 and 23, Audi will aim to achieve its twelfth victory at the classic endurance race.
Quotes after the race
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): “The race at Spa was important for our preparation for the Le Mans 24 Hours. That’s why we also fielded the third vehicle with an aerodynamics configuration that we’re probably going to use at Le Mans. While that was arguably not the optimum solution for Spa, it proved to be viable. The performances of all three cars were at a very high level throughout the race. We also saw that the competition made things pretty difficult for us. This battle was about tenths. We made no mistakes, the cars were running perfectly and the drivers were quick without taking excessive risks. The tires worked out really well too. The team performed optimal pit stops at which we gained time over the competition. But we know that Le Mans will be a very difficult race this time.” Christopher Reinke (Overall Project Leader LMP): “We’re very happy because you should never expect such a result. We’re concentrating on Le Mans and, on the way, have achieved a nice victory at Spa. That’s a great relief. We tackled a great challenge because we put three race cars on the grid here for the first time. At the same time, Audi Sport is contesting the DTM season opener at Hockenheim as well.” Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): “That was a superb team performance by the drivers and the squad. Up to the retirement of the number 7 Toyota it was also a very thrilling battle. The cars were running like clockwork, the pit stops and the strategy were all on the mark. It’s nice that all nine drivers mounted the podium. We’re traveling to Le Mans well prepared.” Marcel Fässler (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): “A tremendous weekend. After our puncture we had to recover as much time as possible. Everybody gave everything. The guys in the pits did a fantastic job too. That was a super nice day for all of us.” André Lotterer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): “What a race! The one-two-three win for Audi is fantastic. We had a lot of obstacles in the race. I didn’t have a good start but quickly managed to gain an advantage, but then we lost it again due to the safety car period and the puncture. After that, it was only full throttle for us. Marcel and Benoît drove brilliantly. We recovered the loss. It was one of the nicest victories because it was a hard-fought one. And I grew up in Belgium and won here for the first time.” Benoît Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1): “The victory is nice but achieving it was pretty difficult. We lost a lot of time due to the safety car period and the puncture. Afterward, all of us gave everything and that paid off. Our Audi R18 e-tron quattro was perfect. It’s a great result for the whole team that did a fantastic job.” Loïc Duval (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): “Our race started well. I advanced and was able to build a bit of an advantage. Things were going well when the track was clear. But later, I experienced heavier traffic on track than ever before in my career. Others took big risks but when you’re leading you’re a bit more careful. We weren’t as quick as car number 1 and are going to analyze this based on our data. But it’s been a nice day for Audi.” Tom Kristensen (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): “The one-two-three victory is fantastic for Audi. Everything was going according to plan, the whole team did a very good job. It’s great to have beaten Toyota – even though they had problems. Before Le Mans, we continue to have the greatest respect for them. As far as our team is concerned: Loïc and Allan delivered a strong drive. Unlike the winning car, we were struggling a bit with lack of tire grip. Marcel, André and Benoît drove really well and deserve this victory. We’re now almost equal to them in the points standings. The doubled points score for Le Mans will still be important in the battle for the title. It’ll continue to be thrilling.” Allan McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2): “The one-two-three win was great for the team. Furthermore, the new aero pack for car number 3 makes us confident for Le Mans. The car was pretty fast in qualifying and in the race. Unfortunately, for our driver squad, the result was a bit disappointing. We weren’t as quick as we’d been at Silverstone, so we’ve got to analyze where we lost time. In the points standings, we’re trailing our team-mates by just one point. Each of the two driver crews has achieved a victory and a second place. At Le Mans, Loïc, Tom and I want to be back on the top of the podium.” Marc Gené (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3): “At the start, I had to get out of André Lotterer’s way and thus lost my starting position. The air pressure in my first set of tires was a bit high but the race was still good for us. It was clear that we wouldn’t be able to keep up with the cars of our team-mates. The whole team learned a lot today and we’re happy about having contributed our part to this.” Lucas di Grassi (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3): “We competed with a different vehicle concept than the two cars with more downforce. In the end, we achieved a podium and thus a result that even surpassed our expectations a bit.” Oliver Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro #3): “Our race went as expected. In qualifying, we caused a surprise. We knew that the race would be difficult for us because the tires degraded more heavily. Third place is the best we could hope for. Congratulations to the winners who were strong today.” Race results 1 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) 168 laps 2 Duval/Kristensen/McNish (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) + 1m 05.815s 3 Gené/di Grassi/Jarvis (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) + 1m 54.992s 4 Buemi/Davidson/Sarrazin (Toyota) – 1 lap 5 Heidfeld/Jani/Prost (Lola-Toyota) – 3 laps 6 Beche/Belicchi/Cheng (Lola-Toyota) – 3 laps 7 Kane/Leventis/Watts (HPD-Honda) – 7 laps 8 Kaffer/Perez Companc/Minassian (Oreca-Nissan) – 11 laps 9 Brundle/Heinemeier-Hansson/Pla (Morgan-Nissan) – 11 laps 10 Dolan/Luhr/Turvey (Zytek-Nissan) – 11 laps
