Year by year: the most important successes of Audi Sport customer racing
2009 Winner of FIA European GT3 Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of ADAC GT Masters (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Belgian GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) 2010 Winner of German GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Belcar Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Teams' Championship Belcar Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Portugese GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Spanish GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Teams' Championship ADAC GT Masters (Audi R8 LMS) 2011 Winner of Spa 24 Hour race (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Bathurst 12 Hour race (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Italian GT3 Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Spanish GT3 Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Teams' Championship Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Super Taikyu Series Japan (Audi R8 LMS) 2012 Winner of Bathurst 12 Hour race (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Nürburgring 24 Hour race (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Spa 24 Hour race (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Teams' Championship Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Gentlemen Trophy Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Teams' Championship Gentlemen Trophy Blancpain Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of Portugese GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Taça Portugal (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Iberian Supercars Trophy (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Spanish GT3 Championship (Audi R8 LMS ultra) 2013 Winner of Daytona 24 Hour race, GT class (Audi R8 GRAND-AM) Winner of Portugese GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Swedish GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner of FIA GT Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Teams' Championship FIA GT Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Gentlemen Driver Trophy British GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of GT Sprint International Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of BRCC Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner of Teams' Championship GT Asia (Audi R8 LMS ultra) Winner
Year by year: The most important successes of Audi in motorsport
Sport quattro S1) Winner Rally Hong Kong–Beijing (Audi quattro) 1986 Winner Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race (Audi Sport quattro S1) Winner Rally Hong Kong–Beijing (Audi quattro) 1987 Winner Safari Rally (Audi 200 quattro) Winner Pikes Peak Hillclimb Race (Audi Sport quattro S1) 1988 Winner TransAm Series (Audi 200 quattro) 1989 7 victories IMSA GTO Series (Audi 90 quattro) 1990 Winner German Touring Car Championship (Audi V8 quattro) 1991 Winner German Touring Car Championship (Audi V8 quattro) 1993 Winner French Touring Car Championship (Audi 80 quattro) 1994 Winner Italian Touring Car Championship (Audi 80 competition) 1995 Winner Italian Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) Winner Touring Car World Cup (Audi A4 quattro) 1996 Winner Super Touring Car Championships Australia, Belgium, Germany, Great Britain, Italy, Spain and South Africa (Audi A4 quattro) 1997 Winner Central European Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 1999 3rd place Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8R) Winner German Super Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2000 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) 2001 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner European Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner Speedvision GT (Audi S4 Competition) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2002 Winner Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner drivers’ classification DTM (Abt-Audi TT-R) Winner SPEED GT (Audi S4 Competition) Winner Swedish Touring Car Championship (Audi A4 quattro) 2003 Winner Sebring 12 Hours (Audi R8) 3rd place Le Mans 24 Hours (Audi R8) Winner ‘Petit Le Mans’ (Audi R8) Winner American Le Mans Series (Audi R8) Winner 1000 km Spa
Six titles for Audi Sport customer teams
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Four titles in the Sprint Cup: After 2016 and 2017, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT again won the drivers’ title in the GT World Challenge Europe Sprint Cup, which was held under this name for the first time this year. 19-year-old up-and-coming driver Charles Weerts won the title in the Audi R8 LMS together with Audi Sport driver Dries Vanthoor for the first time. Weerts is thus the youngest ever title holder in this series. The driver duo prevailed in the fight for the title at the fourth round of the racing series in Barcelona with just four points ahead. A second place each in the second and third race on the final weekend in Spain was enough for the two Belgians to succeed. As in 2014, 2015, 2016, 2017 and 2018, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT won the team classification of the racing series. Saintéloc Racing contributed two further class victories. The two Frenchmen Simon Gachet/Steven Palette won the drivers’ championship in the Silver Cup. Their outfit won the Silver Cup team classification ahead of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. With Attempto Racing, a third Audi Sport customer team also had reason to celebrate at the finale. The team from Hanover with Nicolas Schöll and Audi Sport driver Frédéric Vervisch celebrated their first victory in the second race with a 4.6 second lead over Weerts/Vanthoor. The Audi R8 LMS thus won five of the ten individual races of the series this season. In the Endurance classification of the GT World Challenge Europe as well as the overall classification from Sprint and Endurance, the Audi teams are also in promising positions two races before the end of the season. Podium on the island: Car Collection Motorsport achieved a podium result in the fifth round of the 24H Series. At the Sicily 12 Hours on the Pergusa circuit, Michael Doppelmayr/Elia Erhart/Pierre Kaffer/Hendrik Still finished third overall and second in the Am class in the Audi R8 LMS.
24 Hours of Le Mans: Toughest race of the year for Audi
Audi met with strong rivals, won round two at Spa (Belgium) with Lucas di Grassi/Loïc Duval/Oliver Jarvis (BR/F/GB) and achieved the best time on the test day at Le Mans on June 5 with di Grassi. “However, it would be premature to draw clear conclusions from this for the race at Le Mans. We have great respect for our strong opponents,” says Dr. Ullrich. Each of the three manufacturers battling for overall victory with their hybrid sports cars has already logged leading kilometers in the FIA WEC. Conditions at Le Mans differ from those of the WEC rounds at Silverstone (UK) and at Spa (Belgium). Nobody can practice on the 13.629-kilometer circuit as it largely consists of public roads and is closed to normal traffic only for the test day and the race week. Lucas di Grassi achieved an average speed of nearly 244 km/h at the test day. Audi will be racing at Le Mans with special low-drag aerodynamics.
The duration of 24 hours is unique on the FIA WEC calendar as well. In return, the classified entrants are awarded twice the number of points compared with the other rounds. The “marathon” at La Sarthe is arguably the world’s most prestigious endurance race. Audi has won it an amazing 13 times – most recently in 2014 with Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F). As a result, the premium brand from Ingolstadt is ranked in second place of the all-time winners list that was begun in 1923. Audi’s line-up this year consists of Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer in car number “7” and di Grassi/Duval/Jarvis in car number “8.” Audi is the only brand to rely on a highly efficient diesel hybrid powertrain. In 2006, Audi was the first manufacturer to win the Le Mans 24 Hours with a diesel engine, has clinched eight victories with the TDI since then and set a new distance record in 2010 that has not been broken to date.
Audi Motorsport Newsletter 24/2016
Three wins at Hockenheim The Audi Sport customer racing teams enjoyed a successful race weekend in the DMV GTC at Hockenheim, the fifth race weekend of the 2016 season. Land-Motorsport led an Audi R8 LMS 1-2-3 in qualifying and won the first race with “Ronny C’Rock”, ahead of the HCB-Rutronik Racing duo of Fabian Plentz and Tommy Tulpe in second and third respectively. Tulpe won the second DMV GTC race of the weekend from pole and his teammate Plentz finished third. HCB-Rutronik Racing’s success continued in the Dunlop 60 race, where Plentz and Tulpe started from pole position and piloted their Audi R8 LMS to victory. Podium in Australia Jamec Pem Racing celebrated a podium finish during the fifth race weekend of the Australian GT Championship, which was held on the street circuit in Townsville. Christopher Mies, on his first return to the Australian championship since March, clinched pole position. Mies and teammate Tony Bates then finished runner-up in the one-hour race on Saturday, wherein Mies set the fastest lap of the race and also broke the lap record. Audi driver Benoît Tréluyer not at Nürburgring While training on his mountain bike three-time Le Mans winner Benoît Tréluyer fell and injured his spinal column. The injury will heal without surgical intervention and have no further consequences. As the recovery period will be several weeks, the 39-year-old Frenchman has to skip round four of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC). As a result, his teammates, Marcel Fässler and André Lotterer, will be contesting the race at the Nürburgring on July 24 as a team of two in the number “7” Audi R18. “On behalf of Audi Sport, I wish Benoît a speedy and full recovery so that he’ll be ready to race again in the subsequent event in Mexico,” says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. Audi R18 drives through Neckarsulm plant The Audians at the Neckarsulm plant experienced Le Mans flair at their place of work on Thursday.
Eleven Audi R8 LMS cars in iconic race at Spa
Most extensive line-up of Audi customers in Belgium to date 24-hour race features world’s largest GT3 field Audi teams rely on 36 professional drivers and amateurs
The 24 Hours of Spa is the major iconic event on the international GT3 racing calendar. This year, the race will be held from 30 to 31 July. Audi is now going to meet with fierce competition again and is represented by more customer racing teams than ever before. The brand with the four rings has won three of the past five editions and clinched the ‘Coupe du Roi’ manufacturers’ cup in 2014 and 2015.
The origins of the race date back to 1924, since 1964, it has been held regularly and today it is the endurance race with the largest number of GT3 race cars in the world. “65 race cars from eleven marques on a track which is an absolute dream. This is a first-class challenge,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “For the many Audi fans in Belgium, the worldwide GT community as well as our customer teams and the drivers, the 24 Hours of Spa is again the season’s pinnacle event this year.” Four teams will be fielding a total of eleven Audi GT3 race cars and 36 drivers will be taking turns in the cockpits. As well as the Spa winners René Rast (D), Frank Stippler (D), Markus Winkelhock (D) and Laurens Vanthoor (B) the DTM drivers Nico Müller (CH) and Edoardo Mortara (I) are among them. Other drivers with professional experience include the long-standing Audi campaigners Filipe Albuquerque (P) and Marco Bonanomi (I), the former champions from the Blancpain Endurance Series Christopher Mies (D) and Christopher Haase (D), Blancpain GT title defender Robin Frijns (NL) and former DTM driver Pierre Kaffer (D). The driver line-up is complemented by an international mix of customer drivers. This underscores the race’s character: the Audi R8 LMS is equally popular with pros and amateurs.
The four race teams have been using Audi race cars for years.
Audi defends title in Intercontinental GT Challenge
Audi Sport and Markus Winkelhock win worldwide GT series New concept for the Audi R8 LMS Cup René Rast ADAC Motorsportsman of the Year
Audi Sport customer racing, after 2016, has again won the only worldwide GT title. In addition to the manufacturers’ title, the drivers’ title went to Germany as well, to Audi Sport campaigner Markus Winkelhock.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Title decision after three rounds: On clinching victory in the Intercontinental GT Challenge, Audi has won the only worldwide GT racing series with rounds held on the three continents of Australia, Europe and America. As in 2016, Audi prevailed in the GT3 manufacturers’ classification, this year taking victory in front of ten other brands. The drivers’ classification went to Markus Winkelhock, ahead of his two fellow Audi Sport drivers Christopher Haase and Christopher Mies. For the first time, the 37-year-old pro has now won a title with Audi, following an amazing number of five 24-hour race victories in the Audi R8 LMS reflected in his biography. They include the world’s toughest GT3 race, the Spa 24 Hours. In Belgium, the driver from the German state of Baden-Württemberg won round two of the Intercontinental GT Challenge in July with Audi Sport Team Saintéloc. With Audi Sport Team Magnus, he subsequently decided the California 8 Hours at Laguna Seca in his favor as well. Following the cancelation of the final race scheduled in Malaysia in December, the title decision was produced early. “A sincere thank you to Audi Sport customer racing and the teams I contested the Intercontinental GT Challenge with this season,” said Winkelhock. “The two victories in Belgium and California were hard-fought ones. My teammates had a major part in them, particularly Kelvin van der Linde without whose overtaking maneuver at Laguna Seca I wouldn’t have become champion.”
Season opener with 13 race cars from Audi Sport customer racing
In 2016, Belgian Audi Club Team WRT won this endurance race in the Audi R8 LMS and a year ago, Team Cadspeed Racing with Atech prevailed in the Gulf state with the Audi RS 3 LMS in the TCR class. This year, Audi Sport customer racing will be represented in the race with its three current products for the first time. Four teams are fielding the GT3 version of the Audi R8 LMS that is in contention for overall victory. Team MS7 by WRT is relying on Vincent Mosse’s seasoned and successful Belgian race team. Also on board will be the two Audi Sport campaigners Christopher Mies and Dries Vanthoor. Optimum Motorsport in position four of the overall classification was the best Audi customer team in Dubai a year ago. This year, Audi Sport campaigner Christopher Haase, winner of the 24 Hours of Spa, is augmenting the UK squad. Car Collection Motorsport is providing Audi’s largest lineup in the GT3 class once again. The German privateer driver team from Walluf clinched third place in the A6-Am classification the last two years and won both rookie titles in the 24H Series at the end of the year. In Dubai, Peter Schmidt’s team will again compete with two privateer driver lineups and receive support by Audi Sport campaigner Frank Stippler. For Team BWT Mücke Motorsport, the event marks a premiere as the Berlin-based squad is contesting a 24-hour race for the first time in its 20-year history. Markus Winkelhock will be on board as an extremely experienced Audi Sport campaigner, having won an amazing five 24-hour races plus the 2017 Intercontinental GT Challenge with Audi.
The Audi R8 LMS version that has been prepared for GT4 racing will contest the event in Dubai in the hands of privateers for the first time. The German Phoenix Racing team from Meuspath is preparing two race cars for the GT4 class. On board will be a driver team from Hong Kong which in Marchy Lee and Adderly Fong includes the first two champions of the Audi R8 LMS Cup.