Search

ABT Sportsline concentrates on two Audi R8 LMS cars Tresor Orange1 with two drivers in the DTM for the first time Up-and-coming Liqui Moly Team Engstler faces first GT3 season Audi Sport customer racing relies on a strong customer base in the DTM in 2023 as well. Three established teams – including an up-and-coming touring car racing team with motor racing experience – will contest the tradition-steeped series with the Audi R8 LMS, which will be held under new auspices this year. “The DTM offers Audi Sport excellent opportunities together with the experienced customer teams,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Rolf Michl. “We can pursue exciting motorsport in the important performance market Germany with the Audi R8 LMS in competition with first-class rivals.” The DTM enters the 2023 season under new auspices after ADAC acquired the brand rights on December 2, 2022. The calendar includes eight events spread across Germany, the Netherlands and Austria. The racing series, which was founded in 1984, will kick off its new season at Oschersleben from May 26 to 28. Audi drivers have won the DTM twelve times since 1990. “We expect that the 2023 DTM, now organized by ADAC, will be characterized by a high performance density, exciting races and a future-oriented focus,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “It’s all the more pleasing that we can rely on high-performance partner teams with great knowledge.” Team ABT Sportsline from Kempten in the Allgäu region with ABT Motorsport director Martin Tomczyk was the best Audi customer team in the DTM in each of the past two years with Kelvin van der Linde finishing third (2021) as well as René Rast (2022). It thus made a major contribution to Audi winning the manufacturers title last year. This year, the squad that provided the DTM Champion in 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008 and 2009 again relies on Kelvin van der Linde from South Africa and the Swiss Audi Sport driver Ricardo Feller.

Its “older brother”, the Audi TT clubsport quattro, was developed from the 2007 show car, and as bronze medallist has also been selected for the exhibition. The remaining cars in this “hit parade”: the Audi A1 Hot Rod, the Q5 Custom Concept, the Audi Fox Wagon, the DKW Meisterklasse Universal Type F 89 S, the Audi Front 225 roadster, the Audi RS2 Avant, the R8 Spyder “Iron Man 2” and the Q7 Pickup.

Audi R8 LMS GT3 Number 1 is back in the lead: On the fourth race weekend of the International GT Open, Christopher Haase/Simon Reicher achieved a breakthrough with the number 1 car: after four second places in the individual races of the first half of the season, the German-Austrian driver duo recorded their first win of the season at the Hungaroring. Haase laid the foundation for this with the fastest time in the second qualifying session, which was a clear 0.543 seconds ahead. The Audi R8 LMS led all 34 laps of Sunday’s one-hour race and ultimately won by 10.580 seconds at the gates of Budapest. Haase was the starting driver, Reicher took over the cockpit at the pit stop. The team from Upper Austria has thus won the 300th race of this Europe-wide series at the halfway point of the season. Former racing driver Jesús Pareja originally launched the competition in 1999 as the IBER GT. Last year’s champions Haase/Reicher turned a two-point deficit in the standings into a four-point lead in Hungary. Two other Audi customer teams also clinched trophies: Saintéloc Racing achieved third place in the Pro-Am classification with Michael Blanchemain/Marcus Påverud in the first race. Second place in this class went to Team ISR with Libor Milota/Filip Salaquarda in the second race. At the second round of the Thailand Super Series, B-Quik Absolute Racing put in a convincing performance in front of a large crowd. In the first race on the Bangsaen street circuit, Akash Nandy started from pole position in the team’s Audi R8 LMS. He immediately built up a lead, which was of great importance in view of the regulations. As his teammate Deng Yi has FIA Silver driver status and the driver pairing was competing in this racing series for the first time, an extended mandatory pit stop time of 156 seconds applied. With a 13-second lead, Nandy handed his Audi over to his Chinese teammate at the stop, who initially maintained the lead but then dropped back to second place.

Audi RS 3 LMS scores podium finishes in Italy Overall victory for the Audi R8 LMS GT2 in Spain Audi R8 LMS GT3 on the podium again in Italy Customer racing successes were concentrated on southern Europe during the second weekend in July: Audi customer teams achieved podium results with the Audi RS 3 LMS at Mugello, Italy, and are leading four of the TCR Italy championship classifications. In the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance at the same venue, an Audi R8 LMS also finished in the top three. The Audi R8 LMS GT2 celebrated an overall victory and second place in the Campeonato de España GT in Spain. The weekend was rounded off with a class win in Portugal for the GT4 version of the Audi R8 LMS. Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR) Leading the standings in Italy: At the third round of TCR Italy at Mugello, customer teams with the Audi RS 3 LMS took podium places in all four races. Private driver Nicola Baldan from Aikoa Racing achieved second place in both heats of TCR Italy and twice won the Master class. With these strong results, the Italian moved up from seventh to first place in the overall TCR Italy drivers’ standings, while he also leads the Master class. With third place overall in the second race, Canadian Nicolas Taylor from PMA Motorsport also won the rookie classification and the classification for drivers under 25 years of age. He continues to lead the rookie standings. In the TCR Italy DSG for models from the Volkswagen Group with dual clutch transmissions, seven drivers relied on the previous generation of the Audi RS 3 LMS. Here, the Italian Luca Franca in the Audi RS 3 LMS from Aikoa Racing finished runner-up in the first race with a grid of 19 participants, ahead of his compatriot Luca Verdi, who won the class for drivers under 25. In the second race, Luca Franca was back on the podium with third place.

Here is an overview of the most important successes from the factory teams and customer racing. 2025 Winner Misano 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner DMV Super Touring & GT Cup (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner GT America powered by AWS GT2 (Audi R8 LMS GT2) Winner GT World Challenge Australia powered by AWS Pro-Am Drivers (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Rafa Racing Club Silver Drivers (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner North Island Endurance Series 3 Hour (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner TCR Asia (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR Italy (Audi RS 3 LMS) 2024 Winner Dakar Rally (Audi RS Q e-tron) Winner Gulf 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Dubai 24 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Nürburgring 24 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Belcar Endurance Championship TA Class (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner British Endurance Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Coppa Italia Turismo (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner FFSA GT4 France Pro-Am (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner GT America powered by AWS SRO3 Drivers (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner GT Sprint Challenge GT3 (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner GT Sprint Challenge GT4 (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge Drivers (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner International GT Open (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner South Island Endurance Series 3 Hour (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin TCR (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR European Endurance (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR Italy (Audi RS 3 LMS) 2023 Winner Sepang 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Mugello 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Spa 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Monza 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Thunderhill 25 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner 24H Series European Championship GT3 Drivers (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Belcar Endurance Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT2) Winner China Endurance Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Coppa Italia Turismo (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner Coppa

The R8 was Audi’s first super sports car and the result of a cooperation with subsidiary Lamborghini A total of 45,949 units have left the Neckarsulm and Böllinger Höfe plants since 2007 The final particular model is a pinnacle: the R8 V10 GT RWD with rear-wheel drive A super sports car legend takes its leave: In its 17 years, the Audi R8 has captured hearts and celebrated just as many successes. After 45,949 units produced, the final R8 rolled off the line at Böllinger Höfe in March 2024. A look back at an unparalleled success story. Breathtaking design, a tantalizing engine sound, and driving dynamics like no other road-legal Audi ever offered: When it was unveiled in 2006, the R8 was a revolution – in Germany and around the world. A mid-engine super sports car; never before had Audi offered such a vehicle. With the R8, Audi moved into more exclusive segments previously dominated by brands such as Ferrari, Porsche, and Lamborghini. The Audi R8 was developed and built by the former quattro GmbH (today: Audi Sport GmbH). It immediately became the sporty icon in the company’s product portfolio and continues to contribute to the exclusive image of the Audi brand to this day. The R8 name refers to a successful race car that brought Audi more wins at Le Mans than any other manufacturer in history: In 1999, Audi launched its legendary Le Mans program with a sports prototype that started in the LMP900 class. The first name of this racing prototype was R8. It won at the 24 Hours of Le Mans in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2004, and 2005, making it the Le Mans sports car with the most victories in modern history. The prototype claimed more victories at the 12 Hours of Sebring, a race in the USA, which it won every year from 2000 to 2005. With these victories, Audi increased its prestige in international racing and laid the foundation for the road-legal R8 super sports car.

Tom Kristensen has been having the names of his children, Oliver Victor, Carla Malou and Oswald William, painted on the sides of his helmet since 2007? The back of the helmet shows the word ‘Videre,’ a Danish expression that means ‘carry on,’ which his father Carl Erik often used. ... Allan McNish, since the beginnings of his racing career in karting in 1981, has been wearing helmets with the Scottish Hunting MacInnes Tartan on them? ... Allan McNish’s motto is: “Always go flat out?” ... the favorite track of Allan McNish is Suzuka? ... all three drivers, on taking the WEC title, have won a World Champion’s title in motorsport for the first time in their careers? ... the trio has clinched the tenth World Champion’s title for Audi? The company’s track record reflects the 1982 and 1984 manufacturers’ World Rally Championship, the 1983 and 1984 drivers’ World Rally Championship, the drivers’ and manufacturers’ titles in the 1995 FIA Touring Car World Cup and in the 2012 WEC, plus now in 2013. ... Allan McNish is the first ever Scottish World Endurance Champion and the first British World Endurance Champion in 21 years? ... Allan McNish is the first Scotsman since Colin McRae in the 1995 season to have won a World Champions’ title in car racing? ... Tom Kristensen, on Audi’s first sports car success in March 2000 at the Sebring 12 Hours, was sitting in the winning car as well as in 2013 at Austin when the 100th LMP triumph was achieved? ... Allan McNish likes Japanese food best, Tom Kristensen likes Thai, Italian and Sushi dishes and Loïc Duval prefers the Italian cuisine? ... this year’s success at Le Mans marked the ninth one for Tom Kristensen, the third for Allan McNish and the first for Loïc Duval in the legendary 24-hour race? Ten of these 13 single victories have been celebrated with Audi. ... Kyle Wilson-Clarke, the British race engineer of the trio, achieved his first Le Mans victory and his first WEC title this year? ...

The brand is the first ever automobile manufacturer to achieve a title hat-trick in the prestigious international touring car racing series: After 2007 and 2008, Audi has clinched the coveted trophy for the third consecutive time. In the thrilling finale at the Hockenheimring in front of a magnificent turnout of 155,000 spectators Audi driver Timo Scheider stayed on the heels of his only remaining rival for the title, Gary Paffett, during the entire 39 laps and successfully defended his title from last year by finishing in second place. For Audi, after 1990 (Hans-Joachim Stuck), 1991 (Frank Biela), 2002 (Laurent Aiello), 2004 (Mattias Ekström), 2007 (Mattias Ekström) and 2008 (Timo Scheider), this marks as much as the seventh DTM title and the fourth since the brand returned to the series with a manufacturer’s commitment in 2004. “No automobile manufacturer has ever consecutively won three titles in the DTM,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “Audi has managed to do it – despite a very strong opponent. After two hat-tricks at Le Mans, now we’ve also achieved a hat-trick in the DTM. This third title no doubt was the most difficult one. But I’m sure that next year it’ll be even more difficult. ‘Thank you’ to everyone who made this great exploit possible for Audi. And congratulations to Timo (Scheider) – like last year, he won the title again on his own power.” After his triumph, the old and new DTM Champion was speechless at first. “Now I’ve been able to experience this dream, for which we all worked so long and hard, for the second time in a row – and thanks to the Audi squad, the Abt team and my family,” said the 30-year-old obviously moved and with tears in his eyes. “Gary Paffett was a strong rival and won four races. But for as long as I’ve been contesting the DTM the driver with the highest points score has always been the one to become champion ...” Scheider won twice in the 2009 season and mounted the podium at six of the ten races.