Audi in the TCR: Second generation of the Audi RS 3 LMS ready for the race track

Audi Sport customer racing unveiled the successor to its successful RS 3 LMS model in February 2021. Following testing in the FIA WTCR and in test sessions, the second generation of the entry-level touring car has been in production since the third quarter of 2021. The model, which has been improved in many areas, is set to continue a series of great successes of the first generation in international TCR touring car racing, both in sporting and commercial terms. The focus during development was always on optimum customer benefit.

The Audi RS 3 LMS, which has been offered since the end of 2016, stands for records in the Audi Sport customer racing model range. No other model has been produced as in such large numbers in a single vehicle generation as the RS 3 LMS, of which 180 units were built. And no model with the four rings is currently used more frequently by customers around the world in racing than the compact four-door model. Up to the end of 2020, the model made 3,105 appearances in a total of 1,051 races around the globe in its life cycle to date. On average, there were almost three Audi RS 3 LMS cars on the grid in each race. A remarkable achievement in a category that is exclusively for customers and in which Audi has not been involved on the factory side with the exception of a two-year program in the FIA WTCR in 2018 and 2019. In the four years since its launch, the race car has clinched a total of 764 podium places in Africa, North and South America, Asia, Australia and Europe, including 279 victories. This is a win rate of 26.5 percent in an extremely tough competition in which TCR race cars from up to 14 manufacturers go head-to-head. 16 drivers titles in the first four years, 38 further championship successes and a total of five class victories in 24-hour races characterize the sporting record of the entry-level model, which was the global “TCR Model of the Year” in 2018.

“Our new Audi RS 3 LMS thus takes on a great and responsible legacy,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “The focus of our development goals for our latest model was on the customers. Whether it’s about running times or setup options, safety or cockpit ergonomics: we want to offer the teams a car that’s even more of a race car than before, that has many practical advantages in everyday use and that can be operated economically thanks to long running times.” Customers benefit from an intercontinental service network, a reliable supply of parts and the continuous further development of the race car over the course of its model lifecycle.

The TCR category offers beginners as well as gentleman drivers, but also touring car professionals, cost-effective racing with production-based models. The WSC organization currently has about 30 national, regional and international TCR racing series and classes licensed worldwide, in most of which the Audi RS 3 LMS has been firmly established on the grid for a long time. In addition, teams use the race car for other programs in many regions, primarily in endurance racing in mixed sports and touring car series. TCR touring cars have long since become firmly established in classic racing nations as well as in emerging countries. Hardly any other category is so widespread in global motorsport.

With the second generation of the RS 3 LMS, Audi is committed to the continuity of an entry-level model in its vehicle range, a low-cost discipline in racing, customer racing as a central pillar in this class, and predictability and consistency vis-à-vis a loyal customer base worldwide. Multiple examples prove that Audi’s race car is also ideally suited for national retail organizations, and even individual dealers, to raise their own profile in the market in an affordable and popular racing category. In the basic design of its body, but also in many characteristic accents of its design from the radiator grille to the titanium gray rims, the new Audi RS 3 LMS is closely related to the high-performance models from Audi Sport. It is thus the perfect link between a fast model family for everyday use and fascinating touring car racing on the race track.