Audi Motorsport Newsletter 42/2016

Points for ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport as Formula E makes African premiere

Formula E celebrated a successful African premiere to mark the second race of the season. On the 2.971 kilometer street circuit in Marrakesh on the fringes of the UN Climate Conference ‘COP22’, the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport team scored a total of 18 points. Daniel Abt – who started the race from fifth place – crossed the finish line in sixth position after 33 laps. His team mate Lucas di Grassi finished fifth in the race and consolidated second place in the drivers’ standings. The Brazilian started the race from twelfth position after making a braking mistake in qualifying before shining with a spirited comeback drive as he has previously at the season opener in Hong Kong The action continues for di Grassi next weekend with the FIA World Endurance Championship WEC finale in Bahrain, which is simultaneously the end of the sportscar era at Audi after 18 years. The third Formula E race for the ABT Schaeffler Audi Sport squad is held in mid-February in Buenos Aires/Argentina.

Phil Hanson and Nigel Moore take title in Great Britain

In the Dunlop Endurance Championship season finale at Brands Hatch (Great Britain), Phil Hanson and Nigel Moore finished second after starting from pole position in their Audi R8 LMS ultra. As a result, the duo from Audi customer team Tockwith Motorsports clinched the title by just one point.

Audi customer team wins in Japan

In the Super GT season finale at the Twin Ring Motegi (Japan), Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii won race one in the Audi R8 LMS fielded by Audi customer team Hitotsuyama. In the second race they narrowly missed finishing on the podium with fourth place.

VLN with dedicated class for TCR touring cars

The fields for the new Audi RS 3 LMS are becoming increasingly diverse. Starting in the 2017 season, the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring is going to dedicate a class to TCR touring cars as well. In the VLN finale in October, the Audi RS 3 LMS celebrated its successful racing debut in a test run on the Nürburgring-Nordschleife. Audi Sport customer racing will start deliveries of the new touring car to customers before the end of the year.

Benoît Tréluyer ventures onto the ice

After the FIA WEC season concludes, Audi driver Benoît Tréluyer looks forward to a winter sports program under the banner of the four rings. The Frenchman will compete in the French ice racing series Trophée Andros with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. The three-time Le Mans winner will share a four-wheel drive, all-wheel steering Audi A1 quattro with compatriot Nathanaël Berthon. The second Audi from Vincent Vosse’s team will be driven by Formula 1 race winner Olivier Panis and Frenchwoman Bérénice Demoustier. The 2016/2017 season of the Trophée Andros consists of six events in France and one in Andorra between December and January.

Ekström and Green to test at Portimão

This coming week the next tests for the 2017 DTM season will be held. From Monday to Thursday (November 14 to 17), Mattias Ekström and Jamie Green will be driving a prototype of the Audi RS 5 DTM on the Portuguese racetrack at Portimão. Only two weeks later, the DTM’s annual Young Driver Test giving young race drivers an opportunity to test the Audi RS 5 DTM will take place at Jerez (Spain).

Mattias Ekström attends “Golden Steering Wheel” Awards

The Audi Q2 and the Audi A5 Coupé were presented with the “Golden Steering Wheel” awarded by “Auto Bild” and “Bild am Sonntag” at Axel-Springer-Haus in Berlin on Tuesday night. The numerous prominent guests in attendance at the awards ceremony included FIA World Rallycross Champion and DTM campaigner Mattias Ekström. The Audi factory driver has been a member of the “Golden Steering Wheel” jury for many years.

A word from ... Marcel Fässler

The Audi factory driver about the WEC season finale this coming weekend in Bahrain and Audi’s withdrawal from the WEC.

What’s your goal for the WEC finale in Bahrain?

Since Le Mans we have had a car that was essentially competitive and capable of winning. However, there were a lot of incidents that prevented the Audi R18 from winning. We are now fully motivated, and want to show just what the car is capable off and give Audi a victory in its final WEC race.

Audi concludes its program with the Le Mans sports car after 18 years. How do you look back on your time spent with Audi?

It was the best time of my career. I had a fantastic time in the LMP project, was able to drive some fabulous cars and had team mates with whom I am connected by a deep friendship.

With Audi you were the first Swiss automobile World Champion in history and celebrated three victories at Le Mans. From your point of view what was the greatest victory?

I had many great races and results with Audi, however my first victory at Le Mans in 2011 was in hindsight the outstanding experience. Le Mans means a huge amount to me and the race was incredibly tense until the very end, this victory was something unique.

With your team mates Benoît Tréluyer and André Lotterer you became the first FIA WEC World Champions in 2012 and today still hold the record of ten individual race wins. What makes this teamwork so special?

We are three completely different characters, however the team spirit was super from the very beginning. We really gelled and complemented each other exceptionally well. We have been through a lot together on and off the track and this strengthened our bonds.

What was it like working with Audi Sport Team Joest and Audi?

Working with Audi Sport was great fun because we drivers were heavily involved in the development and it was well communicated. Many friendships have been formed between myself and Audi Sport Team Joest. Everybody was always fully motivated, the mechanics worked their fingers to the bone – even when things weren’t going so well all of a sudden. This highlights the special spirit of this team. It was a wonderful journey with Audi and Joest and I am grateful that I was able to be a part of this success.

Coming up next week
17–20/11 Macau (MAC), FIA GT World Cup
17–19/11 Bahrain (BHR), round 9, WEC
19/11 André Lotterer’s 35th birthday