By Johan Laubscher
1. The
Weekend
Focussing on
the weekend of 28 - 29 September 2013
2. The
Events
- DTM
- FIA GT Series
- ADAC GT Masters
- Grand-Am
- VLN
- DMV TCC
- AvD 100 Meilen
- Superstars GT Sprint
- Superstars
- BTCC
- SVRA
- Audi endurance experience (24-25 Sep)
- Norwegian GT
- Circuit des Remparts d'Angoulêmeles
- Histo Cup
2.1. DTM
The ninth and penultimate DTM round headed to
Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Mike Rockenfeller arrived at Zandvoort with the
distinct possibility of clinching the DTM title with one round to spare. The
Audi squad got the weekend off to a good start during free practice on
Saturday. Five Audis placed within the top ten that morning. Qualifying saw
Mike Rockenfeller taking third on the grid ahead of Timo Scheider in fourth,
leading six Audis inside of the top ten. The race began with Rocky making a massively
good start and challenging for second, a place which he managed to take during
the opening laps. A battle ensued between Rocky and Augusto Farfus, with Audi teammates
backing up Rocky from behind. Rocky maintained second place during the race
with Timo Scheider running in third. A late-race safety car period bunched up
the field, leaving just a two lap dash to the flag. The positions at the front
remained the same as Farfus won in his BMW and Rocky finished second, which was
enough to clinch the title for Mike Rockenfeller. Rocky, the new DTM champion,
lead home six Audis within the top ten. These latest results have elevated Audi
into the lead of the manufacture’s championship and Audi Sport Team Phoenix
into the lead of the team’s championship.
Audi race results: P2 Mike Rockenfeller, P3 Timo Scheider, P4 Mattias Ekström, P6 Adrien Tambay, P8 Filipe Albuquerque, P10 Miguel Molina, P13 Jamie Green, P14 Edoardo Mortara
Audi race results: P2 Mike Rockenfeller, P3 Timo Scheider, P4 Mattias Ekström, P6 Adrien Tambay, P8 Filipe Albuquerque, P10 Miguel Molina, P13 Jamie Green, P14 Edoardo Mortara
2.2. FIA GT Series
Navarra in Spain hosted the fifth and
penultimate FIA GT Series round this weekend. Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were
entered, three from Belgian Audi Team WRT and one from Team Novadriver. WRT
arrived with the goal of maintaining their advantage at the head of the
driver’s and team’s points standings. During qualifying the Audis showed very
well, as Stippler and Sandström qualified on the front row. The qualifying race
got underway in wet conditions, with many teams gambling on tires. The #12 WRT Audi
suffered on the wrong tires, but a terrific battle for second place ensued
between the #11 and #13 WRT Audis. By the end of the race the #13 of Stippler
and Sandtröm finished second, as Ortelli and Vanthoor dropped back to seventh,
having gambled on the wrong tires during the pitstop. The #14 Team Novadriver
Audi finished sixth overall, taking third in the PAM class. The main
championship race on Sunday saw another podium result for WRT, as the #13 crew finished
third, followed by their teammates in the #12 in fifth. The #11 of Vanthoor and
Ortelli suffered brake issues and finished fifteenth. Team Novadriver finished
ninth overall, again on the PAM podium. The championship battle will come down
to the final round at Baku, as Ortelli and Vanthoor lead the standings in the
#11 WRT Audi, just five points ahead of Stippler and Sandström in the #13 WRT Audi. Belgian Audi
Club Team WRT remain in the lead of the team’s championship points.
2.3. ADAC GT Masters
The finale
of the ADAC GT Masters season was held at Hockenheim. The championship came
down to the final round. Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered.
Three cars from Prosperia C.ABT Racing, two from MS Racing, one from YACO
Racing and an additional guest entry from Phoenix Racing. Prosperia C.Abt
Racing arrived as the leaders in the team’s standings and their #27 Audi driver
crew, Christopher Mies and Rene Rast, were in the running for the driver’s
title. Qualifying saw Rast and Mies as the leading Audi during both sessions,
taking third on the gird for race one and fifth for race two. Race one turned
into a very difficult race for Prosperia C.Abt Racing, as all three cars failed
to finish. Rahel Frey suffered a massive crash and roll in the #26 Prosperia R8
LMS ultra, but fortunately she has been reported as unharmed. The best placed
Audi during race one was the #1 MS Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra in eighth, the only
Audi within the top ten.
2.4. Grand-Am
Lime Rock Park played host to the twelfth and
final round of the Rolex Grand-Am Series. Fall-Line Motorsports was again the
lone Audi entrant with their #46 Audi R8 GRAND-AM, driven by Al Carter and Eric
Lux this weekend. They qualified in twelfth and finished the 2 hour forty-five
minute race in twelfth place as well.
2.5. VLN
The seventh meeting of the VLN Endurance
Championship was held at the Nürburgring this weekend. A total of seven Audis
were entered. Only one Audi R8 LMS ultra was entered this weekend, the #44 Audi
entry from Twin Busch Motorsport in the SP9 class. An army of six Audi TT cars
were also entered. Three TT RS cars were entered in SP3T, joined by one TT and
one TTS. One TT RS was entered in SP4T. The Audi Sport customer racing
developed TT RS entries included Raeder Motorsport, Møller Bil Motorsport and
Rotek Racing. During qualifying the Twin Busch R8 LMS ultra was the highest
place Audi in eighth overall. There was an Audi 1-2-3-4 at the top of the SP3T
class. The #331 Raeder Motorsport Audi TT RS took pole in SP3T and the #249
Rotek Racing TT RS took pole in SP4T. The race concluded with the #44 Twin
Busch Audi R8 LMS ultra unfortunately running low on fuel during the final lap,
while they were running as high as second. The fuel miscalculation cost the
team and they were ultimately classified as a non finisher. SP3T was dominated
by the Audi TT RS cars, as the #331 Raeder entry won the class ahead of the
#334 Møller Bil TT RS and the #290 TT RS in third. Rotek Racing won the SP4T
class.
2.6. DMV TCC
The DMV
Touring Car Challenge headed to Monza for its eighth and penultimate round of
the season. RS Tuning was entered with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra team. A
third Audi joined the gird this weekend, the ex-ROC French Supertourisme Audi
80 of Joachim Duscher. During qualifying for the first race the highest Audi
was that of Haggenmüller, who qualified twelfth overall and seventh in class.
Weidt qualified seventeenth overall and eighth in class. The Audi 80 of Duscher
was twenty-eighth overall, sixth in class. Qualifying for race two again
yielded Haggenmüller as the highest Audi, this time placing thirteenth overall,
eighth in class. Weidt qualified nineteenth overall and ninth in class. Duscher
was thirtieth overall, fifth in class. Race one ended with Haggenmüller
finishing fifth in class, placing tenth overall. Weidt finished sixteenth
overall and seventh in class, whilst Duscher was unfortunately not classified
as a finisher and also did not take part in the second race. Race two
saw Haggenmüller finishing eighth overall, fifth in class
and Weidt in fifteenth overall, seventh in class.
Monza Motorsport FB page / Stefano Ciabattoni
2.7. AvD 100 Meilen
The sixth and final round of the 2013 AvD 100
Meilen championship took place at Monza this weekend. RS Tuning took part with
a single Audi R8 LMS ultra entry. This was the third AvD 100 Meilen event in
succession which saw the participation of the RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra. The
team won round four overall at the Red Bull Ring, followed by a GT class
runner-up spot at Dijon, round five. The RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra was shared
by Suzanne Weidt and Dietmar Haggenmüller in the AvD 100 Meilen race at Monza.
The same two drivers who piloted the team’s two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in the
DMV TCC races on Saturday. The RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra cars feature the full
2013 specification, as they are allowed to run the original 2013 Audi R8 LMS
ultra rear diffuser in the DMV TCC and the AvD 100 Melien. They qualified in
eighth place overall, taking pole in the Div-4.1 class. By the end of the race
the #88 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossed the finish line in sixth place overall. This
result was enough to clinch victory in the Div-4.1 class, and they were also
the leading GT class car in the race, finishing behind the prototype runners. This
weekend concluded the 2013 AvD 100 Meilen season, which was highlighted by RS
Tuning’s overall win at the Red Bull Ring in August.
2.8. Superstars GT Sprint
The Superstars GT Sprint Series headed to
Imola for its penultimate round of the season. MTM Motorsport continued their
good form with the Audi R8 LMS. Thomas Schöffler, MTM’s lead driver, arrived at
Imola as the GT Sprint championship points leader. The team’s aim was to defend
his championship lead this weekend, ahead of the finale in October. He was
joined by Johan Kristoffersson this weekend, sharing the controls of the #45
Audi R8 LMS. This was the second time that Kristoffersson had joined Schöffler
and MTM this season, as he had also raced with the team during round two at
Brno in May. They qualified on pole for race one, followed by second on the
grid for race two. The two races were held on Sunday, with the first race
seeing the Audi MTM pairing finishing in first place. They backed up that
result with another victory in race two. It has been another very good weekend
for MTM and Thomas Schöffler remains the championship points leader as the team
heads to the finale at Vallelunga in October.
2.9. Superstars
The Superstars Series headed to round seven
at Imola. Audi Sport Italia arrived with a full set of three Audi RS 5 quattro
race cars. Championship points leader and lead Audi Sport Italia driver, Gianni
Morbidelli, was joined by Davide Di Benedetto and Giuseppe Cipriani. During
qualifying the Audis struggled and Gianni Morbidelli was the highest Audi on
the grid in eighth. Race one saw the Audis improving in the wet conditions, as Gianni
Morbidelli moved up to second ahead of Di Benedetto in fourth and Cipriani in
ninth. Race two again saw the Audi drivers capitalizing with quattro in the wet
weather. Gianni Morbidelli won the second race, extending his championship lead
even further. His teammates, Di Benedetto and Cipriani, finished fourth and
fifth respectively.
2.10. BTCC
The penultimate BTCC round headed to
Silverstone, running on the national circuit this weekend. Rob Austin Racing
was back on the grid with their two Audi A4 NGTC race cars. The team was on a
high following their maiden BTCC victory with Rob Austin at Rockingham last
time out. Qualifying saw the Audis in seventeenth and nineteenth, with Bratt
ahead of Austin. Rob Austin was able to recover during race one, as he went
from nineteenth to twelfth. Race two saw an unfortunate crash for Rob Austin,
but his teammate, Will Bratt, was able to score twelfth place. The third and
final race saw Rob Austin finishing in seventeenth.
2.11. SVRA
The SVRA
hosted the Heacock Classic Gold Cup at Virginia International Raceway. Two
Audis were entered at this historic racing event. The first entry was that of Travis
Engen and his Audi R8 (#606) run by GMT Racing. The second entry was an
ex-Champion Racing Audi S4 Competition driven by Mike Fisher.
2.12. Audi
endurance experience
The Audi
race experience was at Magny Cours this week. This is a one-make series
consisting of Audi A1 race cars run by Audi France. This was the fourth meeting
of 2013 and was run on 24-25 September this week.
2.13. Norwegian GT
The Norwegian NBF GT Racing Championship held
its sixth and final round at Mantorp Park. This series has seen a number of
Audi race cars competing, including: 2007 Audi A4 DTM R13, Audi A5 TDI, Audi 80
and Audi RS 4.
2.14. Circuit
des Remparts d'Angoulêmeles
The Circuit des Remparts d'Angoulêmeles was held in France this weekend. A number of Audis were present, including an Audi quattro A1 rally car.
2.15. Histo Cup
The Austrian Histo Cup was also at Monza this
weekend. The #237 V8 powered Audi A4 B5 of Hans Huber was present.
Monza Motorsport FB page / Stefano Ciabattoni
2.16. Other Audi News
The official Audi Sport Facebook page reached
250000+ likes this week. The new milestone was celebrated with an image
featuring the number 250000 along with the #2 Audi R18 e-tron quattro, the #24
AJR Audi R8 GRAND-AM and the #19 Phoenix Racing Audi RS 5 DTM of Mike
Rockenfeller.
Tom Kristensen has been conformed for the
2013 Race of Champions. Mr Le Mans has taken part in the event during recent
years and he will again be back to fight for the title. The 2013 Race of
Champions will be taking place at Bangkok’s Rajamangala Stadium on the weekend
of 14-15 December.
The last big daylong endurance race of the
year will be the 25 Hours of Thunderhill in North America. Audi R8 LMS entries
will be debuting at the event this year. The
provisional entry list with the current registered entrants was released this
week. A total of two Audi cars are included thus far. The two cars are Audi R8
LMS vehicles, both entered by GMG Racing in the ES class. Rotek Racing have
mentioned on their Facebook page that they will be at the 25 Hours of
Thunderhill this year. Rotek Racing has been campaigning an Audi TT RS (VLN
SP4T) car in the German VLN Endurance Championship this year, the very same car
that was used by 034 Motorsport at the 2012 25 Hours of Thunderhill. Their Audi
TT RS entry is expected to appear on the provisional entry list very soon, thus
taking the current Audi count up to three cars. The 2013 25 Hours of
Thunderhill is scheduled to take place from 7-8 December.
The third edition of the Gulf 12 Hours at the
Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi will be taking place in December. United
Autosports will be returning to the event once more, armed with their Audi R8
LMS ultra. The provisional entry
list has been released and updated. Thus far the entry list includes a large
number of GT3 competitors, including one Audi R8 LMS ultra. United Autosports
will be fielding two cars this year, their R8 LMS ultra and one McLaren
MP4-12C. 11-13 December 2013 will see the third Gulf 12 Hours being hosted at
Yas Marina.
Phoenix Racing had a guest appearance in the
ADAC GT Masters this weekend. The team entered one Audi R8 LMS ultra for the
season finale hosted at Hockenheim. The #49 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Nico
Verdonck and Enzo Ide. Phoenix Racing also added “Go Rocky” logos on the car in
support of Mike Rockenfeller who was fighting for the DTM title at Zandvoort.
A FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting was
held on Friday, 27 September. A number of announcements were made ahead of 2014
regarding a number of FIA championships. It was announced that the LMP1 field
will be split into two classes: LMP-L (light) for non-hybrid privateers and
LMP-H (hybrid) for factory and privateer hybrid entries.
An announcement regarding the future of the
GT regulations was also made at the FIA World Motor Sport Council meeting on
Friday. It was announced that a new proposed set of rules are being developed
to converge the GTE and GT3 categories. The new rule set will be put forward in
June of 2014 with GT+ and GT categories, to be implemented by 2016.
Due to Rene Rast being in the ADAC GT Masters
title fight he was seen at Hockenheim aiming for the title with Prosperia C.ABT
Racing this weekend. With the FIA GT Series also taking place at Navarra in
Spain this weekend, Oliver Jarvis was called in to take Rast’s regular seat in
the #12 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Audi R8 LMS ultra, alongside Nikolaus
Mayr-Melnhof.
The Baku World Challenge in Azerbaijan is set
to host the finale of the 2013 FIA GT Series. The event, hosted on the city
street course, was originally scheduled for 18-20 October, but it has now been
moved to 22-24 November.
3. Next Weekend’s events (5-6/10/2013)
- SA Production Cars
- British GT
- STT
- Pirelli World Challenge
- RCN (3/10)
- GT Open
- Supercars International Series
- Brazilian GT
- Cup und Tourenwagen Trophy
- Race Trophy Austria
- Super GT
