Audi Wins Titles in Various Categories

Audi R8 LMS GT2

Thrilling finale: For the third time in a row, the GT2 European Series title went to Audi Sport customer racing. At the sixth round of the race series at Le Castellet, Team LP Racing from Italy prevailed in the Pro-Am final classification for the first time after the Danish team High Class Racing in 2021 and PK Carsport from Belgium in 2022 were the previous winners. Anthony Beltoise and Henry Hassid won the race series in the Audi R8 LMS GT2 in an exciting battle with the Audi from PK Carsport. In the first 50-minute race on the southern French circuit, PK Carsport with Peter Guelinckx/Stienes Longin received a ten-second penalty for causing an accident and dropped back to eighth place – three positions behind the championship leaders Beltoise/Hassid. In the second race, no fewer than four teams still had a chance of winning the title. LP Racing, with Anthony Beltoise and Henry Hassid, finished fourth. This was enough to win the race series with a one-point lead over KTM driver Reinhard Kofler. Peter Guelinckx/Stienes Longin subsequently received a ten-second penalty for falling short of the minimum standing time during their mandatory pit stop. The two Belgians, who have won four races this year, had to settle for third place in the standings in the end and are now targeting the title win in the Belcar Endurance Series. With six different brands, the GT2 European Series field at the finale was the best field of the season.

Two trophies in America: CJ Moses stood on the podium twice at the ninth round of GT America powered by AWS. In the first race at Indianapolis, the privateer driver secured third place in the GT2 category in the Audi R8 LMS GT2 from GMG Racing. In the second race, he managed to clinch second place.

 

Audi R8 LMS GT3

From pole position to victory: Team Scherer Sport PHX experienced a perfect weekend at the ninth round of the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie. Frank Stippler, who started the race this time together with fellow Audi Sport driver Christopher Mies, secured pole position in the Audi R8 LMS. In a tactically clever race, the Audi customer team from Meuspath relied on the right strategy while the main opponents from Walkenhorst Motorsport had to refuel their BMW shortly before the end and lost the race. While Frank Stippler secured second place in the final standings of the SP9 Pro class and Scherer Sport PHX finished second in the Speed Trophy, the title in the SP9 Am class went to another Audi customer outfit. Michael Heimrich/Lorenzo Rocco secured this amateur classification in the équipe vitesse Audi R8 LMS. It was an emotional end to the season for Scherer Sport PHX: This was the last outing for Ernst Moser on the pit wall, who founded Phoenix Racing in 1999.

Series of successes in Great Britain: In British club racing, Team Cook Racing enjoyed a strong seventh event of the season at Snetterton. Hugo Cook/Sacha Kakad won the first two races of the GT Cup Championship in the Audi R8 LMS. In the following two of the four races, the privateer duo finished second each time. These results were enough for the two Brits to secure the GT3 title of the racing series.

Podium result in an 8 Hour race: The UNO Racing Team clinched a podium finish at the Shanghai 8 Hours with the Audi R8 LMS. Adderly Fong from Hong Kong and his Chinese teammates Rio and Hu Bo secured second place after a strong final sprint. Fong started the final part of the race in third place with a gap of 18 seconds and still improved to second position. Hu Bo has thus managed a step forward in the Audi Sport Asia Trophy for privateers: He is the new runner-up behind leader of the standings Andrew Haryanto.

Second place at the season finale: Johnny O’Connell managed a good GT America powered by AWS finale in the Audi R8 LMS. The privateer driver from Team Ski Autosports had started the first race at Indianapolis in second place. After 40 minutes of racing, he finished second with a gap of just 2.6 seconds behind Memo Gidley, who secured the title.

Trophy in Virginia: At the tenth round of the American Trans-Am club sport race series, a private Audi driver recorded a podium result. Ricky Sanders steered his Audi R8 LMS to second place in the XGT class during the 75-minute race.

Two podium results in France: Marco Reinbold and Paul Hochberger returned with two trophies from the fifth round of the European club racing series P9 Challenge. In the endurance race at Dijon, they finished third in their category in the Audi R8 LMS. In the second sprint, they were the second-best driver team in a GT3 sports car.

Audi R8 LMS GT4

Class success in China: The 326 Racing Team prevailed in the GT4 category at the Shanghai 8 Hours. The driver trio of Wu Yifan, Tang Xudong and Mi Qi shared an Audi R8 LMS GT4 of the Chinese team. At the end of the endurance race, they had an eight-lap lead over the BMW of their pursuers from Team Dixcel.

Second place in the finale: Grégory Guilvert and Christophe Hamon preserved their chances for the Pro-Am title in the finale of the Championnat de France FFSA GT until the very end. At the sixth round at Le Castellet, they secured second place in the first race in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 fielded by Saintéloc Racing. As a result, they won the Pro-Am category in the night race with a 0.175-second advantage over the championship leaders in the Mercedes-AMG and reduced their deficit in the title fight to five points. In the second race, Hamon received a penalty for spinning around an opponent and dropped to 23rd. This brings to an end a streak that has lasted since 2018 of Audi customer teams winning titles in different classes in France every time until last year. Nevertheless, Hamon and Guilvert can look back on a successful season: they won the Pro-Am title in the GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club with the same team in the Audi R8 LMS GT4.

Podium in America: Michael Attaway returns from the tenth round of the Trans Am with a trophy. The American privateer clinched second place in the GT category with his Audi R8 LMS GT4 on the Virginia circuit.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

Fifth victory and title on the Nordschleife: Team Møller Bil Motorsport dominated the TCR category at the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie finale with Anders Lindstad/Kenneth Østvold/Håkon Schjærin. The Norwegian squad celebrated its fifth consecutive victory. For the Audi RS 3 LMS, it was already the sixth victory of the season in this race series. The three privateer drivers had a one-lap advantage over their Volkswagen pursuers at the finish of the four-hour race. As a result, Møller Bil Motorsport won the Nimex Team Trophy in the TCR category.

Four podium places in Italy: At the fifth event of the Coppa Italia Turismo at Mugello, Gabriele Volpato and Sandro Pelatti were the two best of a total of ten Audi privateer drivers in the field. Pelatti won the TCR classification for Team Aikoa Racing in the Audi RS 3 LMS in the first race ahead of Volpato from the BF Motorsport racing team. In the second sprint, Volpato was the winner and opened up a lead of 5.9 seconds over his pursuer in a Honda. Pelatti finished third in the TCR class.

Coming up next week

11–14/10 Road Atlanta (USA), round 11, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
13–14/10 Timaru (NZ), round 5, New Zealand Endurance Championship
13–14/10 Zwartkops (ZA), round 8, G&H Transport Extreme Supercars Series
13–15/10 Ningbo (CN), round 3, China Endurance Championship
13–15/10 Nürburgring (D), round 5, GTC Race
13–15/10 Vallelunga (I), round 4, Campionato Italiano GT Endurance
13–15/10 Vallelunga (I), round 5, TCR Italy
13–15/10 Spa (B), round 7, Supercar Challenge
14/10 Donington (GB), round 6, British Endurance Championship
14–15/10 Nürburgring (D), round 6, Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy
14–15/10 Zandvoort (NL), round 5, GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup
14–15/10 Autopolis (J), round 7, Super GT
14–15/10 Zolder (B), round 5, Belcar Endurance Championship
14–15/10 Vallelunga (I), round 4, GT4 Italy