Audi Motorsport Newsletter 08/2016

International Motorsport runner-up in Waikato

Audi Sport customer racing team International Motorsport achieved a podium finish in the New Zealand Endurance Championship at Hampton Downs Motorsport Park in Waikato. In the one-hour race, Neil Foster piloted an Audi R8 LMS ultra from third position on the grid and finished runner-up in the overall race results.

Rockenfeller and Scheider to contest Nürburgring 24 Hours

In total, they have won three DTM titles for Audi, in 2016, they are again competing as teammates in the DTM, and on May 28/29, they are going to form a driver team in the 24-hour race at the Nürburgring: Timo Scheider and Mike Rockenfeller will be competing for Land-Motorsport in the Eifel. The two former winners of the endurance race are going to share the Audi R8 LMS of the privateer from the Westerwald region with their German compatriot Marc Basseng – the 2012 Nürburgring winner – and the American Connor de Phillippi.

Audi Sport Team Abt wins award 

Audi Sport Team Abt delivered the best pit stops in the 2015 DTM season. On Adrien Tambay’s Audi RS 5 DTM, the mechanics from Kempten performed the quickest tire changes. Tire partner Hankook has now presented the team with the Best Pit Stop Award for this feat. Since 2011, the tire manufacturer has been honoring the squad performing the fastest stops. For the Abt crew this marked the second award after 2012. It was also the third time for an Audi team to be victorious after Audi Sport Team Phoenix was the first winner in 2011.

Miguel Molina promotes DTM in Spain

The Spaniard Miguel Molina was pleased to see the keen interest of local media in the DTM. On the Jarama race track near Madrid, the Audi driver got a total of 26 journalists in the mood for the new season. During taxi rides in the Audi RS 5 DTM sporting the livery of partner “Teufel,” the members of the media were amazed about the speedy work at the limit.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT with high-caliber line-up

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT has submitted a subsequent entry for a surprise driver pairing: Will Stevens, a Formula One driver last year, and Audi driver René Rast from the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) are forming a driver team in the Blancpain GT Series. The 24-year-old Briton and the 29-year-old German are going to contest the Endurance Cup and the Sprint Cup of the racing series together in an Audi R8 LMS. The duo will be competing in eight of the ten races – only at the rounds at Brands Hatch (Sprint) and at the Nürburgring (Endurance) they will not be on the grid due to overlaps with FIA WEC commitments.

Product presentation with race drivers in Abu Dhabi

Audi Middle East presented the new Audi R8* and the Audi Sport brand to the media in the region for the first time. Edoardo Mortara was a current motorsport representative at the event, he has been competing for Audi in the DTM since 2011. Five-time Le Mans winner Emanuele Pirro also shared insight from his career with Audi. In addition to the high-performance R8 model, the journalists also learned about the RS 6 Avant*, RS 6 Avant performance*, RS 7 Sportback* and RS 7 Sportback performance*. The 48 media guests experienced the models at the limit on the race track of Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi. At the same time, Audi Middle East also presented seven new Audi Sport dealerships. Romolo Liebchen, who was part of the development of Audi Sport customer racing, was also at the event.

Audi R8 LMS to be featured in TV commercial

The Audi R8 LMS is turning into a TV star. B-Quik is active in Thailand as a major aftermarket service chain and fields the GT3 race car in the local Thailand Super Series. Now a TV commercial has been filmed on the Kaeng Krachan race track near Phetchaburi. The Audi R8 LMS is featured in a starring role in the 30-second commercial that is broadcast in the region. The team members are showing their skills of changing wheels during pit stops, emphasizing their claim of being an efficient service provider to customers in everyday life as well.

André Lotterer visits Audi Forum’s Grand Finale Night in Tokyo

Audi driver André Lotterer was one of 300 guests attending the Grand Finale Night in Tokyo. Audi Forum Tokyo hosted the closing event to thank visitors and employees on the occasion of its tenth anniversary. Audi driver Lotterer has repeatedly attended events and awards ceremonies at Audi Forum Tokyo as a guest before.

A word from ... Timo Scheider

The two-time DTM Champion before the 2016 season.

The 2015 DTM season ended in a victory for you at Hockenheim. What are your plans for 2016?

This victory was a sweet season highlight and it really felt good to start the winter this way. Obviously, as a team, we’d like to pick up again where we left off. For the last race weekend of the 2015 season, we came up with some ideas for our set-up strategy, which clearly helped me. The most recent tests that Mattias Ekström and Jamie Green did for the 2016 season were focused on the same technical aspects. That gives me a positive feeling.

There’s little change in the 2016 season. Will that be of some help to you?

It’s true that there’s little change. According to the regulations, there can be almost no further development of the car. I’ll keep driving for Ernst Moser’s Audi Sport Team Phoenix and Laurent Fedacou will continue to be my engineer for the third consecutive year. We have excellent rapport. For Laurent, the success at Hockenheim was his first ever in the DTM, so the only factor that has changed in my surroundings will be our new chief mechanic. These continuities will no doubt help me be as good as possible from the first race weekend on.

What will be crucial in 2016 when it comes to victories in the DTM?

We’re again talking about nuances that make the difference. We don’t have a lot of practice time before the races, so we need to get everything nailed down as best we can. Especially at the beginning of the season, it’s important to quickly find a good rhythm. The number of races has been new since last year. Before, if you’d finished a race with zero points, you were immediately out of the circle of favorites. Since 2015, we’ve been contesting twice as many races. That means the championship stays open longer and therefore more thrilling, too.

How intensive will the 2016 season be?

This year, I’m going to contest more races in total than in 2015. The DTM and my preparation for it have absolute priority though. But I have the opportunity to drive a second Audi: the Audi R8 LMS. I’m competing for Land-Motorsport in the Nürburgring 24 Hours. The new Audi R8 LMS is absolutely beautiful and a real race car. It was developed by the team of Audi Sport customer racing and its technical director Armin Plietsch, who was my race engineer when we clinched the DTM titles in 2008 and 2009. I’m already looking forward to the DTM season and the endurance race.

Coming up next week 

16–19.03 Sebring (USA), IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship, round 2
17–20.03 Melbourne (AUS), Australian GT Championship, round 2 
18–19.03 Mugello (I), International Endurance Series round 2, 12h Mugello
19–20.03 Barcelona (E), V de V Endurance Series, round 1