Audi customer teams win almost 90 titles worldwide
Particularly notable successes include winning the two sprint racing series Fanatec GT World Challenge powered by AWS in Europe by Mattia Drudi/Ricardo Feller from Tresor Orange1 and in Australia by Liam Talbot from Shannons. In GT2 and GT4 racing, for which there are no global classifications, the customers won the highest-ranking categories at European level. In touring car racing, the TCR Europe title also went to Audi. Overall, the four Audi Sport customer racing models have a win rate of 33.9 percent, meaning they have won every third race on average. The brand’s customer racing program, which began in 2009, has so far resulted in 489 worldwide championship titles in overall or class rankings. 16 overall victories in 24-hour races and many other endurance racing successes complete this overarching view. The 2023 season marks the end of Audi Sport customer racing’s strategic commitments, which the company has implemented in parallel with its customers’ comprehensive programs. Nevertheless, racing series, the public and the media can continue to look forward to exciting motorsport under the sign of the four rings: many customers will continue to rely on the products and services of Audi Sport customer racing in global categories in the future. As in the past, they can continue to rely on the usual service, including a seamless supply of parts from Audi Sport and its regional partners in Asia, Australia, Europe and Canada.
GT World Challenge Europe 2023: Sprint Cup title for Mattia Drudi and Ricardo Feller
The two Audi Sport drivers Mattia Drudi and Ricardo Feller won the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup in commanding style. At the finale at Zandvoort, they celebrated their third and fourth wins of the season in the Audi R8 LMS of the Tresor Orange1 team. For Drudi and Feller in the Drivers Championship and Tresor Orange1 in the Teams Championship, it was respectively the first championship success in the demanding European racing series. Audi celebrated its sixth Sprint Cup title after 2016, 2017, 2020, 2021 and 2022.
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DTM 2023
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24h Spa (4h): Audi drives to the front at the beginning
Team Audi Sport Tresor Orange1, which started from sixth place, moved up from to first place with Audi Sport driver Mattia Drudi in the #40. Kelvin van der Linde had advanced from ninth to second position for Team Scherer Sport PHX in the #17 car, so that the Audi R8 LMS held a 1-2 lead at times in the third hour of racing. Van der Linde’s teammate Nicki Thiim took the lead after the driver change, while Drudi’s Audi Sport teammate Dennis Marschall held fourth place. Aurélien Panis led the Gold classification in the #9 car of Boutsen VDS, while Loris Hezemans held third in the Silver category for Comtoyou Racing in the #12. The third-best Pro-Am driver pairing also relied on an Audi: Erwin Creed drove CSA Racing’s #888 car.
Audi best manufacturer at the world’s biggest GT3 race at Spa
After just two hours of racing, Team Audi Sport Tresor Orange1 with the three Audi Sport drivers Ricardo Feller/Mattia Drudi/Dennis Marschall was already in the lead. Within a few seconds, Luca Engstler/Kelvin van der Linde/Nicki Thiim followed in second place in the number 17 car of Team Scherer Sport PHX. Over the entire course of the race, Audi engaged in a contest with numerous lead changes between the R8 LMS and its rivals from Porsche, BMW and, at times, Mercedes-AMG. The race remained unpredictable over long stretches with gaps of just a few seconds and thus exciting for the audience until the end. In the end, Audi Sport driver Luca Engstler, who is contesting only his second GT3 season, finished third with his experienced teammates. Feller/Drudi/Marschall drove to eighth place. Audi Sport Team Saintéloc’s number 25 and Audi Sport Team Comtoyou’s number 11 forfeited time due to various sporting penalties. Audi Sport drivers Christopher Haase/Gilles Magnus/Frédéric Vervisch improved to seventh place overall in the number 11 car in the end. The number 25 car of Simon Gachet/Christopher Mies/Patric Niederhauser finished in 16th place. In addition to the overall classification, several Audi customer teams were aiming for good class results. Comtoyou Racing recorded two podium results on its 24-hour debut with Audi in GT3 racing. Nicolas Baert, Maxime Soulet and Audi Sport driver Max Hofer celebrated third place in the Gold classification. The number 12 car of Sam Dejonghe/Loris Hezemans/Lucas Légeret/Finlay Hutchison finished second in the Silver Cup. The Saintéloc Junior Team of Erwan Bastard/Paul Evrard/Gregoire Demoustier/Antoine Doquin finished third in this class. A class podium success was also achieved by Team CSA Racing from France which, like Comtoyou Racing, fielded an Audi R8 LMS in GT3 version in a 24-hour race for the first time.
24h Spa (8h): Audi in the lead
Shortly before the end of the eighth hour of racing, Mattia Drudi, who had already been in front in the #40 of Team Audi Sport Tresor Orange1 in the early stages, took the lead again. In the seventh hour, Kelvin van der Linde in the #17 Scherer Sport PHX Audi R8 LMS had moved to the front of the field, but after a scheduled pit stop, the South African dropped back to eighth place. Adam Eteki led the Gold classification in the #9 Audi of Team Boutsen VDS after the first third of the race. The best team in the Silver category also relied on an Audi: Alex Aka in the #99 of Tresor Attempto Racing, Lucas Légeret of Comtoyou Racing was in third place in the #12 Audi. Arthur Rougier in CSA Racing's #888 was in second place in the Pro-Am Cup after eight hours.
Ready for the biggest GT3 race of the year: 13 Audi R8 LMS at the 2023 Spa 24 Hours
Audi Sport drivers Mattia Drudi, Ricardo Feller and Dennis Marschall chase times in this GT3 sports car. The theme of the future is embodied by the body surface of car number 11. The design is based on the Formula 1 project while also citing elements of the future-oriented Audi Sport models, i.e. the innovative Audi RS Q e-tron Dakar prototype, the S1 e-tron quattro Hoonitron as well as the all-electric RS e-tron GTX study, which entered the 2020 grid as the leading car. Audi Sport Team Comtoyou is fielding this R8 LMS for three Audi Sport drivers: Christopher Haase, 2017 Spa winner and, like teammate Frédéric Vervisch, two-time Nürburgring winner, and junior driver Gilles Magnus form a team. Competition in many classes A fourth pure Pro driver line-up enters the race for Team Scherer Sport PHX. Audi Sport driver Luca Engstler and the experienced pros and former Nürburgring 24 Hour winners Nicki Thiim and Kelvin van der Linde make up the line-up. The UNO Racing Team with another R8 LMS represents a special feature: The team from China is sending an all-Chinese driver squad into the race. Adderly Fong, 2013 Champion in the Audi R8 LMS Cup, Xiaole He, David Pun and Rio, last year’s GT Super Sprint Challenge Champion in China with Audi, will be competing together for the first time in the bronze classification. For the remaining Audi teams, valuable championship points are at stake in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS. No fewer than eight racers from the customer teams are coming to Spa full of expectations as championship leaders in four classes. In addition, Audi teams are leading in three team classifications. In the Endurance category of the race series, Sam Dejonghe/Loris Hezemans/Finlay Hutchison lead the Silver Cup after their victory at Monza. In Spa they start together with Lucas Légeret. At the same time, their team Comtoyou Racing is in first place in the Silver Team standings.
24h Spa (12h): Audi in front at the halfway mark
A long caution period characterized the twelfth hour of racing at Spa. During this time, Ricardo Feller in the #40 Audi from Audi Sport Tresor Orange1 led the field. Luca Engstler had used this opportunity to complete his Technical Pit Stop in the #17 of Scherer Sport PHX and was in twelfth place. Frédéric Vervisch followed in 17th place in the #11 Audi of Audi Sport Team Comtoyou. Comtoyou Racing held on to second in the Silver classification midway through the race with the #12 of Finlay Hutchison ahead of Tresor Orange1’s Pietro Delli Guanti. Maxime Soulet was third in the Gold standings for Comtoyou Racing in the #21. Casper Stevenson led the Pro-Am classification in CSA Racing’s #888. Twelve of the 13 Audi R8 LMS cars that started were still in contention. Only the #10 of Boutsen VDS has not been repaired following an accident with the #2 car in the eighth hour of racing.
24h Spa (16h): Two Audi teams shape the race
Two Audi R8 LMS set the pace at the front after sunrise. Until the 16th hour, the #40 from Audi Sport Tresor Orange1 with Dennis Marschall was in front. Close behind followed Nicki Thiim in the #17 for Team Scherer Sport PHX, who took the lead at the two-thirds mark. With the #11 Audi of Christopher Haase from Audi Sport Team Comtoyou, another R8 LMS was among the top eight. Nicolas Baert of Comtoyou Racing in the #21 was third in the gold classification at this point. Alex Aka in Tresor Orange1’s #99 maintained the lead in the Silver classification ahead of Lucas Légeret in Comtoyou Racing’s #12. In third place in the Pro-Am standings was Arthur Rougier in the #888 of CSA Racing.