source: Audi Australia
- Audi to start in second and third positions on the grid after exciting Top 10 Shootout
- Three Audi teams in the top 10 grid positions
- Just 0.235 seconds separate first and second in Top 10
Bathurst – Audi has continued its electrifying form of yesterday to reserve a place on the front row of the grid for the start of tomorrow’s Bathurst 12 Hour. Kelvin van der Linde pulled out all stops to produce a 2:02.1696s – just 0.235 seconds off pole position.
Three Audi customer cars did battle in the Top 10 Shootout having finished qualifying in positions 1, 7 and 8. Robin Frijns in the #37 Audi Sport Team WRT was the first Audi out on the track, posting a 2:03.4485s lap. But it was Christopher Haase in the #74 Valvoline Jamec Pem R8 LMS who made the early running, blazing around the 6.2km circuit in 2:03.2352s to take the lead.
Haase’s lap remained the benchmark until the end of the shootout, when the BMW of Chad Mostert produced a flying lap to reset the bar. With just the final Valvoline Jamec Pem Audi left to run, the pressure was on 21-year-old South African, Kelvin van der Linde, who produced a perfect lap to bring the R8 LMS in within two tenths of a second of the leader and secure a front row start for the #22 car.
The final positions for the 5:45am start of the race then will see the #22 Audi on the front row of the grid with Kelvin van der Linde behind the while, while the sister car, #74 will start from the second row in third position. The Belgian Audi Sport Team WRT will start from seventh position to round out the top 10 paces.
Audi Sport customer racing grid positions
Position 2.
Valvoline Jamec Pem Racing (Audi R8 LMS)
Kelvin van der Linde/Garth Tander/Fre´de´ric Vervisch
Position 3.
Valvoline Jamec Pem Racing (Audi R8 LMS)
Christopher Haase/Christopher Mies/Markus Winkelhock
Position 7.
Audi Sport Team WRT (Audi R8 LMS)
Robin Frijns/Stuart Leonard/Dries Vanthoor
Position 12.
International Motorsport (Audi R8 LMS)
Richard Bagnall/Matt Halliday/Jonny Reid
Position 16.
Supabarn (Audi R8 LMS)
James Koundouris/Theo Koundouris/ Duvashen Padayachee/Ash Walsh
Position 18.
Audi Sport WRT (Audi R8 LMS)
Paul Dalla Lana/Will Davison/Pedro Lamy/Mathias Lauda
Position 19.
Hallmarc (Audi R8 LMS)
Marc Cini/Dean Fiore/Lee Holdsworth
Position 20.
ASR (Audi R8 LMS)
Daniel Gaunt/Ash Samadi/NN (NZ/AUS)
The Audi Group, with its brands Audi, Ducati and Lamborghini, is one of the most successful manufacturers of automobiles and motorcycles in the premium segment. It is present in more than 100 markets worldwide and produces at 16 locations in 12 countries. 100 percent subsidiaries of AUDI AG include Audi Sport GmbH (Neckarsulm), Automobili Lamborghini S.p.A. (Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy) and Ducati Motor Holding S.p.A. (Bologna, Italy).
In 2016, the Audi Group delivered to customers about 1.868 million automobiles of the Audi brand, 3,457 sports cars of the Lamborghini brand and 55,451 motorcycles of the Ducati brand. In the 2016 fiscal year, AUDI AG achieved total revenue of €59.3 billion and an operating profit of €3.1 billion. At present, approximately 88,000 people work for the company all over the world, more than 60,000 of them in Germany. Audi focuses on sustainable products and technologies for the future of mobility.
