O’Young and You set
for Audi R8 LMS Cup debuts
· Extra
double-header extends inaugural championship
· FIA
WTCC regular Darryl O’Young and South Korean racing star K.O. You confirmed for
Shanghai
· Cup
supports FIA World Endurance Championship season finale
Shanghai, October
24, 2012 – Testament to the growing regard in which the first Audi one-makes
championship is held, FIA World Touring Car Championship (WTCC) regular Darryl
O’Young will make his debut in the Audi R8 LMS Cup in two races this weekend
held in support of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC).
Joining the Hong
Kong sportscar ace at the Shanghai International Circuit from October 26-28,
will be South Korean Kyoung Ouk You (known as K.O.), who also makes his debut
in the series and is the first Korean driver in the series.
For the Audi R8 LMS
Cup regulars though, the battle for the championship resumes in Shanghai this
weekend. While Hong Kong’s Marchy Lee leads the charge for Audi Ultra,
Adderly Fong is just eight points adrift in the KLM Team entry.
The two races this
weekend are held in support of the finale of the FIA World Endurance
Championship (WEC). Two Audi driver teams will be battling for the world
champion’s title in Shanghai. Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer,
the 2011 and reigning 24 Hours of Le Mans winners with Audi, improved their
chances of clinching the title when they finished runner-up at the Fuji 6 Hours
in Japan. They are 16.5 points ahead of their team-mates Tom Kristensen/Allan
McNish.
Said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing China: “We
are delighted to welcome Darryl O’Young and K.O. You to the Audi R8 LMS
Cup. The FIA WEC weekend gives us an opportunity to introduce our
talented Asian drivers to the Audi global motorsport family, and to show just
how high the standard of racing in the region has become. As well as
proving the power, performance, agility and reliability of the Audi R8 LMS Cup,
as a one-makes championship, it is the ideal way to showcase the skills of our
drivers.”
O’Young is no
stranger to the brand with the Four Rings. He has twice won the famed Bathhurst
12 Hours in an Audi R8 and was part of the GTC Class winning Audi China team at
the 2011 International Le Mans Cup race in Zhuhai. Currently contesting his
third season in the FIA WTCC, O’Young took victory in the Macau GT Cup in 2008.
However, one man’s
gain is another’s loss, and O’Young will be standing in for Audi GQ regular
driver and championship contender Alex Yoong of Malaysia. Yoong is
committed to broadcast duties at the Indian Formula 1 Grand Prix, so will miss
out on the two Shanghai races.
Korean K.O. You,
meanwhile, won a Formula BMW Asia scholarship in 2003, going on to become
Rookie of the Year that season and championship runner-up in 2004. He is
a two-time Korean GT Masters champion, won the 3800 Class in the CJ Super Race
series in 2011, and has twice been the recipient of Korea’s ‘Racing Driver of
the Year’ award.
While Lee and Fong
may lead the points charge, with a total of 102 points still up for grabs
before the season’s closer, the championship remains very much open.
Sun Zheng of China,
in the Team Erdos Xinan entry, and Team Betterlife’s Wang Jian Wei will be glad
of the additional two races in which to make their mark. Either could
potentially pull off a late-season charge to snatch the title from the two
front-runners.
Exciting young
driver David Zhu returns to the Audi R8 LMS Cup for the Shanghai races having
impressed on his series debut in Zhuhai last month. The former single
seater driver just missed out on a podium in his first career sportscar races
and will be one to watch in Shanghai.
The Audi R8 LMS Cup made its worldwide debut in Shanghai in April then
headed to China’s Pearl River Delta and the Zhuhai International Circuit and
Inner Mongolia’s Ordos track, before returning to Zhuhai in September.
The FIA WEC-supporting rounds this weekend will set the stage for November’s
Shanghai double-header season finale.
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Provisional Calendar
Date
|
Event
|
Circuit
|
Rds
|
March 30 – April
1
|
Test
|
Zhuhai
International Circuit, Zhuhai, China
|
-
|
April 27-29
|
China Touring Car
Championship
|
Shanghai
International
Circuit,
Shanghai, China
|
1 & 2
|
June 1-3
|
China Touring Car
Championship
|
Zhuhai
International Circuit, Zhuhai, China
|
3 & 4
|
August 17-19
|
China Touring Car
Championship
|
Ordos
International Circuit, Ordos, China
|
5 & 6
|
September 14-16
|
Pan Delta Super
Racing Festival
|
Zhuhai
International Circuit, Zhuhai, China
|
7 & 8
|
October 26-28
|
FIA World
Endurance Championship
|
Shanghai
International
Circuit,
Shanghai, China
|
9 & 10
|
November 9-11
|
Shanghai
Sportscar
Festival
|
Shanghai
International
Circuit,
Shanghai, China
|
11 & 12
|
