The 62nd running of the Twelve Hours of Sebring was a big change from the 61st. Gone were the Le Mans P1 sportscars, but Audi customer teams were there in strength to fight the Daytona GT (GTD) class. Despiterule changes and controversies during the race, the R8 LMS cars put in a good showing, with Flying Lizard’s #35 car driven by Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke, and Filipe Albuquerque placing fifth in class. The Audi motorsport experience at the Turn One Club was the place to watch the race, with a parade lap, paddock and hot pit tours, and new this year, hot laps in R8s.
Coming up fast are the Seventh annual meet at the Audi Technical Center in Clearwater on April 5, and dealership launch events for the new A3 sedan on April 2nd & 3rd. Don’t forget to RSVP if you are interested in attending.
If you’re interested in getting together with fellow members we’d like to hear from you, especially if you live in South or Southwest Florida. If you’re interested in sharing information about an event or becoming a regional contact for the club, contact [email protected].
Cheers,
Walter Moore
Table of Contents
Down the Road
Audi in the News
Member Photos
Classifieds
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April 2nd & 3rd: A3 Launch parties at dealerships around the state
Details about some of these events:
Crown Audi Clearwater, April 3rd 6-9pm, RSVP with Lisa [email protected]
Audi Jacksonville (ACFL Exclusive!), April 2nd 6-9pm, RSVP with Kerry Green [email protected]
April 5 10am-12pm, Seventh Annual Audi Technical Center Meet-Up
Audi Technical Center, 3632 131st Avenue N. Clearwater, FL, 33762
(RSVP with [email protected] by April 3rd. Note: please, no photographs at this event).
June 14, Drop the Flag event for 24 Hours du Mans
(Details TBA)
June 26-July 1, Summer Breeze Dieseling durch Deutschland
http://www.audiclubna.org/2014-audi-club-summer-breeze
A driving tour of Germany in performance Audi models.
For additional information contact Bob Greving at [email protected]
Gulf Coast Region
[email protected]
Jacksonville Region
[email protected]
Other interesting automotive events around Florida:
First Saturday of the Month:
Reeves Motorsports Cars and Coffee, 7-9am, Audi Tampa
Suncoast Audi Cars and Coffee, 7-9am, Suncoast Audi, Sarasota
Lamborghini Palm Beach – all makes and models are welcome 9-11am (time may change)
Orlando Cars and Coffee – contact Stewart Sensor for more information
1530 Celebration Blvd, Celebration Florida from 8am-10am
Second Saturday of the Month:
Gold Coast British Car Show, Boca www.goldcoastbritcar.com
HPDE by Performance Driving Group March/April 2014 (contact [email protected])
April 4-6 Festival of Speed, St. Petersburg www.festivalofspeed.com.
April 19 Wheels Across the Pond British Car Show, Jupiter www.wheelsacrossthepond.com
April 25- 27 Turnberry Isle Concours racepbir.com
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Twelve Hours of Sebring – Audi motorsport experience at Turn One Club gallery
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| Lining up for the Audi Parade Lap |
Audi motorsport experience photo gallery by Walter Moore
If you like, send us your photos and we’ll put them on the audiclubfl.org gallery.
Twelve Hours of Sebring Results Round-up
Audi’s customer racing teams competed in the GTD class at Sebring, leaving the new top class in TUDOR to Fords and Corvettes. The overall win to Marino Franchitti, driving a Ford Ecoboost Prototype. The R8 LMS cars finished 5th, 6th, 8th, 11th, and 12th in the GTD field of 25 cars.
Results for Flying Lizard, Fall-Line, and Paul Miller Racing.
More from /INSIDE QUATTRO
Audi’s secret racecar storage facility – including the Silver Arrows and footage from this year’s R18 E-tron quattro testing at Sebring:
Sales numbers for Audi and BMW
BMW was up 3%, with small SUVs leading growth. The 3/4 series did decently, so it will be interesting to see how the new 1/2-series does. AUDI sales were flat, but still (by four cars) a 38th record month. The A6 and Q7 showed growth, while A4, A5, and allroad sales declined. In the meantime, Audi’s world-wide sales passed BMW, ending the Bavarian’s nine years at the top of the segment.
A3 Launch
Audi is planning “hip” launch parties for the A3 all over the country and a star-heavy cast for TV ads:
We’ll see more of Gervais in this ad campaign.
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Club member cars lined up at the Turn One Club. Shown (among others) are an RS6, R8s, a TT RS, and more:
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Have a picture of your car or some Audi-related news of your own you’d like to share? Send your photo to Walter Moore [email protected].
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If you have a special Audi such as one of the S or RS models or a pre 2000 that you would like to sell, we will list it once in the newsletter. I will need the year, model, color over interior color, and your email address. Longer and non-member postings can be placed in the website. We will also list DKW, NSU, and Wanderer motorcycles. If you are looking for a particular car, once again S, RS or pre 2000 model plus a bike, we will also try to accommodate you here.
For Example: Wanted: Wanderer or DKW motorcycle of motorbike pre 1950 [email protected]
You can also use the Classifieds Forum on the Audi Club of Florida web site.
Final Words..
Welcome to our new ACNA members. Our membership numbers continue to grow; we are now well over 270 members, which mean additional critical mass in different regions of the state and hopefully more events and greater participation. Those of you who are new to the ACNA will receive an on boarding note from David Loppert. If you have any questions feel free to drop a line to David. If you have not had a chance yet check out both the ACNA website, and the Audi Club of Florida website. There is a great deal of good information plus some excellent photos of member’s cars.