Audi customers victorious in Asia, Australia and Germany

Audi R8 LMS (GT3)

Historic first victory: Two Audi drivers won the first race of the new Blancpain GT Series Asia in Malaysia. Starting from pole, Mitch Gilbert and Aditya Patel prevailed in the first race in Sepang. They shared an Audi R8 LMS from the OD Racing team. In the second race they finished second in front of the Audi R8 LMS from Audi Hong Kong, in which Marchy Lee and Shaun Thong shared a cockpit. Gilbert/Patel lead by 13 points after of the first of six race weekends.

Three victories in Hockenheim: The DMV GTC opener was a complete success for the Audi drivers. Aust Motorsport won both individual races in the Audi R8 LMS with local hero Markus Pommer from Neckarsulm. The third place finishes of “Ronny C'Rock” from Team Land-Motorsport in the first race and Tommy Tulpe in the second round completed the podium haul. In the Dunlop 60 competition at the same race weekend, an Audi team also prevailed with the driver duo Tommy Tulpe/Fabian Plentz from HCB-Rutronik Racing.

Steven McLaughlan, in an Audi R8 LMS ultra, took the series lead in the Australian GT Trophy after the first of five events. The Australian won the first round in Sandown and Rod Salmon in an Audi R8 LMS ultra won the second race in front of Rob Smith in another Audi. Salmon is thus second in the table. 

Nico Müller/Marcel Fässler/Robin Frijns were on the podium in the second weekend of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. In the Audi R8 LMS of the Audi Sport Team WRT, they took third after four hours of racing time, beaten to first by only 7.4 seconds.

Racing for a good cause: The HCB-Rutronik Racing team will contest the new season of the DMV GTC and Dunlop 60 series with a strikingly liveried Audi R8 LMS in 2017. The “Distribution Art Car” combines art, electronics and motorsport for a good cause. The photos of individual donors as well as the logos of 22 companies involved in the electronics sector are the basis for a special racing car design. Thomas Rudel’s team donated the proceeds of the design campaign to the German Federal Association for Children with Heart Disease. In addition, 25 children with heart disease will experience the races at the Hockenheimring and the Nürburgring live on site, whilst being given a look round the pits as well as a chance to sit in an example of the Audi R8 LMS.

The great eight: This year, eight international Audi Sport drivers are taking part in various GT3 programs. Christopher Haase (D), Rahel Frey (CH), Robin Frijns (NL), Pierre Kaffer (D), Kelvin van der Linde (ZA), Christopher Mies (D), Frank Stippler (D) and Markus Winkelhock (D) will this year compete in customer racing around the world. The two former Le Mans winners and Audi factory drivers Marcel Fässler (CH) and Benoît Tréluyer (F) will also be racing regularly in the Audi R8 LMS this year. They will receive support from four other drivers: the DTM drivers Jamie Green (GB), Nico Müller (CH), René Rast (D) and Mike Rockenfeller (D) also compete sporadically in GT racing.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

The Audi customer team Speed Factory Racing from Spain celebrated a podium result at the 12 hour race on the Red Bull Ring. Miguel Abello/Jaime Fuster/Jesus Fuster/Mirko van Oostrum took a TCR class third place with the Audi RS 3 LMS in Austria.

Audi Sport TT Cup

Everything begins in earnerst for the first time on April 12: the juniors in the Audi Sport TT Cup will have to show what they’ve learned so far in Hockenheim. At an instructional event at the Baden circuit, they will get to know their cars in typical racing situations. Throughout the day they will practice procedures like race starts and safety car phases, before they fight for points and trophies for the first time at the season opener in Hockenheim from May 5–7.

Coming up next week

13–16/04 Bahrain (BRN), round 2 of the TCR International Series