- Audi customers celebrate championship successes with the R8 LMS in the UK, at European level and in Asia
- Victories for the Audi RS 3 LMS in Denmark, France, Mexico and New Zealand
- Audi presents itself at the Vienna Electric Days
[source: Audi AG]
The international customer teams of Audi Sport customer racing won a total of five titles in one weekend with the Audi R8 LMS in the GT3 version. In addition to the overall victory in the British Endurance Championship, two class titles each in the European 24H Series and in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS have been achieved. Following its fourth win of the season, another customer team also maintains the lead in the Europe-wide International GT Open. A series of first-class results for the Audi RS 3 LMS in touring car racing completed a convincing weekend.
Audi R8 LMS GT3
Racing titles on two continents: Three different Audi Sport customer racing teams had every reason to celebrate in mid-September. In the British Endurance Championship, the PB Racing by JMH team sealed its first overall title with its sixth win of the season. The team relied on an Audi R8 LMS for the second year in a row. Peter Erceg, who has New Zealand and British citizenship, and his British driver colleague Marcus Clutton won the two-hour race at Snetterton in the Audi with a six-lap lead. What sounds like a large gap was a challenge throughout the season against the backdrop of a special handicap rule: According to the regulations, full points are only awarded if GT3 sports cars such as the Audi R8 LMS achieve a prescribed number of laps ahead of the participants in the other classes, depending on the track and lap times. Each safety car deployment reduced the chances of a large gap. While Marcus Clutton is also successful in other racing series, Gentleman driver Peter Erceg says it was the biggest success of his career to date. Saintéloc Racing contributed further titles in Europe. At the European season finale of the 24H Series powered by Hankook, the French team finished second overall and won the Pro-Am class in the driver and team standings. During the Barcelona 24 Hours, Michael Doppelmayr, Elia Erhart, Christer Jöns, Pierre Kaffer and Stéphane Tribaudini took turns at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS. As a result, Doppelmayr, Erhart and Kaffer won the Pro-Am title in the racing series and finished second in the overall standings. At the finale of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, an Audi customer team from Asia secured two more class titles. Cheng Congfu/Adderly Fong are the new champions in both the Silver Cup and the China Cup. They drove the Audi R8 LMS of the FAW Audi Sport Asia Racing Team to third place overall and second place in the Silver class in the first of two races in Shanghai. Race victory in the Silver class and second place overall went to James Yu Kuai and Akash Nandy in an Audi R8 LMS of Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute. At the sixth round of the International GT Open racing series, Team Eastalent Racing showed fighting spirit in their home race. The Austrian team came to the Red Bull Ring with Christopher Haase/Simon Reicher with a three-point lead. However, after ninth place in the first race, the driver duo was ten points behind the new championship leader Alessio Deledda. In the second race, Peter Reicher’s team turned the tide and achieved its fourth win of the season. After Haase improved from third on the grid to second place in the first half of the race, Reicher took the lead after the pit stops and built up an eight-second lead over a Ferrari. With two events still to go, Haase/Reicher once again have a three-point lead over Lamborghini driver Deledda, as they did before the weekend. The South Island Endurance Series began in New Zealand with a victory for a private Audi R8 LMS. Steve Brooks/Bill Riding also benefited from the bad luck of their rivals Glen Brazier/Andrew Waite on the Teretonga circuit, whose Lamborghini dropped back with alternator problems. As a result, the Audi privateers crossed the finish line with a seven-lap lead after three hours of racing. In the one-hour race at the same event, Adam Julian finished second in another Audi R8 LMS, 2.5 seconds behind Porsche driver Hugh Gardiner.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
Victories around the globe: Team Clairet Sport enjoyed a successful fifth event in the Championnat de France FFSA Tourismewith the Audi RS 3 LMS. Sébastien Thome won the TCR class in three of the four sprints on the demanding Dijon circuit. Audi’s customer teams collected four trophies on the fourth race weekend of the Coppa Italia Turismo. Demir Eröge from Aikoa Racing was second in the TCR classification in the first race in his Audi RS 3 LMS ahead of Ramazan Kaya in an Audi from BF Motorsport. In the second race in Vallelunga, the order was reversed. In the fifth round of the Danish Endurance Championship, Stefan Lorenzen/Niels Nyboe achieved their third class victory of the season. The two Danes won the second race in Padborg in an Audi RS 3 LMS with a 5.6-second lead. At the opening round of the New Zealand South Island Endurance Championship in Teretonga, Warren Black came out on top in the one-hour competition. He won Class 4 in an Audi RS 3 LMS by 1.7 seconds. In the three-hour race, Scott O’Donnell/Steven Kelly in another Audi were the best participants in Class 4. In the fourth round of the TCR Mexico, Gerardo Nieto in the Audi RS 3 LMS from RE Motorsport won the first race in Mexico City by 9.6 seconds. His teammate Pablo Pérez de Lara took second place in the second race.
Audi Sport
Dakar winner at Vienna Electric Days: Audi was one of the protagonists at the 4th Vienna Electric Days. Gernot Döllner, CEO of Audi, emphasized the progress made in premium electromobility in his presentation. He expects increasing charging capacities and more efficient vehicle concepts to become key elements in the BEV transformation and thus lay the foundation for growing customer acceptance. In addition to design and UX/UI operation, Audi will therefore differentiate itself in the premium segment in the future primarily through Vorsprung durch Technik in the area of vehicle efficiency.
Racing and rally driver Mattias Ekström, two-time DTM champion and Dakar stage winner with Audi, talked about his enthusiasm for e-mobility in motorsport. The brand’s Dakar prototype was a much admired attraction. The innovative model with electric drive, high-voltage battery and energy converter, with which Audi won the world’s toughest desert rally for the first time in January, was one of the most popular photo motifs on Heldenplatz square in Vienna.
Coming up next week
20–21/09 Killarney (ZA), round 7, Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop
20–22/09 Monza (I), round 4, Fanatec GT Endurance Cup
20–22/09 Monza (I), round 5, Fanatec GT2 European Series
20–22/09 Monza (I), round 5, GT4 European Series
20–22/09 Indianapolis (USA), round 9, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
20–22/09 Vallelunga (I), round 5, TCR Italy
20–22/09 Assen (NL), round 5, Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy
20–22/09 Anneau du Rhin (F), round 5, Belcar Endurance Championship
21–22/09 Thruxton (GB), round 6, TCR UK
21–22/09 Salzburgring (A), round 6, TCR Eastern Europe
