The Audi brand is very well represented in the Pirelli World Challenge this year. GMG Racing is fielding a full set of Audi R8 LMS cars, with their driver James Sofronas still in contention for the driver's title. In addition to GMG and JCR Motorsports, DragonSpeed has also joined the demanding SCCA series with their Audi R8 LMS ultra, a premiere for the new spec car in top North American sportscar racing.
Here is a video from the Pirelli World Challenge official Youtube channel showing how committed Audi Sport customer racing is in the series. Technical support for the privateer teams, with one big target: the championship title. Audi is also looking forward to a strong 2014 campaign as Pirelli World Challenge is set to welcome full specification FIA GT3 cars in their GT class.
The Grand-American Rolex Sports Car Series is at Laguna Seca this weekend, the penultimate round of the season. A single Audi R8 GRAND-AM is taking part in the event from Fall-Line Motorsports.
The Audi Sport customer racing team, who joined the GT ranks of the Rolex Series in the second half of the season, is performing well so far at the Californian track. The #46 Audi R8 GRAND-AM, shared by Brayn Sellers and Al Carter, finished tenth in the first practice session, fourth in the second session and fifth in the third session.
In qualifying Fall-Line Motorsports showed strong pace. Brayn Sellers and Al Carter took a satisfying sixth place after a very fraught session. This is their best result so far in the demanding Rolex Series GT field with the Audi R8 GRAND-AM. Bryan Sellers, who joined the Rolex Series GT team (he races with Fall-Line in the Continental Tire Challenge), has really boosted the R8 GRAND-AM effort. Bryan Sellers is one of the fastest GT drivers in North America.
It is interesting to note that Grand-Am has recently allowed Audi to use the original 2013 specification rear diffuser of the Audi R8 LMS ultra on the Audi R8 GRAND-AM. No doubts this helped Fall-Line Motorsports to improve with the car, however the team is really working hard and really improving with a car that won Rolex 24 at Daytona earlier this year.
Up ahead pole position in the GT class went to the #57 Chevrolet Camaro GT.R from Stevenson Motorsports. Second was the #31 Chevrolet Corvette from Marsh Racing and third the #63 Ferrari 458 from Scuderia Corsa. The qualifying session results can be seen here.
By Johan Laubscher The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has produced a 52 minute movie documenting their 2013 Spa 24 Hours. It was a race of ups and downs, perfectly captured in this film. WRT has always produced great event videos in the past and their latest work, the Spa 24 Hours movie, is yet another excellent production. It is titled as: "NEVER GIVE UP AUDI WRT TOTAL 24 hours of SPA"
The movie was previewed last week with two sets of trailers, along with the news that it would be uploaded onto YouTube very soon. The trailers can be seen HERE. The movie has officially been uploaded onto the WRT YouTube Channel and it is certainly a must watch.
We have embedded both versions of the movie below, the English version followed by the French version. Enjoy, this is definitely worth watching!
The next Bathurst 12 Hour will take place from 7-9 February 2014. The Early Bird registration for the race closed on 8 August 2013, and a total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars are included on the provisional entry list.
Five of the current Audi entries were all present at the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hour earlier this year, with the new sixth entry coming from Absolute Racing, who will be making their debut at the Mountain. Four of the entries are based in Australia and one each from the UK and China. Seven Audi cars (as pictured above) competed at the Bathurst 12 Hour this year. The 2013 entrants who are not currently listed as returning to the mountain are Phoenix Racing and DragonSpeed.
Audis on the provisional entry list:
Mark Eddy / Marc Cini - Melbourne Performance Centre - Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012)
United Autosports - Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012)
Rod Salmon - Melbourne Performance Centre - Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012)
Absolute Racing - Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013)
Dean Koutsoumidis - Equity-One Motorsport / MPC - Audi R8 LMS (2011)
Peter Conroy - Peter Conroy Motorsport - Audi R8 LMS (2010)
Time will tell if more Audis will be entered, but it is great to see a good number of Audi R8 LMS teams already confirming their return and participation at Mount Panorama.
Less than a week has passed since the 2013 Spa 24 Hours. The race itself proved to be very difficult for the Audi teams, but they soldiered on and achieved third (WRT) and fourth (Phoenix) place finishes.
The entire race broadcast has been uploaded onto the official SRO GT World YouTube channel. They have also already produced the 52 minute highlights video. All of the videos have been embedded below, starting off with the highlights, followed by the entire race broadcast (4 parts totaling almost 14 hours).
Cup heads to Inje, South Korea, for the first race outside of China
One of the first official events at the new Inje Auto Theme Park
Alex Yoong Lead's the driver's championship ahead of Adderly Fong and Marchy Lee.
Beijing/Inje, August 1, 2013 – The Audi R8 LMS Cup will head to Inje in South Korea from August 2 to 4, for the third race weekend of the 2013 season. It is the first time the championship will journey beyond the borders of China, underlining the international pedigree of the sprint race series.
Rounds 5 and 6 will be the first home turf outing for Team Audi Korea and local racing star Kyong-Ouk You. The experienced South Korean will be hoping to use his home advantage to reach the podium for the first time this season. Heading into race weekend three, Malaysian driver Alex Yoong leads the standings after impressive driving in the opening four races of the season. Pushing Alex Yoong closely is Adderly Fong, who has shown great consistency to find himself in second place. In third place is last year's champion Marchy Lee.
"The races in South Korea are an important step in the expansion of the cup from China to additional Asian countries. We are committed to further develop motorsport in the Asian region", says Rene Koneberg, Head of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. "All drivers are racing for the first time at this new track in Inje. True driving skills will determine the winner."
The Inje circuit in South Korea was only completed in May 2013 and the Audi R8 LMS Cup will be one of the first official championships to take place at this FIA Grade 2 certified track. The new circuit will surely present one of the highlights of the series so far. After its successful maiden season in China in 2012, the Audi R8 LMS Cup has added new stops in South Korea, Malaysia and Macau for 2013. Teams from Audi Taiwan, Audi Hong Kong and Audi Korea have newly joined the competition this year.
"It is a great pleasure for Audi Korea to be part of the Audi R8 LMS Cup and to welcome the series to Inje. Audi has always been pushing technological limits. It was racing circuits and rallies that helped to give birth to our light, quick-to-respond, environment-friendly and powerful Audi models", says Johannes Thammer, Managing Director of Audi Korea.
Audi AG launched its Audi Korea wholly-owned subsidiary in October 2004. Audi Korea delivered 15,126 vehicles in 2012, a remarkable 46% increase compared to 2011, and a 1,174% increase since its establishment in 2004.
Last time out in July, in Ordos, Northern China, Alex Yoong took the chequered flag in round 3 only to be demoted later in the day after being given a 20 second penalty for a false start, subsequently handing the victory to Marchy Lee. In Round 4 Alex Yoong was determined not to have his whole race weekend spoiled by the earlier set-back and dominated from start to finish.
Alongside the overall classification for the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup, there are categories for amateurs, teams and a special dealer trophy for teams of Audi dealerships.
The 2013 Spa 24 Hours proved to be a testing event for the Audi teams. Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars started the event and only two finished, achieving third and fourth place results.
A highlights video featuring the 2013 Spa 24 Hours has been released on the official Audi Deutschland YouTube channel. Both language versions of the video have been embedded below, the English version followed by the German version.
Current balance of performance hardly leaves any chances for Audi R8 LMS ultra
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT takes third place after brilliant team performance
High risk increased retirement rate
Ingolstadt/Spa, July 28, 2013 – At the Spa 24 Hours, the Audi customer teams had set their sights on the aim of battling for the third victory in succession at the most important GT3 endurance race. In the end, third place was achieved. The current regulations drastically slowed the Audi R8 LMS which, with a tally of 18 titles, has been very successful. As early as in qualifying, grid positions 20, 27, 30, 31, 32, 35 and 53 made this clearly evident. Even Audi’s top driver team had no chance. They as well as their team colleagues regularly lost around one second per lap to their rivals right in the first fast sector of the 7.004-kilometer track.
Third place for André Lotterer/Christopher Mies/Frank Stippler (D/D/D), following a nearly flawless drive of the best Audi R8 LMS ultra at Spa was an outstanding result. A puncture during the night was the only irregularity in the first 18 hours of the race. After three quarters of the distance, the GT3 sports car with red diamond graphics was running in third place – albeit with a four-lap gap. “Due to the current balance of performance our teams were clearly unable to keep the race pace at the front,” analyzed Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We were lapped several times, which shows how big the differences due to the regulations were in the field. If even our last year’s Spa winner Frank Stippler, Blancpain Endurance Champion Christopher Mies, DTM Champion Mattias Ekström and our two-time Le Mans winners André Lotterer and Marcel Fässler were chanceless in this race, this leaves no doubts. To compensate, our drivers had to take a very high risk. As in 2011 and 2012, Audi’s customers would have liked to have battled for victory again but that was impossible this time. This is very regrettable as the world’s biggest GT3 race certainly would have deserved a more intense competition of all nine brands.”
With a six-lap gap, the red R8 of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT ultimately reached the podium. The second-best Audi in the field was provided by Team Phoenix Racing. Christopher Haase (D), Oliver Jarvis (GB) and Harold Primat (CH) showed a consistent performance. Due to a brilliant team performance they advanced all the way to fourth place in the reliable Audi R8 LMS ultra. Since the seventh hour of the race the trio had been defending its position among the top ten in the field of the 65 entrants. The second Phoenix car that was shared by Enzo Ide (B), Anthony Kumpen (B) and Markus Winkelhock (D) was struck by misfortune. In the 20th hour of the race, the number 16 R8 LMS ultra retired after an accident by Enzo Ide.
At the beginning of the race, car number 1 set the pace among the Audi customer teams. While running in fifth place, Stéphane Ortelli (MC) was unable to start his race car again at the beginning of the fourth hour of the race after a pit stop. The exchange of a defective starter relay cost the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT five laps. When a transmission problem occurred just shortly afterward, the team chose not to continue the race. The time loss had already caused Ortelli and his team-mates René Rast (D) and Laurens Vanthoor (B) to lose ground without any chance of recovery.
The race of car number 13 had been off to a promising start as well. Mattias Ekström (S), Marcel Fässler (CH) and Edward Sandström (S), after starting from grid position 32, had improved to seventh place within the first five hours. When Fässler, shortly after 11 p.m. was about to overtake a Ferrari on the left in front of the last chicane the rival failed to notice him and heavily touched the Audi. The WRT R8 hit the track barrier. A broken rear suspension meant the early end of the race.
After 270 laps, the race of car number 0 was over as well. Matt Halliday (NZ) was in 26th place when he received a tire pressure warning in the cockpit. Shortly afterward, the WRT Audi hit the tire stack in the Raidillon corner, damaging not only the body parts and the rear suspension but the chassis as well. The Newzealander and his team-mates Niki Mayr-Melnhof (A) and Rahel Frey (CH) were forced to retire.
Team United Autosports with Will Bratt/Glynn Geddie/Alain Li/Mark Patterson (GB/GB/F/USA) competed in the Pro-Am category. Suspension and body repairs after a spin that was not the team’s fault caused the squad to lose a lot of ground right in the early phase. A rare defect of the V10 engine, which has been regularly completing 20,000 racing kilometers in the hands of customers for years, meant the early end in the sixth hour of the race.
In view of these results, the assessment of Romolo Liebchen, Head of Customer Sport at quattro GmbH, was mixed: “After the class victory at Daytona, we very much would have liked to have won another 24-hour race with the R8 this year. Our customers were well prepared but it was obvious that even Audi’s best sports car drivers had no realistic chances at Spa this year. We’re hoping for the Audi R8 LMS ultra with a few title decisions in the second half of the year will be able to show its true form.”
Race results
1. Buhk/Götz/Schneider (Mercedes), 564 laps 2. Lieb/Lietz/Pilet (Porsche) – 1 lap 3. Lotterer/Mies/Stippler (Audi R8 LMS ultra) – 6 laps 4. Haase/Jarvis/Primat (Audi R8 LMS ultra) – 7 laps 5. Cameron/Griffin/Mortimer/Vilander (Ferrari) – 7 laps 6. Ladygin/Mediani/Salo/Shaitar (Ferrari) – 8 laps 7. Mardenborough/Ordonez/Pyzera/Reip (Nissan) – 11 laps 8. Christodoulou/Hummel/Jäger/Jans (Mercedes) – 13 laps 9. Hennerici/Maassen/Soulet (Porsche) – 14 laps 10. Babini/Ladygin/Persiani/Zlobin (Ferrari) – 17 laps
By Johan Laubscher The Spa 24 Hours, round four of the Blancpain Endurance Series, was held at Spa-Francorchamps in Belgium this weekend. Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (4), Phoenix Racing (2) and United Autosports (1). A testing weekend resulted in a positive result by the end of the very long and hard 24 hours. Audi Sport teams had won the Spa 24 Hours on the two previous occasions, Audi Sport Team WRT in 2011 and Audi Sport Team Phoenix in 2012. Both times it was a factory effort, whereas all of the teams in 2013 were Audi Sport customer racing teams, with no factory Audi efforts. It proved to be a difficult weekend as the Audi teams struggled with the Balance of Performance. Only one Audi made it into the top twenty Superpole. Vanthoor had an incident during Superpole and the only Audi in Superpole ended last, thus meaning that the highest placed Audi on the grid was twentieth. The seven Audis would line up in: P20, P27, P30, P31, P32, P35 and P53.
The race got underway with the Audis coming from further back. United Autosports were sadly involved in a touch from behind which resulted in a wheel bearing needing to be replaced, costing a lot of time. The cars progressed well during the early stages and a few Audis crept into the top ten. Unfortunately starter problems dropped the #1 WRT out of contention after they had been the highest Audi in the top five. As the race went into the night difficulties hit the Audi teams. The #1 WRT Audi was the first to retire (gearbox), followed by the #125 United Autosports Audi (engine related problems). The #13 WRT Audi then became the best ranked car, until contact during the night caused race-ending damage, when the #49 Ferrari made contact with Marcel Fässler. The night was not over for WRT, as their third retirement occurred in the early morning. The #0 WRT Audi, driven by Matt Halliday at the time, suffered a puncture and a resulting crash at Raidillon. The damage to the suspension and chassis ended the #0 Audi's participation.
The remaining three Audis soldiers on and battled within the top fifteen. By the time dawn broke the #2 WRT Audi was battling for the podium, and the two Phoenix cars had moved into the top ten. As the race continued the #2 remained within the top five battle. They held third during the morning but a brake change and a spin dropped them back to fifth. The Phoenix cars remained strong within the top ten until a crash for Enzo Ide in the #16, he was thankfully unharmed. Ide had made contact with the #17 Ferrari 458 while lapping the car and this caused the race-ending accident for the #16 Audi.
Seven Audis had started the event and only two were still running on track towards the end. Within the last ninety minutes the #2 WRT Audi was holding fifth, followed by the Phoenix Racing #6 Audi in sixth. Within minutes of each other technical difficulties befell the third and fourth placed Ferrari and BMW entries, thus promoting the two Audis into third and fourth.
The top four positions would remain stagnant for the final hour, and the two remaining Audis came home for third and fourth place. The #2 WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by André Lotterer, Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies finished on the podium, ahead of the #6 Phoenix R8 LMS ultra with Oliver Jarvis, Christopher Haase and Harold Primat in fourth. A difficult race, where the Audis were driven to their limits, ended with two positive results which included a podium. The race was won by the HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz driven by Maximilian Buhk, Maximilian Götz and Bernd Schneider. After a race-long battle they finished ahead of the Manthey Porsche 911, followed by the two remaining Audis in third and fourth.
The Spa 24 Hours concluded a very long and hard fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series. The series will now head to and conclude at the Nürburgring. It will be a 1000 km event held in Germany on the weekend of 21-22 September. The seven Audi Sport customer racing Audi R8 LMS ultra cars:
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT #0 Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof, Matt Halliday, Rahel Frey (Team WRT) - DNF #1 Stéphane Ortelli, Laurens Vanthoor, Rene Rast - DNF #2 André Lotterer, Frank Stippler, Christopher Mies - 3rd #13 Edward Sandström, Mattias Ekström, Marcel Fässler - DNF Phoenix Racing #6 Oliver Jarvis, Christopher Haase, Harold Primat - 4th #16 Enzo Ide, Anthony Kumpen, Markus Winkelhock - DNF United Autosports #125 Will Bratt, Alan Li, Mark Patterson - DNF
The DMV Touring Car Challenge (DMV TCC) hosted round five at Hockenheim this weekend. This championship features a variety of race cars, including GT3 cars. A new Audi R8 LMS ultra team was present this weekend.
Suzanne Weidt has been a regular competitor in the DMV TCC, driving an Ascari GT3 from RS Tuning. This weekend was the first appearance of their brand new race car, a new full specification 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The DMV allows the R8 LMS ultra to use the 2013 spec rear diffuser, thus this is one of only a few appearances this year, where an Audi R8 LMS ultra has been seen in the full original 2013 specification. All the other FIA GT3 class championships require the 2013 Audis to run the older diffuser, as per the final FIA homologation. More about the homologation can be read HERE, and more about the 2013 R8 LMS ultra HERE.
The RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra was the only Audi entered in this event this weekend. It was a learning experience for Suzanne Weidt, as she got to grips with the new Audi. She qualified twenty-third for race one and twenty-second for race two. She unfortunately dropped back in race one and finished the second race, after progressing well, in nineteenth.
It is always great to see new Audi Sport customer racing teams in a diversity of racing championships.
The DMV TCC will head to the Red Bull Ring in Austria for the next round which will be held in August.
Grand-Am Road Racing, the American Le Mans Series and its series sanctioning body IMSA (International Motorsport Association) has published the classes structures and regulations for the newly formed United Sportscar Series (USCR). The unified North American sportscar series will debut next year at the Rolex 24 at Daytona.
No more LMP1 class in North America, the USCR will have Daytona Prototypes (DP) and Le Mans Prototypes 2 (LMP2) cars for the upper class, the cars that will fight for overall victories. The ALMS GT class will stay as it is now and will be named GT Le Mans (GTLM), using the ACO GTE rules.
Audi will be represented in the GT Daytona (GTD) class. The Audi R8 GRAND-AM will enter the combined class of Rolex Series GT cars and ALMS GTC cars (an all-911 GT3 Cup field). Big changes for the class next year, as it will become a Pro-Am division. IMSA will introduce a driver categorization system, similar to what the FIA uses in both the FIA WEC and Blancpain Endurance Series. Therefore the possible Audi teams in USCR will not be able to field a full-star line-up like they did at this year's Rolex 24 at Daytona, where Audi took the GT class honors. A clean border will be set between the two GT classes. GT Le Mans will mostly be open for factory teams and full pro drivers, whilst GT Daytona will be a home mostly for privateers and gentlemen drivers.
In addition to the Audi R8 GRAND-AM, we have to wait and see if any Audi "possibilities" arise for a move into the upper classes, either DP or LMP2. Audi welcomed the merge of the Rolex Series and the American Le Mans Series into the new United SportsCar Racing. In the last few months there were a lot of rumours and speculation about a possible Audi effort in Daytona Prototypes. It is not a secret that America is a very big market for Audi, and the Ingolstadt brand always wants to fight for overall wins. The USCR will be a top series in international sportscar racing and an Audi DP car, for that target market, would make sense.
Another possibilty is to see Audi as an engine supplier in the LMP2 class. If this happens it will not affect only the USCR but also the FIA World Endurance Championship. The idea of having Audi powered cars in LMP2 is great, no doubts. Who would not like to see TFSI powered machines at Le Mans, Sebring, Daytona and across the globe in FIA WEC? However, the recent changes at the head of the Research and Development (R&D) at Audi AG may bring some new orientations for racing commitments in North America. Anyway and whatever Audi may choose, if they decide to enter the USCR, will be part of the Audi Sport customer racing program. Therefore such an effort will only be in the hands of privateer and independents teams. It will be hard to see Audi fielding a factory team with a Daytona Prototype, and even harder to see the Four Rings using a chassis from another manufacturer with "only" Audi power in LMP2.
The above is of course only speculation, only time will tell what Audi's possible programs for the United SportsCar Racing could be.
The world famous Indianapolis Motors Speedway will host the eighth round of the Grand American Rolex Sports Car Series next week.The Indianapolis meeting, known as the Brickyard Grand Prix, will be a three-hour race supporting the NASCAR Sprint Cup and held on the road course.
The event itself is part of the special North American Endurance Championship. It will be the third and final race of this championship within the main Rolex Series. Audi will be represented by two R8 GRAND-AM cars from two different teams.
The #24 car is a full factory effort under the name of Audi Sport customer racing. The car will be shared by two Audi works drivers, Edoardo Mortata and Filipe Albuquerque, both of them racing in the DTM with Audi Sport Team Rosberg. The car will be directly supervised by quattro GmbH and Kettler Motor Werks. Audi Sport customer racing is currently third in the team's standings of the NAEC with 22 points. Both Edoardo Mortata and Filipe Albuquerque are fourth overall in the driver's standings with 22 points. At Indy Audi will fight hard to achieve a GT class victory after the main Daytona 24 Hours earlier this year, as well as trying to win the North American Endurance Championship.
The second Audi R8 GRAND-AM entry is a privateer effort from Fall-Line Motorsports. The customer team debuted with the car at Watkins Glen, with some positive performances, including leading the race. At Indianapolis their #46 Audi will be shared by drivers Al Carter, Charles Espenlaub and Brett Sandberg. At the Glen the three drivers finished twenty-seventh overall and fourteenth within the GT class. At Indy the Fall Line Motorsports team will try to learn more with the car and improve further.
Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in world’s major GT3 race
Audi unbeaten in iconic Belgian event since 2011
Audi factory drivers, GT specialists and privateer drivers in the cockpits
Ingolstadt, July 19, 2013 – The customers of Audi Sport customer racing are facing an ambitious task. The Spa 24 Hours on July 27 and 28 featuring a field of 70 entrants is regarded as the world’s toughest GT3 race. Following the two victories of the factory teams in 2011 and 2012, the R8 LMS ultra is aiming for its third win in succession.
Two times three: For Audi, the Spa 24 Hours is about scoring the third victory in succession – plus the third victory in a 24-hour race this year. In 2011 and 2012, the Audi R8 LMS won the iconic event in the Ardennes. And this year, the brand, on winning the GT class at the Daytona 24 Hours with the R8 GRAND-AM and achieving the twelfth overall victory of an Audi sports prototype at the Le Mans 24 Hours, has celebrated two international successes in endurance racing so far.
At Spa, a competition of mammoth proportions is awaiting the teams, as 73 entrants have registered for the fourth round of the Blancpain Endurance Series on July 27 and 28. Nine sports car manufacturers are competing for victory. The intensity of this GT3 competition is unrivaled worldwide. Audi celebrated the first overall victory of its R8 LMS customer sports race car in a 24-hour race at Spa two years ago – fielded by Team WRT, driven by Mattias Ekström and his two team-mates Timo Scheider and Greg Franchi. The two-time DTM Champion Ekström is now returning to the historic venue with WRT, running as the team-mate of his Swedish compatriot Edward Sandström. The third in the trio is Audi factory driver Marcel Fässler, the 2011 and 2012 Le Mans winner. Fässler’s Le Mans team-mate André Lotterer is traveling to the Ardennes as well. The German, who grew up in Belgium, is sharing the number ‘2’ R8 LMS ultra with Blancpain Endurance Champion Christopher Mies and last year’s winner Frank Stippler.
The Belgian WRT squad of Team Director Vincent Vosse is putting two other R8 LMS ultra cars on the grid at its home round. Rahel Frey, as in the other rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series, is sharing the cockpit of a car designated as number ‘0’ with Matt Halliday and Niki Mayr-Melnhof. Stéphane Ortelli, the winner of last year’s Blancpain Endurance Series, is sharing car number ‘1’ with last year’s winner René Rast and with Laurens Vanthoor.
Ernst Moser’s Team Phoenix Racing is competing with its two well-known regular driver line-ups from the Blancpain Endurance Series. Christopher Haase, Champion of the Blancpain Endurance Series, is sharing car number ‘6’ with Harold Primat and Audi factory driver Oliver Jarvis, the GT class winner of the 2013 Daytona 24 Hours. Enzo Ide, Anthony Kumpen and Markus Winkelhock are taking the wheel of the sister car designated as number ’16.’
A seventh Audi R8 LMS ultra will be put on the grid by United Autosports. The Anglo-American privateer team of Richard Dean and Zak Brown is running in the classic race for the fourth consecutive time. In the Pro-Am class, the squad relies on the British drivers Will Bratt and Glynn Geddie, the native Frenchman Alain Li and on Mark Patterson from the United States.
While the fans are watching the race on location along the legendary 7.004-kilometer Ardennes roller-coaster track, viewers at home can look forward to extensive TV coverage this year. The channel Motors TV will air a total of almost 12 hours of direct reports of the action in Belgium. RTL Nitro will carry a 60-minute summary on Sunday night (July 28). Before the Belgian GP, RTL will broadcast another summarized report.
The broadcast schedule in detail: Motors TV Saturday, July 27: 15:45–19:00, 21:00–22:30 Sunday, July 28: 8:00–12:00, 14:00–17:00
RTL Nitro Sunday, July 28: 19:15–20:15
RTL Saturday, August 24: 13:25–13:35
Live streaming (www.blancpain-endurance-series.com) Saturday, July 27: 16:00–20:00, 21:00–23:00 Sunday, July 28: 8:00–12:00, 13:30–17:00 Highlights: 19:00 The Audi customer teams at the 2013 Spa 24 Hours
#125 Will Bratt/Glynn Geddie/Alain Li/Mark Patterson (GB/GB/F/USA)
Quotes by the officials
Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Head of Audi Motorsport: “This year, Spa will again be the most impressive GT3 race you can imagine. This concept simply works well. Following the two victories we celebrated there, it’s in the hands of our teams this year to clinch a good result for Audi. We’re supporting the commitment with a few factory drivers who enjoy competing in this race. It’ll no doubt be a very thrilling as well as a very tough race.”
Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing: “After two consecutive wins, Audi Sport customer racing wishes to support its customers in battling for the third victory at Spa this time. The first three races have shown the magnitude of the current challenge in the Blancpain Endurance Series. Three different marques have won so far, but an Audi team hasn’t been among them yet. The R8 LMS ultra has to compete with an air restrictor that’s significantly smaller than it was a year ago. Thus, our customers have to try and compensate for this disadvantage with factors such as strategy, the shortest possible pit stop times and driving without any mistakes. That poses a huge challenge.” Selected quotes from each driver team
Rahel Frey, Audi R8 LMS ultra #0 (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) “In an endurance race, you need a very reliable car and that’s what the R8 LMS ultra is without the trace of a doubt. In terms of driving, everything’s got to fit too, and my team-mates, Matt Halliday and Niki Mayr-Melnhof, and I complement each other well. The WRT team is a top-caliber squad. I’m now starting at my third 24-hour race. At Le Mans, I was on the grid a few years ago with a private team that retired at an early stage. Two months ago, I ran at the Nürburgring with the Audi race experience but the race was interrupted for nine hours. Now, at Spa, I’m hoping to drive the entire distance for the first time.”
René Rast, Audi R8 LMS ultra #1 (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) “A year ago, we won at Spa, that’s why it’s a particularly good feeling to return to this venue. Now I’m running in a slightly different line-up – with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT that was the winner two years ago and with Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor as team-mates. In the first three rounds of the Blancpain Endurance Series, the three of us have experienced that the ‘grapes are hanging very high on the vine’ this year. Obviously, we’re aiming for a good result. Spa’s the most important GT3 endurance race and our goal is to improve from sixth place in the standings.” André Lotterer, Audi R8 LMS ultra #2 (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) “Spa is my home track because I grew up in Belgium. That’s one of the reasons why I’m happy to compete with the Belgian WRT team of Vincent Vosse. And returning to this race this year in an Audi R8 LMS ultra is fantastic. A year ago, we were very fast but lacking fortune because a rival drove into our car. As a result, we lost twelve laps through no fault of our own. In Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies I’ve got two strong team-mates who’ve won many races in the R8. We’d definitely like to be in contention for the top spot.”
Christopher Haase, Audi R8 LMS ultra #6 (Phoenix Racing) “The atmosphere at Spa is simply superb. It’s the biggest GT3 race in the world and has its own special attraction – from the field of entrants through to the traditional fireworks at midnight that can even be seen from the cockpit. The track is world-class, the weather keeps causing surprises and more than 70 cars are expected. I believe that we’re in for the most difficult running of this race this year.” Mattias Ekström, Audi R8 LMS ultra #13 (Belgian Audi Club Team WRT) “In 2011, we won the Spa 24 Hours with WRT – a victory that really means a lot to me in my career. Now I’m running for the first time with Edward Sandström, whom I’ve known for a long time, and with Marcel Fässler. The R8 LMS ultra is excellent and in the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT we’re backed by a top-caliber squad. We’ve got all the ingredients this year to help us in battling for victory.” Markus Winkelhock, Audi R8 LMS ultra #16 (Phoenix Racing) “I must admit that I’m very curious about the race because I’ve never been on the grid of the Spa 24 Hours. My two Belgian team-mates Enzo Ide and Anthony Kumpen have done many laps on this track in their careers. Our test day was positive and Phoenix Racing, as always, is perfectly prepared. I’ve intensified my endurance training by cycling and running and have prepared for the heat by taking saunas.”
Mark Patterson, Audi R8 LMS ultra #125 (United Autosports) “I’m sure that our Audi R8 in the course of 24 hours has a good chance of being in contention for a podium place in the Pro-Am classification. I’ve been driving for United Autosports ever since the team was formed at the beginning of 2010 and have been on the grid at Spa, Daytona, Abu Dhabi and Bathurst. I feel very comfortable with this squad. Spa is the best track in the world with legendary corners such as Eau Rouge, Pouhon, Stavelot and Blanchimont.”
Timetable
Thursday, July 25 09:45–11:15 Free practice 1 18:15–19:15 Pre-qualifying 20:10–21:25 Qualifying 21:55–23:10 Qualifying
By Johan Laubscher The Audi Motorsport Blog Audi R8 LMS Spotter Guide has been updated. It was originally posted in January, titled: "How to spot an Audi R16". It is a guide which consists of four posts, and includes an introduction and a visual comparison of all the Audi R16 versions to date, namely: the original Audi R8 LMS, 2012 Audi R8 LMS ultra, Audi R8 GRAND-AM and the 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra.
The Spotter Guides are available via the images/links below:
