Audi Singapore Club

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

Manufacturers’ title and two podium finishes in the finale: Audi has won the manufacturers’ classification of the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge in the second consecutive year. The brand finished the season with a one-point advantage over Hyundai after JDC-Miller MotorSports had claimed a spot on the podium in front of Fast MD Racing. At Road Atlanta, Mikey Taylor/Britt Casey Jr. in an Audi RS 3 LMS finished runners-up in front of Nick Galante/James Vance. In the end, Roadshagger Racing was the best driver squad in the championship. In the field of 28 driver pairings, Gavin Ernstone/Jon Morley finished in third position of the standings. 

Title success in Italy: Jacopo Guidetti and Edoardo Barbolini in an Audi RS 3 LMS won the TCR class for race cars with sequential transmissions in the Coppa Italia. In the first race at Imola, Barbolini celebrated a class victory with a 12.6-second advantage. Third place in the TCR classification went to Omar Fiorucci, his teammate at BF Motorsport in another Audi RS 3 LMS. In the second race, Edoardo Barbolini won the TCR classification with a 4.2-second advantage. As a result, Guidetti/Barbolini secured an advantage of twelve points in the standings. A total of 16 race drivers scored points in this classification this year. 

Season finale ends on a positive note: Team WRT in the joint finale of the TCR Europe and the TCR Benelux at Monza secured several top-three spots in the standings. Santiago Urrutia from Uruguay in an Audi RS 3 LMS claimed positions four and six in the two sprint races. With that, Team WRT is the runner-up in the European teams’ classification, while Urrutia improved from position six to three in the drivers’ classification. In the TCR Benelux Trophy, the WRT team achieved third place ahead of Comtoyou Racing. Gilles Magnus from Comtoyou Racing is ranked in third place of 14 entrants in the Benelux drivers’ classification. 

Good close of the season in the Eset V4 Cup: Radim Adámek and Miro Horňák finished the season in the Eset V4 Cup in Hungary on the podium. The Czech and the Slovak in an Audi RS 3 LMS of Team Horňák-Aditis finished their class runners-up in the endurance race at the Hungaroring, which earned them the third spot in the D4 class standings at the end of the season. 

Runner-up finish on the Nordschleife: Team Møller Bil Motorsport returned from round eight of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring with a trophy. Håkon Schjærin/Kenneth Østvold/Anders Lindstad in an Audi RS 3 LMS finished the TCR class runners-up. 

Podiums in Denmark: Two Audi customer teams achieved podium finishes in the finale of the Danish Endurance Championship. In the first race at Padborg, Stephan Lorenzen in an Audi RS 3 LMS finished took third place in his class. In the second race, the driver pairing Kevin Suenson/Mads Damgaard in another Audi RS 3 LMS finished its class runners-up. 

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Resounding success in Eset V4 Cup: Richard Chlad jr. finished the season in the Eset V4 Cup by netting the maximum number of points. In the finale at the Hungaroring, the Czech in an Audi R8 LMS ultra won two sprint races as well as the one-hour endurance race, securing the titles in both the sprint and the endurance classifications, plus the overall title in the Eset V4 Cup.

Second position in Petit Le Mans race: Team Montaplast by Land-Motorsport in the Petit Le Mans race in America missed its second GTD class victory after 2017 by merely the blink of an eye. In the finale of the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship season at Road Atlanta, Audi Sport driver Christopher Mies, his Swiss teammate Ricardo Feller and Canadian Daniel Morad crossed the finish line after nine hours with just a 0.712-second deficit. In the North American racing series, this marked the best result for the Audi R8 LMS in the season that just ended. The GT3 race cars from seven different manufacturers had finished in the top seven spots. 

Coming up next week

18–19/10 Hockenheim (D), rounds 15 and 16, DMV GTC

18–20/10 Las Vegas (USA), rounds 15 and 16, Pirelli GT4 America/GT4 SX

18–20/10 Las Vegas (USA), rounds 9 and 10, Pirelli GT4 America West

18–20/10 Las Vegas (USA), rounds 15 and 16, TC America TCR

18–20/10 Wakefield (AUS), round 5, GT-1 Australia

18–20/10 Monza (I), rounds 7 and 8, Campionato Italiano GT Sprint

18–20/10 Monza (I), rounds 13 and 14, TCR Italy

19/10 Levels (NZ), round 3, South Island Endurance Series

19–20/10 Winton (AUS), rounds 9 and 10, CAMS NSW Production Sports Car Championship

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“We are always happy to give young people a glimpse behind the scenes at Audi and, in doing so, to help them make career choices,” said Dieter Omert, Head of Vocational Training and Specialist Competence Development at AUDI AG. Together with bayme vbm CEO Bertram Brossardt, he welcomed the numerous guests and cooperation partners at the headquarters in Ingolstadt. The automobile manufacturer has been involved in the come with me project since the 2008/09 school year in order to get young people in fifth grade and up interested in technical careers. Audi’s regional partner schools are the Maria-Ward-Realschule Eichstätt, the Freiherr-von-Ickstatt-Realschule Ingolstadt, the Sir-William-Herrschel-Mittelschule Ingolstadt and the Maria-Ward-Realschule Neuburg. On every project day, one thing is the undisputed focal point: test yourself. bayme vbm CEO Brossardt emphasized: “This project has allowed us to give school students career-related information first hand and thus solicit interest in training in the M+E industry. The participating companies thus make a significant contribution to the career orientation phase.”

“Vorsprung durch Bildung” (Advantage through education) – an initiative of the Bavarian economy

In keeping with the theme of “Interest – Inform – Try it out,” come with me promotes long-term cooperation between secondary schools and companies in the metal and electrical industry (M+E industry). The project is the brainchild of the Bavarian M+E employers, bayme vbm. In this way, they are seeking to contribute to ensuring a new generation of specialists in commerce and technology. More at www.bildunginbayern.de/comewithme

Note to the media:
The come with me anniversary event on Thursday, October 10, begins at 1:30 p.m. Location: Audi Bildungszentrum, Hindemithstraße 27, 85057 Ingolstadt, entrance A, 2nd floor. Media representatives are cordially invited to attend. We will provide photos – they will be available for downloading from about 5 p.m. at www.audi-mediacenter.com.

“With our extensive model range we consistently meet our customers’ wishes and demonstrate our brand’s charisma. Other new models such as the Q3 Sportback are due to be launched by the end of the year, which will further strengthen and rejuvenate our product portfolio,” says Hildegard Wortmann, Member of the Board of Management for Sales and Marketing at AUDI AG. “This prospect gives us a positive outlook for the last quarter of 2019.”

Although deliveries in China were down 3.3 percent year-on-year, the overall balance is positive. Seen across all models, Audi delivered 491,040 units in the period January through September; cumulative deliveries were up 1.7 percent, setting a new benchmark figure. By the end of the year, China will see the launch of brand-new models such as the all-electric Q2 L e-tron from China for China, the Audi e-tron* and the Q8.

In September 2018, restrictions in the portfolio due to the switch to the WLTP test cycle and the challenging startup and discontinuation scenario as part of the Audi model initiative had an adverse effect on deliveries in Europe. This year nearly all variants have been homologated as per the extended test cycle WLTP Second Act and are available in the configurator. In September, deliveries on the home continent increased 33.1 percent to around 49,550 units. Audi holds a strong position in Europe, particularly in private and fleet customers business. Cumulative deliveries were still down 3.4 percent. In Germany, the company delivered 14,649 automobiles (+113.4%) last month, with cumulative deliveries since January down just 1.4 percent on the prior-year figure. Interest remained strong for the new Q3 in Europe in September. The new model generated high growth in countries such as Italy (+171.0% to 832 units), Spain (+149.1% to 436 units)and France (+144.1% to 542 units).

With around 20,600 cars handed over to customers, the company saw deliveries fall by 13.8 percent in North America. Cumulatively, North America closed the first nine months of the year with around 192,450 units, a drop of 7.2 percent. Canada again saw demand increase in September. With 3,453 automobiles the Ingolstadt-based carmaker exceeded the 2018 figure by 5.3 percent last month. The Four Rings delivered 16,130 cars (-16.6%) in the United States. The delivery figures for the new Audi Q3 (+57.6% to 1,820 units) in particular had a positive effect in September. Since the start of the year the new full-size models including the A6 (+128.0%), A7 (+108.0%) and A8 (+161.7%) saw strong growth. Across the entire product portfolio, buyers in the United States took delivery of 158,471 units since January, a decrease of 5.3 percent.

Josef Miehling was born in Ingolstadt in 1957.

After studying Business Administration at the University of Regensburg, he joined AUDI AG in 1981 as a trainee. After holding various positions in Planning and Production, he was appointed to management in 1990. As a project manager and subsequent manager, he was responsible from 1997 to the end of 2000 for setting up Vehicle Production for the Audi TT in Győr, Hungary. This was followed by various management positions in Vehicle Construction, then once again at the Ingolstadt location. Miehling was responsible for reorganizing the Plant Service from 2008 to January 2016. Since February 2016, he has again been in charge of Plant Planning/Plant Service in Győr, which has meanwhile become his second home.

Miehling has been responsible for the newly created Corporate Protection and Real Estate area since October 2019. This department is responsible for the company-wide Environmental Protection, Occupational Safety and Corporate Security protective functions and merges these with the Plant Planning and Plant Service functions. 

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Second Audi victory in New Zealand: In round two of the South Island Endurance Series, the Audi R8 LMS again was the measure of all things in the 3-hour classification. On the circuit at Highlands, Dale Chapman/Marc Doran/Andrew Waite were victorious with the Track Tec Racing team for the first time. A well-timed pit stop during a safety car period after the first hour of racing helped the trio fight back from the fourth spot. Subsequently, the lead changed several times between various competitors. The strongest rivals of the subsequent winners included Neil Foster/Jonny Reid. However, the pairing that had won the opener in an Audi R8 LMS of the IMS team two weeks ago ultimately dropped to third position due to a puncture. 

A fifth Audi R8 LMS in FIA GT World Cup: Team WRT, in addition to the four previously entered Audi R8 LMS cars from Audi Sport Team Rutronik, Audi Sport Team WRT, Audi Sport Asia Team TSRT and Phoenix Racing, has entered another GT3 sports car for Macau. Sitting behind the wheel will be Charles Weerts, who is making his debut in the FIA GT World Cup. Although the Belgian is only 18 years old he has already gathered valuable experience in the Audi R8 LMS in his young career. Last winter, the up-and-coming driver won the teams’ classification of the Gulf Sportscar Championship in an Audi R8 LMS with his team and this year contested the Blancpain GT World Challenge Europe and the Blancpain GT Series Endurance Cup for the first time. At Misano, Weerts was the youngest driver ever to have clinched a pole position and a victory in this series.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

Teams’ title in Scandinavia: Team Brink Motorsport in its so far strongest season in the TCR Scandinavia won the teams’ title for the first time, with a 29-point advantage. The Audi Sport customer team fielded three Audi RS 3 LMS cars for Tobias Brink, Andreas Wernersson and Hannes Morin this year. Brink celebrated two victories this year and Wernersson won four races including the final sprint event at Mantorp Park. No other brand provided as many winners as Audi did on the seven Scandinavian race weekends. In the drivers’ classification, Brink, who placed second in the first sprint race at Mantorp Park, ultimately took the runner-up’s spot. 

Championship runner-up finish in Italy: An Audi Sport customer team finished the TCR DSG Endurance Touring Car Championship season in second position. Following two victories this season, Ermanno Dionisio/Giacomo Barri in an Audi RS 3 LMS of the BF Motorsport team were fighting for the title up until the end in the finale at Mugello. 30 minutes before the two-hour race ended, Barri, while leading the race, had to head for the pits due to a puncture. In the end, the squad had to settle for sixth position and the runner-up finish in the championship. Ermanno Dionisio, however, secured success in class, winning the Gentleman classification of the 2019 season ahead of fellow Audi driver Sandro Pelatti and 16 other competitors. 

Coming up next week

09–12/10 Road Atlanta (USA), round 12, IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship

09–12/10 Road Atlanta (USA), round 10, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge

11–13/10 Le Castellet (F), rounds 11 and 12, GT4 France

11–13/10 Hungaroring (H), rounds 13 and 14, Eset V4 Cup

11–13/10 Shanghai (CN), rounds 11 and 12, China GT Championship

12/10 Nürburgring (D), round 8, VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring

12/10 Santa Cruz do Sol (BR), round 6, Endurance Brasil

12–13/10 Monza (I), rounds 13 and 14, International GT Open

12–13/10 Monza (I), rounds 11 and 12, GT Cup Open Europe

12–13/10 Monza (I), rounds 13 and 14, TCR Europe

12–13/10 Monza (I), rounds 9 and 10, TCR Benelux

12–13/10 Jarama (E), round 4, Campeonato de España de Resistencia

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