Audi Claims Championship Title While TCR Battles Go Down to the Wire

[Source: Audi]

The Audi R8 LMS continued its winning streak in mid-September with victories and a new championship title across Europe and Australia, while Audi customer teams prepare for decisive title battles in the final rounds of TCR Europe, TCR Italy, and TCR Eastern Europe.

Audi R8 LMS GT3 Highlights

Land Motorsport – DTM Victory

Land Motorsport scored its first DTM victory in its debut season at the Red Bull Ring with Ricardo Feller in the Audi R8 LMS. Feller’s strong drive and flawless pit stops secured his third career DTM win, marking Audi’s 13th customer racing era victory and 143rd overall DTM triumph since 1990.

ADAC GT Masters – Overall Victory

Team Scherer Sport PHX rebounded from a damaged car to win the ADAC GT Masters at the Red Bull Ring. Nico Hantke built a dominant lead in the Audi R8 LMS, and Denis Bulatov held off rivals to secure victory despite tire wear.

Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance – Customer Team Takes Title

Team Tresor Attempto Racing clinched the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance title with a second-place finish at Mugello. Drivers Riccardo Cazzaniga, Rocco Mazzola, and Fabio Rauer secured the team’s first overall title, marking the Audi R8 LMS’s second GT3 championship of the season alongside earlier success in New Zealand.

GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS – Second Win of Season

At The Bend circuit in South Australia, Alex Peroni and Mark Rosser claimed their second GT World Challenge Australia win of the season in the BRM/ACM Finance Audi R8 LMS, finishing 13 seconds ahead of Ferrari. Broc Feeney and Brad Schumacher added a third-place result, while Audi teams also secured podiums in the second race and class victories, including Renee Gracie clinching the amateur title.

GT America powered by AWS – Podium Streak Continues

Memo Gidley extended his GT America podium streak at Barber Motorsports Park, finishing second in both races with the Ski Autosports Audi R8 LMS after leading early in Race 1 and holding P2 throughout Race 2.

International GT Open – Title Hopes Still Alive

Christopher Haase and Simon Reicher kept their International GT Open title hopes alive at the Red Bull Ring, scoring a podium in Race 1 before setbacks in Race 2 left them three points off the championship lead with two rounds remaining.

Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie – Pro-Am Class Victory

Juta Racing won the SP9 Pro-Am class in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie’s eighth round, while équipe vitesse claimed two podiums in SP9 Am class with Heimrich and Klasen finishing third and second.

GT Cup Series – Multiple Podiums

In the Central European GT Cup at Brno, Fullinrace by Interaction earned two class podiums with the Audi R8 LMS: Fulín and Koloc finished third in the GT3 endurance race, and Fulín claimed second in the sprint race.

Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop – Triple Podium

In the South African Extreme Supercars series at Killarney, the Audi R8 LMS earned three podiums: Paul Hill and Marius Jackson both finished third in Class A in the first two sprints, while Jackson improved to second place in the final race.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR) Highlights

TCR Italy – Tight Title Fight

In TCR Italy at Mugello, the title fight tightened between Nicola Baldan and Nicolas Taylor. Baldan entered the weekend with a six-point lead, which shrank to three after finishing third in the first sprint while Taylor placed fifth. Taylor then claimed his fourth win of the season in the second race, completing a 1-2-3 Audi RS 3 LMS podium with Matteo Poloni second and Baldan third. Considering Italy’s drop-score system, Taylor would actually be ahead of Baldan in points. Other standout Audi performances included Sandro Pelatti winning the Master category, Pietro Alessi and Taylor excelling in the Under-25 class, and Carlo Alberto Bocca earning second-best rookie honors.

TCR Italy DSG – Wins and Podiums

In the fifth round of TCR Italy DSG at Mugello, Audi RS 3 LMS drivers excelled. Mattia Lancellotti finished second on Saturday and narrowly won Sunday’s race by 0.2 seconds over teammate Gabriele Torelli. Gustavo Sandrucci claimed the Master category in both races, while Giacomo Prandelli was the top rookie. Lancellotti also dominated the Under-25 classification, finishing second on Saturday and first on Sunday.

TCR Europe – Standings Shakeup

In the fifth round of TCR Europe at the Red Bull Ring, the championship became wide open, with twelve drivers still in contention for the title at the Barcelona finale. Nicolas Taylor was the top Audi performer, claiming his first series podium with second place in a race interrupted by a five-car accident, and finishing third in the Young Driver category in the second race. Championship leader Teddy Clairet had a tough weekend, finishing twelfth and seventh, but remains just seven points behind the tied leaders, Marco Butti and Eric Gené. Three other private Audi drivers—Jimmy Clairet, Nicola Baldan, and Nicolas Taylor—still have a shot at the title.

TCR Eastern Europe – Battle Heats Up

In TCR Eastern Europe at Brno, Martin Kadlečik delivered his strongest weekend of the season in the Aditis Racing Audi RS 3 LMS, winning both sprint races. After overtaking Hyundai drivers Adam Kout and Jiří Zbožínek in the first race, he fought through the field on Sunday, executing a last lap pass on championship leader Kout. Kadlečik’s victories at his home race narrowed the championship gap from 20 to just eight points ahead of the season finale at Balaton Park in Hungary.

Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie – Dominating Performance

At the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie, Max Kruse Racing dominated with multiple Audi RS 3 LMS victories. In the seventh round, Timo Hochwind, Christoph Lenz, and Jasmin Preisig won the AT3 class, while their sister car finished second. Goroyan RT by sharky-racing captured both the SP3T and TCR class wins. In the eighth round, Hochwind/Lenz/Preisig repeated as AT3 winners, Vallers and Åhlin-Kottulinsky shared SP3T victory, and Brink/Goroyan/Kvitka secured a second consecutive TCR class win, highlighting Audi’s strong performance across multiple categories.

Coppa Italia Turismo – Audi Privateers Dominate

At the fifth Coppa Italia Turismo weekend in Mugello, Audi privateers dominated. Koray Kamiloglu won the first race in an Audi RS 3 LMS, followed by two BF Motorsport Audis. Denis Babuin claimed the second sprint, defeating Fulvio Ferri. In the DSG class for dual-clutch cars, Giacomo Orioli won both races, with teammates Tiziano Bergamasco and Temel Camlidag finishing third, underscoring Audi’s strong presence across the series.

TCR Asia – Last Lap Heroics

Team Chengdu RevX Racing excelled in the fourth round of TCR Asia with the Audi RS 3 LMS. Chang Chien Shang finished third in race one at Korea’s Inje Circuit, then claimed a dramatic victory in race two, overtaking Hyundai’s Junui Park in the penultimate corner of the final lap.

Audi R8 LMS GT4 Highlights

Ultimate Cup Series – Dominating Performances

In the French Ultimate Cup Series, Herrero Racing and Team Speedcar dominated the UCS4 class with seven podiums. Pierre Arraou secured two second-place finishes and won the final two sprints in Herrero Racing’s Audi R8 LMS GT4. Olivier Huez earned second and third-place finishes for Speedcar, while teammate Marine Pidoux took third in the third race. The Audi R8 LMS GT4 also captured trophies in South Africa.

Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop – Two Podiums

In the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop series, Giacomo Giannoccaro secured two third place finishes in Class C for Team G&H Transport in the first two of three sprints.