Audi customer racing drivers at the top on three continents
Audi R8 LMS victorious in GT World Challenge Asia and GT Open Audi R8 LMS GT4 leads the standings in France Ten victories for the Audi RS 3 LMS
On the second weekend in May, the Audi Sport customer racing teams impressed with top performances worldwide. Following their successes in GT and touring car racing, some customer teams are at the top of their championships.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Strong performance in Asia: The Audi customer teams in the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS also presented themselves in strong form at the second event. After the victory of Congfu Cheng/Adderly Fong in the season opener, Ruo Han Huang/Markus Winkelhock were unbeatable in the second round in the first of two races in Thailand. The Chinese-German driver combination won the one-hour race in Buriram in an Audi R8 LMS with a lead of 5.9 seconds. Second place went to Yu Kuai/Akash Nandy, their teammates in Audi Sport Asia Team Absolute and winners of the Silver classification. Winkelhock had taken the lead from Nandy with 14 minutes to go. Congfu Cheng/Adderly Fong from the FAW Audi Sport Asia Racing Team completed the one-two-three. Audi Sport customer racing Asia thus achieved a convincing result in a field of 33 GT3 sports cars from eight manufacturers. Cheng/Fong are second in the overall standings after the first third of the season and lead the Silver Cup on equal points with Kuai/Nandy. In addition, The Spirit of FFF Racing team won the Am classification in the first race with Japanese drivers Hiroshi Hamaguchi/Mineki Okura. In the International GT Open, last year’s championship-winning team Eastalent Racing celebrated its first win of the season at the second event. Christopher Haase and Simon Reicher won Sunday’s race in Hockenheim from pole position with a commanding 15.9-second lead. Saintéloc Racing achieved a remarkable third place with the Audi R8 LMS at the third round of the 24H Series powered by Hankook despite a clutch problem.
Successful start to the season for Audi customer teams in New Zealand
1-2-3 victory and podium results for the Audi R8 LMS GT3 in five racing series Audi RS 3 LMS strong in Italy and the Baltic States
In New Zealand, Italy, Estonia and Thailand, numerous customer teams from Audi Sport made a good start to the 2024 season in GT and touring car racing.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 One-two-three victory at the start of the season: The Audi customer teams celebrated a dream start to the new season in the North Island Endurance Series in New Zealand. On the Hampton Downs race track on the North Island, Luke Manson and James Penrose came out on top for the first time in the Audi R8 LMS. The driver duo defeated their teammates, last year’s champions Sam Fillmore and Jonny Reid, who also shared an Audi from Team IMS. Fillmore had secured first place on the grid and initially led until Manson took the lead on lap 42. After the driver change, Reid came closer to Penrose, but the leader increased his advantage again to more than 15 seconds by the finish. Third place also went to an Audi: the amateur driver pairing of Steve Brooks/Bill Riding secured the podium result after three hours of racing, one lap down. At the start of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS sprint racing series, two victories in the gold category went to Audi customer teams. Max Hofer and Luca Engstler were the first gold winners of the season at Brands Hatch in the Audi R8 LMS of Liqui Moly Team Engstler. Paul Evrard/Gilles Magnus secured this classification with Saintéloc Racing in the second sprint. Team Tresor Audi Sport Italia achieved a podium result at the start of the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Sprint season. Rocco Mazzola started Sunday’s race in Misano in fifth place. During an early pit stop, Pietro Delli Guanti took over the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS, overtook several rivals and finished second, 6.4 seconds behind. The two Italians are now second in the standings. The Thailand Super Series also kicked off its new season.
Audi Sport teams strong in Australia
GT3 success for the Audi R8 LMS in GT World Challenge Australia International podium places for Audi RS 3 LMS and Audi R8 LMS GT4 Numerous Audi customer teams ready for season starts in Asia and Europe
The international programs of Audi’s customer teams began with a series of successes in Australia and Europe. In addition, many of the brand’s teams have announced their plans for Asian motorsport and European touring car racing in the 2024 season.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Successes in three countries: Audi Sport’s customer teams got off to a perfect start in the GT World Challenge Australia. Will Brown and Brad Schumacher drove the Audi R8 LMS fielded by the Melbourne Performance Centre (MPC) to third place in the first race at Phillip Island. Marcel Zalloua/Sergio Pires won the Am class for Valmont Racing in the same competition. The two New Zealanders Tim Miles/Brendon Leitch achieved overall victory for MPC in the second race with a lead of eleven seconds. This puts them level on points with two Ferrari drivers at the top of the Pro-Am standings. Brad Schumacher also had a chance of winning the second one-hour race in an Audi. However, he and fellow driver Will Brown dropped back to third position after a spin. Ash Samadi secured the amateur victory in another Audi from MPC. At the Nürburgring, Team Scherer Sport PHX finished on the podium for the second time within a week. After third place in the Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie opener, an Audi R8 LMS from the team was again third in the ADAC Nürburgring 24h Qualifiers. Ricardo Feller/Christopher Mies/Frank Stippler achieved the result in the first of two four-hour races. In British club racing, Peter Erceg/Marcus Clutton secured an overall victory. They won the second race of the British Endurance Championship at Snetterton in an Audi R8 LMS.
Audi R8 LMS GT4 Class podiums in South Africa: Jimmy Giannoccaro took two second places on the third race weekend of the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop in South Africa.
Numerous podium results for Audi customer teams throughout Europe
Third place in the DTM season opener for the Audi R8 LMS from ABT Sportsline Olimp Racing starts the International GT Open season on the podium Trophies for the Audi RS 3 LMS in Western and Eastern Europe
Many Audi customer teams returned from the last weekend in April with trophies from GT3 and TCR competitions across Europe.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Podium results at the start of the season: In two European GT3 racing series, the Audi R8 LMS was one of the fastest race cars in the field at the start of the 2024 season. ABT Sportsline achieved a podium result in the DTM at Oschersleben. At the opening event, Ricardo Feller started Saturday’s race in fourth place. After the start and at the pit stop, he gained a position each time in the Audi R8 LMS when a full-course yellow neutralization phase created new conditions. The Swiss driver then fought a spectacular battle for position with Ferrari driver Jack Aitken and Lamborghini driver Mirko Bortolotti, eventually crossing the finish line in third place. In the International GT Open, Olimp Racing was the best of three Audi customer teams at the season opener in Portimão. Karol Basz took pole position in the Polish team’s Audi R8 LMS on a rain-soaked track in qualifying for Saturday’s race. Basz maintained the lead until the pit stop, when his compatriot Marcin Jedlinski took over the cockpit. He was in second place until the penultimate lap, when Marco Pulcini overtook him in a Ferrari. In the end, Olimp Racing took third place overall and second place in the Pro-Am classification.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR) Convincing start: Martin Kadlečik achieved a podium result on his debut in the TCR Eastern Europe. In the opening round of the racing series at Balaton Park in Hungary, the Czech driver finished second in the second sprint in an Audi RS 3 LMS entered by the Aditis Racing team. Kadlečik had started from fifth place and improved to second position over the course of the first lap.
Impressive victory for Audi customer team in Asia
Audi R8 LMS with GT3 podium results on three continents Good weekend for the Audi customer teams in the GT4 and TCR classes Audi RS Q e-tron to be admired up close in Wolfsburg
At the opening round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, the FAW Audi Sport Asia Racing Team set an exclamation mark with its first win of the season in difficult weather conditions. The GT4 and TCR models from Audi Sport also won several trophies in the hands of customers.
Audi R8 LMS GT3 Successes in Asia, America and Europe: Audi’s customer teams collected a total of six podium results in overall rankings on three continents. In the Fanatec GT World Challenge Asia powered by AWS, Congfu Cheng/Adderly Fong won the first race of the season in Sepang. They had qualified for pole position in the Audi R8 LMS from the FAW Audi Sport Asia Racing Team. A heavy downpour delayed the start by an hour. The Audi customer team then made a bold tire choice and opted for slicks. Cheng initially dropped back to fourth place on the wet track in the early stages, but subsequently made up two positions. Fong took over the cockpit at the pit stop, was initially in second place and, after an overtaking maneuver, ultimately prevailed by 2.1 seconds. As a result, the duo also won the Silver class and leads this category of the standings. In the second race, a team from Japan celebrated victory in the Am class. Hiroshi Hamaguchi and Mineki Okura won the amateur classification in an Audi from The Spirit of FFF Racing. They now lead the Am Cup. At the second GT America powered by AWS event, four podium results went to Audi customers. On the streets of Long Beach, Johnny O’Connell in the Audi R8 LMS from SKI Autosports was beaten by the winner by just 0.298 seconds in the first race. The Audi privateer driver had secured pole position ahead of James Sofronas and led for a long time until he lost his position in lapped traffic shortly before the end.
Year by year: The most important successes of Audi in motorsport
Speed Trophy (Audi R8 LMS) 2017 Winner Drivers', Manufacturers’ and Teams' classification DTM (Audi RS 5 DTM) Winner Nürburgring 24 Hours (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Spa 24 Hours (Audi R8 LMS)Sieger Australian GT (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Canarian Hill Climb Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner China GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner DMV GTC (Audi R8 LMS) Winner DMV GTC Dunlop 60 (Audi R8 LMS) Winner FIA European Hillclimb Championship (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Intercontinental GT Challenge (Audi R8 LMS) Winner North Island Endurance Series (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Saudi GT (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Three Hour Endurance Series 2016/17 (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships Sports Cars (Audi R8 LMS) Winner Pirelli World Challenge TC (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR China (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR Russia (Audi RS 3 LMS) 2018 Winner Drivers' Championship Formula E (Audi e-tron FE04) Winner Bathurst 12 Hours (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Australian GT (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Canarian Hill Climb Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner China GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Circuit Hero One (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner DMV GTC Dunlop 60 (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Eset V4 Cup (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Eset V4 Cup Endurance (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner FFSA GT4 France Pro-Am (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner FIA CEZ (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner FIA CEZ Endurance (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner GT4 European Series Silver (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner GT Masters Asia (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner GT Sweden (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge TCR (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner New Zealand Endurance Championship (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner Pirelli World Challenge GTS (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner Pirelli World Challenge GTS Sprint (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner Pirelli World Challenge GTS SprintX (Audi R8 LMS GT4) Winner South Island Endurance Series Three Hour (Audi R8 LMS GT3) Winner TCR Benelux (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner TCR Russia (Audi RS 3 LMS) Winner Victorian
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
From quattro to e-tron
Audi R8 most successful Le Mans sports car in present-day racing After the dominant quattro drivetrain was banned from touring car racing, Audi switched to sports prototypes and also underpinned its slogan “Vorsprung durch Technik” in this motorsport category for 18 years. Audi, on making its debut at Le Mans in 1999, the toughest endurance race in the world, immediately managed the leap onto the podium, finishing third overall. In the following years, the Audi R8 was in a class of its own. From 2000 to 2002, Audi achieved a historic hat-trick, not least thanks to the TFSI technology that debuted in 2001 and then also subsequently made its way into production. In 2004 and 2005, customer teams clinched two further overall victories for Audi. The R8 secured its spot in motorsport history with a total of 63 victories in 80 sports car races. Title wins following the return to DTM Following Laurent Aiello’s victory with the Abt-Audi TT-R in 2002, Audi returned to the DTM with a factory-backed commitment in 2004 and instantly won the title with Mattias Ekström. In 2007, the Swede triumphed again, followed by Timo Scheider in 2008 and 2009, making Audi the first and so far only automobile manufacturer in DTM history to have managed a title hat-trick. In the 2011 season, Martin Tomczyk completed the success story of the Audi A4 DTM with another title, the fifth in total for the Audi A4 DTM. In 2013, Mike Rockenfeller, diving the Audi RS 5 DTM, clinched the ninth DTM title for Audi. René Rast caused a sensation in 2017 when he clinched another title for Audi in his rookie year. Audi took home the manufacturer’s championship crown in the same year. In 2019 and 2020, Rast won the prestigious title two more times. Audi drivers have thus already won the DTM drivers’ title twelve times. Added to this are six manufacturers’ and eight teams’ titles.