[source: Audi Sport]
- GT3 success for the Audi R8 LMS in Australia and China
- Audi R8 LMS GT4 wins in China
- Audi RS 3 LMS with 24-hour class victory and other successes
June began perfectly for Audi Sport customer racing as the best customer teams celebrated victories in various competitions on four continents with the entire model range.
Audi R8 LMS GT3
Triumph in Australia: Tony Bates and Daniel Gaunt jointly prevailed in a difficult race on the fourth weekend of the Australian GT Championship at Phillip Island. Race control had to red-flag the event twice so that only 78 of the scheduled 101 laps could be completed after four and a half hours. The victorious number 24 Audi R8 LMS crossed the finish line with a 4.1-second advantage. On clinching success in this endurance race which is part of the Australian Endurance Championship, too, Tony Bates took the lead of the overall standings.
Successful trophy hunters: Audi customer racing drivers secured as many as five trophies on the third weekend of the Australian GT Trophy Series – a racing series for older race car generations. Rio Nugara won race one ahead of Nick Kelly and Matthew Stoupas. In race two, Nugara beat Nick Kelly to the checkered flag. All drivers relied on the Audi R8 LMS ultra.
One-two result in China: On the second race weekend of the China GT, the Audi drivers scored excellent results. Mitch Gilbert and Xu Jia from Team Kings Racing won the first race at Zhejiang in front of David Chen/Michael Choi. Both driver squads relied on the Audi R8 LMS. In race two, Gilbert/Jia clinched second position trailed by Chen/Choi who completed the podium in third place.
Two podiums in Thailand: In round two of the GT Asia Series, Audi customer teams clinched two podium finishes. Absolute Racing in race one took second position with Chinese drivers Sun Jingzu/Cheng Congfu at Buriram. In race two, the two local drivers Kantasak Kusiri and Bhurit Bhirombhakdi in an Audi R8 LMS from Singha Plan B by Absolute Racing placed third.
Trophies at the foot of Mount Fuji: Two Audi customer racing teams mounted the podium after 24 hours of racing at Fuji. In round three of the Super Taikyu Series, Lim Keong Wee/Marchy Lee/Melvin Moh/Max Hofer scored second place for Phoenix Racing Asia. Third place went to J-Fly Racing by Phoenix Racing Asia. Jeffrey Lee/André Couto/Shintaro Kawabata/Alessio Picariello shared the second Audi R8 LMS of the team.
Audi R8 LMS GT4
Victory in China: The Audi R8 LMS GT4 started its career in China successfully. On the second race weekend, Team Kings Racing fielded Audi Sport customer racing’s most recent race car in the China GT for the first time. Estonian Martin Rump and Chinese Zhang Ran won race one at Zhejiang with a 3.8-second advantage.
String of victories continued: Kris Heidorn continues to set the pace in the Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup. The 29-year-old German from Wunstorf won both races at the third event in Hungary. As a result, Heidorn was unbeatable in five of the first six single races. As leader of the standings halfway through the season he has a six-point advantage over Bartosz Paziewski who clinched a second and a seventh place at the Hungaroring. His Polish compatriot Robin Rogalski claimed third position in race two. Two Hungarians made a strong showing on home soil: Csaba Mór achieved third place in race one. Vivien Keszthelyi as runner-up in race two clinched her best result this season in the Audi R8 LMS GT4.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
First victory in Japan: In the season’s longest race in the Super Taikyu Series, the Audi RS 3 LMS at Fuji clinched its first victory in a Japanese competition. Round three of the endurance racing series was the only 24-hour race on the calendar. In the 17th hour of the race, Audi Team DreamDrive Noah took the lead. In the end, Toshiro Tsukada, Yoshikazu Sobu, Yuji Kiyotaki, Kazuyuki Matsumoto, Yukihiro Yamaji and Tadashi Watanabe won the TCR class with an advantage of 22 laps. Team BRP Audi Mie with its drivers celebrated another podium finish. “Hirobon,” “Yossy,” Kie Akiyoshi, Kouichi Okumura, Daisuke Yamawaki and Masanobu Komiya clinched third position in the Audi RS 3 LMS.
Victory and podium in Russia: On the third race weekend of the SMP Russian Circuit Racing Series – the TCR Russia – Dmitry Bragin won race one. Last year’s champion from Team Taif Motorsport prevailed at the Nring with a 0.8-second advantage. In race two, Klim Gavrilov achieved third place in another Audi RS 3 LMS for the Lukoil Racing team.
Success in Canada: Marco Cirone scored the first victory of the Audi RS 3 LMS in the Canadian Touring Car Championship. At Calabogie Motorsports Park on the second weekend of the series, the Canadian only needed a razor-thin margin to win. Just nine thousandths of a second ahead of his closest rival, the Audi privateer driver took victory in round four of the championship.
Serial winner on the mountain: In round three of the Portuguese Hill-climb Championship, Luis Nunes celebrated his third success. The Portuguese who had previously been victorious in his class on the first two race weekends won Division 4 on the track at Serra da Estrela in the Audi RS 3 LMS.
Coming up next week
08–10/06 Red Bull Ring (A), rounds 5 and 6, ADAC GT Masters
08–09/06 Nürburgring (D), rounds 7 and 8, DMV GTC
08–10/06 Shanghai (CN), round 1, China Endurance Championship
09–10/06 Spa (B), rounds 5 and 6, TCR Europe
09–10/06 Spa (B), rounds 5 and 6, International GT Open
09–10/06 Spa (B), rounds 3 and 4, TCR Benelux
08–10/06 Red Bull Ring (A), rounds 5 and 6, ADAC TCR Germany
08–10/06 Red Bull Ring (A), rounds 5 and 6, ASS TCR Swiss Trophy
08–10/06 Assen (NL), rounds 5 and 6, Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy
09–10/06 Navarra (E), round 3, Campeonato de España de Resistencia
