​Audi Motorsport Newsletter 08/2015

Alex Yoong wins season opener

Alex Yoong made a lightning start to the opening race of the Audi R8 LMS Cup. At the Zhuhai International Circuit in China, last year’s Audi R8 LMS Cup Champion won from the Swiss Rahel Frey. Rookie Aditya Patel from India took the third and final podium place in his debut Audi R8 LMS Cup race. On the way to victory, Yoong benefitted from the push-to pass function in his Audi R8 LMS. Thanks to this, he was able to take the lead on the first lap from super pole sitter Rahel Frey. He defended his lead over the remaining laps before crossing the line 1.032 seconds ahead of the Swiss woman. The second race was aborted after only three laps due to irregular track conditions. The next round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup is held in South Korea on 16-17 May.

Class victory in Spain

Perfect start for Eric van de Vyver, Tiziano Carugati and Michel Wegelin: the trio from Audi customer team V de V started the race from fourth in class at the opening round of the V de V Endurance Series in Spain. After over four hours of racing and 118 laps around the Circuit de Catalunya, they celebrated victory in the GTV2 class at the wheel of their Audi R8 LMS in the opening race of the season.

Scheider survives endurance test in South Africa

Timo Scheider completed a particularly interesting type of season preparation six weeks before the start of the new DTM season: as member of the Bulls bicycle manufacturer works team, the double DTM Champion competed against the world’s best mountain bike riders in the Cape Epic stage race in South Africa. Scheider finished the demanding eight-day event in 52nd position in his class after completing 740 kilometers and a total elevation change of 16,000 meters between Cape Town University at the foot of Table Mountain to the Meerendal vineyards. The organizers welcomed over 600 participants. “In hindsight it was an amazing event. I really enjoyed it, even though we had to withstand heat, dust, stones and falls,” said Scheider. “However, I’m also happy that I can change the saddle for the cockpit of my Audi RS 5 DTM again soon.”

Award for Le Mans winner

In Basel, Switzerland, the Audi factory drivers Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer visited the watch and jewelry exhibition Baselworld. On the stand of Audi partner Oris, the three Le Mans winners followed the presentation of a new collection released by the Swiss manufacturer of luxury watches. During the presentation they received their new Chronographs from the hands of CEO Ulrich W. Herzog. The new Audi Sport Oris limited edition is produced from titanium. The Audi Sport logo adorns the dial of the watch presented in Basel. Afterwards, they were guests on a Rhine steamer where they met the 120 Oris importers.

A word from ... Dieter Gass

Mr. Gass, behind the scenes a lot of time was spent on fine-tuning the new format for the DTM race weekends. Now the key parameters have been established. As Head of DTM at Audi Sport, are you happy with the result?

We manufacturers extensively discussed the new format with the ITR as the marketer of the series and the German Motorsport Association (DMSB) for a long time. There were numerous constructive ideas and proposals. I think we came up with a good approach. The DTM fans can look forward to a thrilling season and to DTM weekends with high entertainment value. One thing happens right after the other and our teams still have a lot of work to do especially after the first race on Saturday.

You have to explain this to us...

We are driving two races per weekend this year – one on Saturday and one on Sunday. After the first race, there is not much time to prepare the cars for the next day – especially if there are any accidents during the race. This will be a great logistical challenge. We’ll have to make even better use of every minute.

The first race on the DTM weekends lasts 40 minutes without a pit stop and the second one for 60 minutes with a pit stop. What does that mean?

For one, the tires have to last for 40 minutes in the first race – that’s basically not a problem but may well pose a minor challenge on some of the race tracks. In addition, qualifying and the grid position are particularly important in the first race because without a pit stop the drivers can only overtake on track. That’s why they can activate the DRS, in other words the adjustable wing flap, three times per lap this year. This is intended to result in as many overtaking maneuvers as possible – of course during the second race on Sunday as well.

The qualifying format has been changed too: Q1, Q2, Q3 or even Q4 are DTM history...

The motto is: ‘Keep it simple.’ There’s only a 20-minute qualifying session now per race – the fastest driver is in front. With 24 cars now and such a short time, conflicts are preprogrammed. Going out on track and not getting into traffic will be crucial. While in the past the drivers were able to get into their rhythm in Q1 everybody now has to immediately deliver their full performance. So the fans can look forward to very intensive 20 minutes during which almost all of the 24 cars will be out on track. I’m already curious to see if anyone will be bold enough to go out only once in order to save a set of tires for the race; the grid position is too important for that. It’ll be thrilling for the fans

What does the increase from ten to 18 races mean?

That one or two races without points do not automatically mean that there’s no longer a chance of winning the championship. I’m assuming that we’re going to see more drivers in the battle for the title for a longer time in the future. I hope that we’re going to profit from that at Audi. After all, we have a particularly homogeneous driver squad that we clinched the manufacturer’s title with last year. We’re the only brand that doesn’t have a new driver in its line-up. I see that as an advantage for Audi.

Coming up next week

27-28/03 Le Castellet (F), prolog FIA WEC

28/03 Nürburgring (D), VLN round 1

29/03 St. Petersburg (USA), Pirelli World Challenge round 2

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