Endurance Victory and Championship Lead for Audi in Italy

Another triumph for Audi Sport Italia
First DTM Trophy win of the season for the Audi R8 LMS GT4 in Assen
Class podiums in four countries for the Audi RS 3 LMS

Audi Sport Italia won in the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance with the Audi R8 LMS for the second time this year. With this success, Audi Sport Italia now leads both the drivers’ and the teams’ standings in the endurance and sprint classifications. The Audi R8 LMS GT4 came out on top in the DTM Trophy for the first time this season with a victory and a second place, while Audi privateers celebrated podium successes with the Audi RS 3 LMS in China, Croatia, Germany and Spain.

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Victory and championship lead: Audi Sport Italia clinched victory in the Campionato Italiano GT Endurance for the second time this season. The driver trio of Audi Sport driver Mattia Drudi and his teammates Riccardo Agostini and Lorenzo Ferrari qualified in fourth place. Starting from the second row of the grid, Agostini drove the first stint and advanced to second position. Ferrari then took over the Audi R8 LMS and went into the lead after the first phase of pit stops. The young Italian maintained the first position and handed the car over to his teammate Drudi. The latter took the lead again after the final pit stop phase and finally crossed the finish line with a four-second advantage. As a result of the victory, the Italian driver trio of Agostini, Drudi and Ferrari are now leading the endurance drivers’ standings by three points, while Audi Sport Italia has a ten-point lead in the teams’ title race. This means that the Audi Sport Italia squad is leading both the drivers’ and teams’ standings of the series’ endurance and sprint classifications with one round remaining in each, both scheduled for October.

Second consecutive victory: As in early September at Ningbo, Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute won the second round of the China Endurance Championship. Chen Weian started the 150-minute race for the team from second place on the grid. Despite a drive-through penalty in the first stint, strong pace and a good strategy ensured that Weian and his teammate Cheng Congfu took the lead and celebrated their second consecutive victory in the championship. In doing so, they also extended their lead in the drivers’ championship.

Trophies for a successful season: Audi customer team Phoenix Racing was rewarded for a successful season at the final weekend of the GTC Race series at the Hockenheimring. Salman Owega gave the racing team from the Eifel region not one, but two class titles. He won the SemiPro classification in both the GT3 championships of the Goodyear 60 and the GT Cup Sprint. In addition, the 16-year-old junior driver played a decisive role in his team’s triumph in the GT3 teams’ classification of the GT Cup Sprint. Phoenix Racing was also pleased with two further trophies for podium finishes. On Saturday, Christer Jöns and Markus Winkelhock, in the number 99 Audi R8 LMS, secured third place in the Goodyear 60 endurance race. On Sunday, Salman Owega scored second place in the first race of the GT Cup Sprint. Fabian Plentz finished third in Rutronik Racing’s #2 Audi R8 LMS in the second 30-minute heat, the final race of the GTC Race season.

Fourth victory in a row for the Audi R8 LMS in the STT: During the ADAC Racing Weekend at Hockenheim, Uwe Alzen again experienced two perfect days of racing in the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy (STT). The reigning champion took pole in both of the qualifying sessions with the number one Audi R8 LMS and then went on to take commanding race victories in both races, as he did most recently with his double success at Assen in the Netherlands. Stefan Wieninger also piloted his number 12 Audi R8 LMS to a podium result on Saturday by finishing third.

Three class wins in Norway: At the season finale of the Norwegian sportscar racing series Racing NM, Audi privateer Wiggo Dalmo, in the Audi R8 LMS from Zyrus Engineering, won his class in all three of the races at Rudskogen.

Audi R8 LMS GT4

First win of the season for the Audi R8 LMS GT4: Lucas Mauron was able to turn his pole position for Saturday’s DTM Trophy race at the Dutch TT Circuit in Assen into the first win of the season in the end. The Swiss also maintained his first position at the restart after a safety car period and celebrated a commanding race win in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 fielded by Heide-Motorsport. Mauron also took pole position in the second qualifying session. However, the 23-year-old did not manage to pull off an optimum start in Sunday’s race, but was able to celebrate another podium result with second place.

Trophies in Spain: As the only competitor in the C2 class of the Campeonato de España Resistencia at Valencia, Pierre Arraou finished first in both races of the weekend with an Audi R8 LMS GT4.

Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup

Championship fight: At the third Audi Sport Seyffarth R8 LMS Cup event of the season at the Hockenheimring, Robin Rogalski and Tom Spitzenberger, both driving Audi R8 LMS GT4 cars, were in a class of their own: Rogalski secured victory in the first race of the weekend ahead of Spitzenberger, who displayed an impressive recovery from last place after spinning through no fault of his own. Third place went to Tobias Erdmann. In the second race on Sunday, Rogalski and Spitzenberger again fought it out between themselves. This time, Spitzenberger clinched the victory. Max Zschuppe completed the podium. Before the final race weekend in Most, Czech Republic, Rogalski is leading the drivers’ standings despite being tied on points with Spitzenberger, thanks to having one more victory so far this season.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

1-2 victory in China: The 326 Racing Team celebrated its first class win this season in the China Endurance Championship – the second in a row for the Audi RS 3 LMS. The driver duo of Li Sicheng and Wu Yifan won the TCE class in the 150-minute race and led the Z-Speed team to a one-two victory with the entry-level TCR touring car from the brand with the four rings. Yang Xiaowei, Xu Zhefeng and Chu Xu finished in second place.

Class victory in Spain: At the third race weekend of the Campeonato de España Resistencia at Valencia, Audi privateer drivers Álvaro Fontes Blanco and Mirco van Oostrum won the TCR class in the second race of the weekend, one day after they had already clinched second place in the opening race. The duo shared an Audi RS 3 LMS from CDS Engineering.

Second place in Croatia: At the Grobnik circuit, the Tecnodom Sport team celebrated its third podium in as many races of the TCR DSG Europe season. Drivers Jonathan and Steven Giacon, together with Luca Rangoni, finished the two-hour race in second place with an Audi RS 3 LMS. The Giacon brothers continue to lead the standings.

Class podiums: Audi privateer Max Frederik Gruhn finished third in his class with an Audi RS 3 LMS in both of the Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy races at Hockenheim.