Audi Motorsport Newsletter 22/2015

Audi R8 LMS ultra finishes second and third in Italy

Audi Sport Team Italia celebrated its first two podium results of the season at the third Italian GT Championship race weekend at Imola: after starting from the third row, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini fought their way up to second place in the first race. Their team mates Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli, who missed the first race due to a defect, also took a podium after finishing third in the second race.

CRP Racing takes podium finish at Road America

At the seventh round of the Pirelli World Challenge at Road America (USA), Mike Skeen took a podium finish in an Audi R8 LMS ultra for Audi customer team CRP Racing. Skeen finished third overall in the eleventh race of the season, which had been cancelled due to torrential rain four weeks previously in Detroit, and was now held at Road America.

AB Sport Auto in the top 3

The French Audi customer team AB Sport Auto took a podium result in its class at the fourth round of the V de V Endurance Series in the three-hour race at Dijon, France. Eric van de Vyver/Tiziano Carugati/Claude Terrier finished the endurance race in third place in the GTV2 class in their Audi R8 LMS.

Podium in the GTM class

Jerry Wang finished third in the GTM category in an Audi R8 LMS fielded by Absolute Racing at the second GT Asia race weekend held at Okayama, Japan. Wang initially led the GTM class in the first race, was put under pressure and dropped down to third after a spin.

Audi in the Spa 24 Hours with Le Mans winners and a DTM Champion

Four Le Mans winners, a DTM Champion, plus many GT winners – the four new Audi R8 LMS cars will be well-filled at the Spa 24 Hours on July 25/26, 2015. In Audi Sport Team WRT, last year’s winners, René Rast/Laurens Vanthoor/Markus Winkelhock (D/B/D) will share an R8 LMS. Sitting in the second race car will be two former winners of the iconic race in the Ardennes, Frank Stippler (D) and Stéphane Ortelli (MC), plus DTM driver Nico Müller (CH), who celebrated the first 24-hour race victory for the new R8 LMS at the Nürburgring in May. Audi Sport Team Phoenix will field a GT3 sports car for Marcel Fässler (CH) and André Lotterer (D). The three-time Le Mans winners will share driving duties with Mike Rockenfeller (D), the 2013 DTM champion and 2010 Le Mans winner. In the second Phoenix cockpit, three 24-hour Nürburgring race winners, Christopher Mies (D), Christian Mamerow (D) and Nicki Thiim (DK), will take turns at the wheel.

Edoardo Mortara to start in Audi R8 LMS Cup

Edoardo Mortara will contest three races in Asia only one week after the DTM race around the Norisring. The Audi driver competes as wildcard starter in the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the third event of the season in Taiwan. The pro racer from Geneva competed as guest in Audi Sport customer racing Asia’s one-make trophy in 2012 and 2013. At that time he took victories in Shanghai and Macau. “It’s always nice to return to the Audi R8 LMS Cup and to measure yourself against your opponents,” said the 28-year old Italian.

Audi welcomes guests from sport and industry in Nuremberg

Athletes from two different disciplines visited the Audi racers at the Norisring. The ice hockey players from ERC Ingolstadt and FC Ingolstadt team members got a taste for racing in the center of Nuremberg with Audi’s DTM squad. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann, General Partner of the Schaeffler Group, also visited the third DTM weekend.

Two Scandinavians at the Norisring

With Tom Kristensen and Edward Sandström, two racing drivers from Scandinavia connected with Audi performed different jobs at the Norisring. Sandström jumped between driving the Audi RS 5 DTM Race Taxi and the Audi R8 LMS. The Swede steered his original winning car from the 24 hours at the Nürburgring in May. Tom Kristensen attended the event at the Norisring as ‘Race Consultant’ for the Race Stewards. The Dane also presented the trophies during the FIA Formula 3 European Championship victory ceremony. The nine-time Le Mans winner finished his career last year. In November, he returns to a race car cockpit for the ‘Race of Champions’ in London.

Audi employees and partners cheer on from the stands

The Audi teams and drivers were pleased once again about the strong support at the Norisring. More than 1,300 Audi employees were not going to miss the opportunity to cheer on their racers on location in the employee tent. However, the race in Nuremberg is not only a home event for the Ingolstadt based company. The Schaeffler Group, one of Audi’s partners in the DTM, is based in Herzogenaurach. 1,000 company employees visited the third DTM race weekend. The Hoffmann Group was also in Nuremberg with several hundred employees and customers.

Fascination Le Mans at Goodwood and in Nuremberg

Audi brought the flair of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to Germany and England. Benoît Tréluyer drove the Audi R18 e-tron quattro from Le Mans in front of huge crowds at the ‘Festival of Speed’ at Goodwood. His stablemates André Lotterer and Oliver Jarvis were in demand for autographs and interviews. Their WEC team mate Marcel Fässler visited the DTM at the Norisring, where the Swiss drove the Audi RS 5 DTM Race Taxi and presented a trophy at the Audi Sport TT Cup victory ceremony. Like the public at Goodwood, the German fans could also admire an Audi R18 e-tron quattro, which was on display on Audi’s stand in Nuremberg.

Audi engineer Leena Gade advertises for her profession

Experience from Le Mans in the auditorium: Leena Gade, who has won the 24 Hours of Le Mas three times as Audi race engineer, spoke as guest speaker at the ‘National Women in Engineering Day’. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London had invited female students as well as working female engineers to share experiences. “It’s great to meet other female engineers,” said Leena Gade. “This event has developed positively for many years now and inspires young women for our occupation.”

Tom Kristensen tries high-speed sailing

Audi Sport legend Tom Kristensen paid yet another visit to the Kieler Woche when he attended the 121st running of the event on Monday and Tuesday. The nine-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans insisted on taking the opportunity during the regatta, held since 1882, to sail on the Baltic Sea on the Oman Sail team’s MOD70-Trimaran skippered by Frenchman Sidney Gavignet. With a maximum speed of up to 40 knots, this racing class is regarded as one of the fastest in the world. Audi is premium partner to the Kieler Woche since 2010.

A word from... Dieter Gass

The Head of DTM at Audi Sport about the difficult Norisring weekend for Audi.

Mr. Gass, what’s your take on the Norisring event?

It was a fantastic weekend for the DTM. The new format with two races was a hit in Nuremberg. The grandstands were full for the first race on Saturday. And the number of spectators on Sunday was quite simply impressive. All the grandstand seats were sold out. The good rating of 11.7 per cent market share in Germany for Saturday’s TV broadcast was also pleasing. This shows that the new DTM format is popular.

And from the racing side?

We knew in the literal sense of the word that we would have a heavy time this weekend. On no other race track is the performance weight as noticeable as it is around the Norisring – not least because of the short lap and the traditionally very close qualifying times. Which is why the performances of Jamie Green and Mattias Ekström are all the more remarkable. They made the best out of our situation. It’s just a shame that Jamie was prevented from scoring possible points on Sunday. It’s inacceptable how the championship leader was treated on track. It’s not okay when he’s attacked so hard that he has to go to the pits afterwards with damage.

What’s your view on Bruno Spengler’s decisive maneuver against Mattias Ekström?

In contrast to the maneuver against Jamie, it was hard but fair. I think the spectators want to see such things. It was real touring car racing.

What do you expect at Zandvoort in 14 days?

It’s positive that we lost a lot of weight at the Norisring. I’m convinced that we’ll be capable of winning again at Zandvoort. However, we won’t make the mistake of underestimating our competitors. The fans can already look forward to two more thrilling DTM races.

Coming up next week

03–04/07 Hockenheim (D), DMV GTC, race 7 and 8
04/07 Nürburgring (D), VLN, round 4
04–05/07 Lausitzring (D), ADAC GT Masters, race 7 and 8
04–05/07 Red Bull Ring (A), GT Open, race 7 and 8
04–05/07 Val de Vienne (F), French GT Championship, race 7 and 8
04–05/07 Lausitzring (D), Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy, race 5 and 6
04–05/07 Taiwan (RC), Audi R8 LMS Cup, race 5 and 6
05/07 Fuji (J), Super Taikyu Series, round 3
05/07 Moscow (RUS), Blancpain Sprint Series, round 4

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