Audi Motorsport Newsletter 25/2015

Podium for Audi driver Jerry Wang

Jerry Wang celebrated a podium finish in his class during the third GT Asia race weekend. The Hong Kong-Chinese produced a great recovery drive in his Audi R8 LMS fielded by Absolute Racing at the Fuji Speedway, Japan. Wang started the GTM category from sixth place in the wet and rainy conditions before crossing the finish line in third place after 29 laps.

Audi drivers team-up for cycle tour

The Audi drivers from DTM and WEC used the summer weather to explore the region close to Audi Sport in Neuburg on two wheels. The endurance and sprint drivers pedaled through the Altmühltal nature park along with the Team Bosses as well as Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich, Dieter Gass (Head of DTM) and Chris Reinke (Head of LMP). “We used the relaxed atmosphere to sharpen our senses for the tasks we face in the second half of the season,” said Dr. Ullrich.

Audi race drivers at R8 presentation

In July, in Portugal, the Audi R8 high-performance sports car will be unveiled to international media for the first time. At the trackside event at Portimão, six former and current Audi race drivers will be present as well. Markus Winkelhock and Rahel Frey, who are successful in the racing version, the R8 LMS, and the former Le Mans winners Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen, Dindo Capello and Marco Werner will be on hand as experts for interviews. On request, the professional race drivers will also be pleased to chauffeur the journalists around the race track at the Algarve in the race taxi of the new Audi R8 LMS GT3 sports car.

Rahel Frey at Ski Champions Golf in St. Moritz

Audi driver Rahel Frey visited the famous downhill ski run ‘Freier Fall’ (‘Free Fall’) in St. Moritz on Thursday and met with ski racer Marc Berthod. They had accepted an invitation by the 2017 FIS Alpine World Ski Championships St. Moritz and Audi. At the start of the ‘Freier Fall’ men’s downhill run at Corviglia with a 100 percent descent, the World Cup downhillers accelerate from 0 to 140 km/h in six seconds. Even for experienced racers like Rahel Frey or Marc Berthod, who are used to going to their limits in terms of extreme centrifugal forces, this is an exceptional experience. “For me as someone who is not a professional skier, it is nearly impossible to imagine that you can reach the finish unharmed on this run,” Frey said in awe. Afterwards, the Audi St. Moritz Ski Champions Golf Get-Together in front of the quattro Bar at Corviglia was on the Swiss’ agenda.

Audi engineer Leena Gade visits Formula Student

Exchange with young generation: Audi engineer Leena Gade visited the opening event of Formula Student UK. Along with other motorsport engineers like Ross Brawn and Willem Toet, she got in touch with the students who put the race cars they developed themselves on track. “Especially with the fresh impressions from the Le Mans 24 Hours, it was interesting to listen to the participants’ questions, meet with the teams and give them a few tips,” said Leena Gade, who as an Audi race engineer has won the Le Mans 24 Hours three times so far.

Marcel Fässler at Land-Water Fun Race in Einsiedeln

Self-built amphibian vehicles that can travel on land and water and are visually reminiscent of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro? Marcel Fässler was amazed at what he saw when he visited the Land-Water Fun Race in his home town of Einsiedeln. The Swiss Audi racer and his family were guests at the event that saw up to 50 vehicles prove their prowess on water at the Einsiedeln Summer Carnival. Members of his fan club had built six amphibian vehicles from wood and Styrofoam. “Absolutely reliable, able to float, maneuverable with paddles and designed to match our Le Mans race cars – awesome, my compliments to the participants,” said a pleased Marcel Fässler.

Duel of the triggers

An unusual duel at Bilster Berg: A slot-car race on Saturday was the scene for a face-off between Christer Jöns and Dominik Peitz, an Audi GT driver against one of the youngsters in the Audi Sport TT Cup. The internal Audi-duel was decided in favor of Jöns, who was piloting a new Audi R8 LMS. Both agreed with their comments: “It was a lot of fun and we will come back for more!”

A word from ... Markus Winkelhock

Markus Winkelhock is returning in the Audi R8 LMS to the Spa 24 Hours as last year’s winner.

A year ago, you won the Spa 24 Hours for the first time together with René Rast and Laurens Vanthoor. What makes this endurance race so special?

There is no other race in the world in which about 60 GT3 sports cars meet. Competing in a field of eleven marques is a dream for the fans, as well as for us race drivers. Last year, we saw how challenging this competition is. After nearly 3,700 kilometers on track, we won with an advantage of just seven seconds. I’m happy about racing again with René and Laurens for Audi Sport Team WRT.

Audi developed a new R8 LMS for the 2015 season. The sports car won its first 24-hour race at the Nürburgring in May. What opportunities are you expecting to have with it at Spa?

The car is great to drive. It has become better in all areas and the customers for whom we developed it will enjoy it as well. Although the R8 LMS is production-based, it feels like a true race car. Traction control and ABS are much better than before, which is helpful especially across the 24-hour distance. At the Nürburgring, our team-mates proved that the car is capable of winning. Obviously, we’d like to be in contention for the top spot at Spa. But there’s also a slightly different balance of performance rating for the various race cars. Plus, we’re driving with a different tire manufacturer – Pirelli instead of Michelin – who is mandatory for all the participants. So we’ll be challenged. In addition, a 24-hour race is always completely unpredictable.

How are you personally preparing?

At the end of July, temperatures are typically very high. In contrast to the Nürburgring, where four of us were on the grid, only three drivers per car are allowed to compete at Spa. So, there’ll be a great physical strain on us across the distance. The fitness training was part of my preparation and in July we also familiarized ourselves in the new Audi R8 LMS with the circuit in the Ardennes in an official test. I’m optimistic but respect our opponents as well. There are quite a few teams in contention for victory – including our strong team-mates.

Coming up next week
24-25/07 Hockenheim (D), DMV GT, rounds 9 and 10
25/07 Lime Rock (USA), Tudor United SportsCar Championship, round 6
25-26/07 Spa (B), 24h Spa, Blancpain Endurance Series, round 4
25-26/07 Snetterton (GB), GT Cup Championship, rounds 13, 14 and 15
25-26/07 Buriram (THA), Thailand Super Series, rounds 3 and 4

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