Flying Lizard Motorsports Press
Release
Two Audi R8 LMS for Full
Inaugural TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Season
November 11, 2013 – Sonoma,
California
Following a decade in the
American Le Mans Series and coming off of a team championship clinching GTC
class win in the final ALMS race at Road Atlanta, Flying Lizard Motorsports
today announced that it would join the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship
with two cars to be run in the GT Daytona class for the 2014 season. The team
will continue to campaign the No 45 as it has since the team's inception while
adding the No 35 to its stable, replacing No 44. Flying Lizard will announce
its 2014 driver lineup at a later date.
For the first time in its
history, the team is working with a new manufacturer, and has taken delivery of
two Audi R8 LMS race cars for the 2014 racing program. Based on the R8 street
car, the R8 LMS has had significant success in GT3 format racing worldwide,
including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at
Daytona.
Chief Strategist Thomas Blam
talked about the new partnership with Audi Sport customer racing and the
opportunity to race the R8 LMS, saying "We are excited to be working with
Audi. Their success with prototypes and the potential of the R8 LMS is a great
fit for our experience and success in GT. While we have a huge amount to learn
about this car and the new GTD class in the TUDOR United SportsCar
Championship, our early assessment is that we are in a great position to work
for race wins immediately and should be competing for the championship this
year. This is, of course, absolutely our goal. The car has excellent potential
and we can't wait to get started."
Team Principal and Driver Seth Neiman
on the shift from Porsche: "This is certainly a substantial change for the
team as Porsche has been a great partner for many years. Equally, Audi is a
great company with a spectacular racing pedigree, a serious commitment to GT
racing, and a clear commitment to forging an alliance to continue both of our
winning traditions far into the future. They know how to win, we know how to
win, and we both are totally focused on doing just that. This is a strong
foundation for a long and successful relationship."
Flying Lizard will take to the
track with its new cars for the first time on November 16th and 17th at Sebring
International Raceway and on November 19th and 20th at Daytona International
Speedway for the IMSA sanctioned season opening tests for the TUDOR United
SportsCar Championship.
About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).
Flying Lizard has also competed
in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2012, finishing third in 2005,
fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, sixth in 2011, and fourth in 2012.
Please visit the team website at www.lizardms.com and the team store at www.flyinglizardstore.com.
About Audi of America and the
Audi R8 LMS
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components
Audi of America, Inc. and its
U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is
among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a
top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company
sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on
new products and technologies.
Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi
vehicle and business issues.
Photo credit: Audi of America [2013 Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]
