Audi customer teams in the USA, Italy, France and Japan scored podium finishes this weekend in GT racing. Meanwhile, Audi welcomed many guests to its home DTM race at the Norisring.
Audi R8 LMS ultra finishes second and third in Italy
Audi Sport Team Italia celebrated its first two podium results of the season at the third Italian GT Championship race weekend at Imola: after starting from the third row, Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini fought their way up to second place in the first race. Their team mates Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli, who missed the first race due to a defect, also took a podium after finishing third in the second race.
CRP Racing takes podium finish at Road America
At the seventh round of the Pirelli World Challenge at Road America (USA), Mike Skeen took a podium finish in an Audi R8 LMS ultra for Audi customer team CRP Racing. Skeen finished third overall in the eleventh race of the season, which had been cancelled due to torrential rain four weeks previously in Detroit, and was now held at Road America.
AB Sport Auto in the top 3
The French Audi customer team AB Sport Auto took a podium result in its class at the fourth round of the V de V Endurance Series in the three-hour race at Dijon, France. Eric van de Vyver/Tiziano Carugati/Claude Terrier finished the endurance race in third place in the GTV2 class in their Audi R8 LMS.
Podium in the GTM class
Jerry Wang finished third in the GTM category in an Audi R8 LMS fielded by Absolute Racing at the second GT Asia race weekend held at Okayama, Japan. Wang initially led the GTM class in the first race, was put under pressure and dropped down to third after a spin.
Audi in the Spa 24 Hours with Le Mans winners and a DTM Champion
Four Le Mans winners, a DTM Champion, plus many GT winners – the four new Audi R8 LMS cars will be well-filled at the Spa 24 Hours on July 25/26, 2015. In Audi Sport Team WRT, last year’s winners, René Rast/Laurens Vanthoor/Markus Winkelhock (D/B/D) will share an R8 LMS. Sitting in the second race car will be two former winners of the iconic race in the Ardennes, Frank Stippler (D) and Stéphane Ortelli (MC), plus DTM driver Nico Müller (CH), who celebrated the first 24-hour race victory for the new R8 LMS at the Nürburgring in May. Audi Sport Team Phoenix will field a GT3 sports car for Marcel Fässler (CH) and André Lotterer (D). The three-time Le Mans winners will share driving duties with Mike Rockenfeller (D), the 2013 DTM champion and 2010 Le Mans winner. In the second Phoenix cockpit, three 24-hour Nürburgring race winners, Christopher Mies (D), Christian Mamerow (D) and Nicki Thiim (DK), will take turns at the wheel.
Edoardo Mortara to start in Audi R8 LMS Cup
Edoardo Mortara will contest three races in Asia only one week after the DTM race around the Norisring. The Audi driver competes as wildcard starter in the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the third event of the season in Taiwan. The pro racer from Geneva competed as guest in Audi Sport customer racing Asia’s one-make trophy in 2012 and 2013. At that time he took victories in Shanghai and Macau. “It’s always nice to return to the Audi R8 LMS Cup and to measure yourself against your opponents,” said the 28-year old Italian.
Audi welcomes guests from sport and industry in Nuremberg
Athletes from two different disciplines visited the Audi racers at the Norisring. The ice hockey players from ERC Ingolstadt and FC Ingolstadt team members got a taste for racing in the center of Nuremberg with Audi’s DTM squad. Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler-Thumann, General Partner of the Schaeffler Group, also visited the third DTM weekend.
Two Scandinavians at the Norisring
With Tom Kristensen and Edward Sandström, two racing drivers from Scandinavia connected with Audi performed different jobs at the Norisring. Sandström jumped between driving the Audi RS 5 DTM Race Taxi and the Audi R8 LMS. The Swede steered his original winning car from the 24 hours at the Nürburgring in May. Tom Kristensen attended the event at the Norisring as ‘Race Consultant’ for the Race Stewards. The Dane also presented the trophies during the FIA Formula 3 European Championship victory ceremony. The nine-time Le Mans winner finished his career last year. In November, he returns to a race car cockpit for the ‘Race of Champions’ in London.
Audi employees and partners cheer on from the stands
The Audi teams and drivers were pleased once again about the strong support at the Norisring. More than 1,300 Audi employees were not going to miss the opportunity to cheer on their racers on location in the employee tent. However, the race in Nuremberg is not only a home event for the Ingolstadt based company. The Schaeffler Group, one of Audi’s partners in the DTM, is based in Herzogenaurach. 1,000 company employees visited the third DTM race weekend. The Hoffmann Group was also in Nuremberg with several hundred employees and customers.
Fascination Le Mans at Goodwood and in Nuremberg
Audi brought the flair of the 24 Hours of Le Mans to Germany and England. Benoît Tréluyer drove the Audi R18 e-tron quattro from Le Mans in front of huge crowds at the ‘Festival of Speed’ at Goodwood. His stablemates André Lotterer and Oliver Jarvis were in demand for autographs and interviews. Their WEC team mate Marcel Fässler visited the DTM at the Norisring, where the Swiss drove the Audi RS 5 DTM Race Taxi and presented a trophy at the Audi Sport TT Cup victory ceremony. Like the public at Goodwood, the German fans could also admire an Audi R18 e-tron quattro, which was on display on Audi’s stand in Nuremberg.
Audi engineer Leena Gade advertises for her profession
Experience from Le Mans in the auditorium: Leena Gade, who has won the 24 Hours of Le Mas three times as Audi race engineer, spoke as guest speaker at the ‘National Women in Engineering Day’. The Institution of Mechanical Engineers in London had invited female students as well as working female engineers to share experiences. “It’s great to meet other female engineers,” said Leena Gade. “This event has developed positively for many years now and inspires young women for our occupation.”
Tom Kristensen tries high-speed sailing
Audi Sport legend Tom Kristensen paid yet another visit to the Kieler Woche when he attended the 121st running of the event on Monday and Tuesday. The nine-time winner of the 24 Hours of Le Mans insisted on taking the opportunity during the regatta, held since 1882, to sail on the Baltic Sea on the Oman Sail team’s MOD70-Trimaran skippered by Frenchman Sidney Gavignet. With a maximum speed of up to 40 knots, this racing class is regarded as one of the fastest in the world. Audi is premium partner to the Kieler Woche since 2010.