By Johan Laubscher
1. The Weekend
Focussing this week on the weekend of 27 - 28
April 2013
2. The Events
- VLN
- ADAC GT Masters
- Portuguese GT / Supercars Series
- GT-Tour
- Super GT
- HSR
- Cup & Tourenwagen Trophy
- European Hillclimb Championship
- Manx Classic
2.1. VLN
Round three of the VLN took place in chaotic conditions. The race got
underway in torrential rain and cold temperatures, and finished on a drying
track with the competitors on slicks. Victory went to the #5 Phoenix Racing
Audi R8 LMS ultra which was driven by Marcel Fässler and Frank Stippler. A
total of seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars took part in round three. Behind the top
SP9 class (R8 LMS ultra cars) there was further Audi success with Audi TT RS
cars winning the SP3T and SP4T classes.
2.2. ADAC GT Masters
Oschersleben hosted the first round of the
ADAC GT Masters this weekend. Six Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, all in 2013
specification, have been entered this year. Three cars from Prosperia C.ABT
Racing, two from MS Racing and one from YACO Racing. The Audi cars suffered
during qualifying, but during the wet first race the #27 of Rast / Mies was
able to come through and win the first race of the season. Four Audis finished
within the top ten in race one. The second race took place in dry conditions
and the top placed, and only Audi in the top ten, finished in sixth place.
2.3. Portuguese
GT / Supercars Series
The Portuguese GT Championship, now known as the Supercars Portugal
Series, took place alongside the Supercars International Series this weekend.
The event took place at Aragon in Spain. One Audi R8 LMS team has entered the
series for 2013, Team Nova Driver, who are once again fielding a two car
effort. Both of the team’s cars are in the 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra specification.
The team qualified on the overall pole and finished the race second overall,
and first in the Portuguese GT standings. The second Nova car unfortunately
retired from the race.
2.4. GT-Tour
The French GT-Tour got underway at Le Mans this weekend. The series
competed on the permanent Bugatti circuit. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars (all in
2013 specification) took part, three from Saintéloc and one from Team Speed
Car. The cars performed well with a fourth in the first race and seventh in the
second race. The top placed Audi in both races was the #42 of David Halliday
and Gregory Guilvert.
2.5. Super GT
Round two of Japanese Super GT Championship took place at the Fuji
Speedway. The two regular Audi R8 LMS ultra teams took part. Hitotsuyama Racing
with a 2013 R8 LMS ultra and äpr racing with a 2012 R8 LMS ultra. Both teams
qualified outside of the top ten for the race held on the Monday following the
weekend.
2.6. HSR
The Historic Sportscar Racing (HSR) series hosted the annual Mitty at
Road Atlanta. The Mitty is an annual historic sportscar racing event. One Audi
R8 LMP was entered, the Audi R8 (#606) of Travis Engen.
2.7. Cup & Tourenwagen Trophy
The Cup & Tourenwagen
Trophy is a German series which featured a number of Audi race cars last year.
The first round took place at Hochenheim. One Audi was entered, the Audi TT
driven by Franz-Josef Fischer.
2.8. European Hillclimb Championship
The Rechberg Hillclimb was held in Austria, a round of the FIA European
Hillclimb Championship. A number of Audi cars took part, including most notably
the Audi A4 STW of Andreas Marko and the
newly modified ABT-Audi TT-R of Vláďa Vitver.
2.9. Manx Classic
The Manx Classic took place in the Isle of Man this weekend. The Keith
Edwards Motors Audi Sport quattro took part in this event.
2.10. Other Audi News
An Audi R18 e-tron quattro display car was present in Belgium this week.
A pre-event press conference was held in the centre of Liege. A Toyota TS030
display car was also part of the display, alongside the Audi. Loïc Duval also
attended the press conference which was aimed at promoting the Six Hours of
Spa, round two of the FIA WEC which is taking place in May.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours entry list was released this week. The current
list includes nineteen Audis, eight of which are Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. More
can be read HERE. The entry list can be seen HERE.
The Nürburgring 24 Hours press conference was held this week. Two Audi
R8 LMS ultra cars were present at the conference. Nineteen Audis will take part
in the event spearheaded by the reigning champions, Phoenix Racing.
During Sunday afternoon the official Audi Sport Facebook page launched
an online competition. Fans are encouraged to prove that they are “Audi
Motorsport’s biggest fan” by submitting their best photos from the 2012 season.
The winners stand a chance to win various Audi Sport merchandise.
At the 2012 Audi Sport year end function (Audi Sport Finale), it was
announced that Dindo Capello would receive the 2012 Sebring 12 Hours winning
Audi R18 TDI. The car would be supplied to be on display at Capello’s Italian
Audi dealership. The R18 was delivered this week.
Audi Sport Italia will return to the Italian GT Championship. The team
will be fielding two 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra cars (car pictured is in 2012
specification). The new livery and driver line-up was revealed this week. The
two-car team will consist of Dindo Capello /
Andrea Sonvico and Johan
Kirstoffersson / Alex Frassineti.
Istook Motorsport has revealed their livery and sponsors this week. The
team is working on preparing their two TT RS race cars for their first entry in
the 2013 SCCA World Challenge.
The new Iron Man 3 Movie, which features Audi cars, will be promoted in
the DTM. The Audi RS 5 DTM of Adrien Tambay will compete with an Iron Man 3
livery at Hockenheim next weekend.
3. Next Weekend’s events (4-5/05/2013)
- DTM
- FIA WEC
- BTCC
- SA Production Cars
- British GT
- Italian GT
- RCN
- SCCA U.S. Majors
- Swedish GT
- Audi R8 LMS Cup
- Brazilian GT
All photos are hosted at their respective
website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
