By Tarek Ramchani and Johan Laubscher
The Audi brand had a very strong year in the VLN Endurance Championship during 2013. No less than four overall victories with the Audi R8 LMS ultra, as well as multiple class wins with the Audi TT RS.
Phoenix Racing was the best Audi team in the Nürburgring Nordschleife based series this year, with three outright victories. The fourth win came from the Twin Busch Motorsport team.
The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below:
The first round of the VLN championship was set to take place this weekend. The dangerous weather conditions unfortunately led to the cancelation of the race meeting. This was the second cancellation as the official VLN test day was also cancelled, which would have taken place last weekend.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (23-24/03/2013)
Round two of the VLN finally got the season underway this weekend, following round one and the test day being cancelled due to bad weather in recent weeks. Twelve Audis were entered at this round, which included three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The Audis battled during qualifying and the highest placed R8 LMS ultra in the race was the Twin Busch entry in eighth overall. Behind the fight up front there was an Audi 1-2-3 finish in the SP3T class.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (13-14/04/2013)
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.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (27-28/04/2013)
The first VLN round following the Nürburgring 24 Hours was held this weekend. A total of ten Audis were entered, which included three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The race was stopped early due to a fatality. Wolf Silvester sadly passed away whilst driving an Opel in the event. The race was classified with the victory going to the #15 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Frank Stippler, Ferdinand Stuck and Johannes Stuck - however the result does become rather academic given the tragic events which had occurred. R.I.P. Wolf Silvester.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (22-23/06/2013)
Round five of the VLN was held at the Nurburgring this weekend. A total of nine Audis were at the event. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered from Phoenix Racing and Twin Busch Motorsport. Unfortunately only one R8 LMS ultra competed, following a technical problem on the Twin Busch car. The Phoenix Racing R8 LMS ultra finished fourth. The Raeder Motorsport TT RS won the SP3T class and it was also an Audi 1-2, as an Audi TTS finished second in SP3T.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (20-21/07/2013)
The VLN resumed at the Nürburgring this weekend, round six with the Six Hour ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-race. A total of sixteen Audis took part, which included six Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, multiple TT RS cars and more. The big news was the three car team entered by Phoenix Racing, spearheaded by the return of Hans-Joachim Stuck alongside his two sons in the #15 Audi. Saturday morning started very well as the #37 Phoenix Audi took pole position. Unfortunately Hans-Joachim Stuck suffered a crash during qualifying. The damaged #15 Audi was unable to compete in the six hour event due to the sustained damage. The race itself finished with excellent performances from the Audi teams. Phoenix Racing finished second and third with their two remaining Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, and the Audi TT RS teams took victory in the SP3T and SP4T classes.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (24-25/08/2013)
The German VLN Endurance Championship held its seventh round of the season at the Nürburgring. It was an unlucky race for the R8 LMS ultra competitors, but it was certainly a good day for the Audi TT RS entrants. Only two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered this weekend, a single entry each from Twin Busch Motorsport and Phoenix Racing. The Audi TT RS teams stole the show for Audi during the four hour VLN race. LMS Engineering made it a victorious comeback and debut for their #1 Audi TT RS. They achieved class pole position, class victory and they finished in a very impressive sixth overall. It was also an Audi 1-2-3-4-5-6 in SP3T, as the #334 Møller Bil Motorsport TT RS finished second ahead of the Raeder Motorsport #331 TT RS in third and the #290 TT RS in fourth. Audi TTS race cars also finished fifth and sixth in SP3T. The TT RS clean sweep was completed by the Rotek Racing #249 taking victory in SP4T. Both Audi R8 LMS ultra entries faced problems during the race. The #15 Phoenix Audi finished twenty-fifth overall and the Twin Busch Motorsport #44 Audi unfortunately retired after running as high as second.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (14-15/09/2013)
The eighth round 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.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (28-29/09/2013)
Round 9: ROWE DMV 250-Meilen-RennenThe penultimate VLN round, the ROWE DMV 250-Meilen-Rennen, was held at the Nürburgring. It was a very successful weekend for the Audi Sport customer racing teams. A total of nine Audis were entered this weekend. This included two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, one each from Twin Busch Motorsport and Phoenix Racing. Three Audi Sport customer racing developed Audi TT RS cars were entered in the SP3T class: the #1 from LMS Engineering, the #331 from Raeder Motorsport and the #290. Four more Audis were also entered in the SP3T class, which included three TTS cars and one TT. Twin Busch Motorsport qualified in third position followed by the Phoenix Racing entry in nineteenth. SP3T class pole and twentieth overall went to the #1 TT RS from LMS Engineering. By the end of the endurance race held on Saturday it was a case of double victory for the Audi Sport customer racing teams. Twin Busch Motorsport took the overall and SP9 victory with their #44 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Marc and Dennis Busch. In SP3T it was also an Audi victory, as the #1 Audi TT RS from LMS Engineering, driven by Christian Krognes, Constantin Kletzer and Ullrich Andree, took the class honours.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (12-13/10/2013)
The 2013 VLN Endurance Championship came to a close at the Nürburgring this weekend. Many Audi teams competed and performed very well with more victories. A total of nine Audis were entered. The SP9 class (GT3) included three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The #44 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Twin Busch Motorsport was back after their victory at the previous round with Marc and Dennis Busch. They were joined by a two-car entry from Phoenix Racing. The #15 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Frank Stippler, Ferdinand Stuck and Johannes Stuck, and their #37 entry by Marc Basseng, Laurens Vanthoor and Christian Mamerow. Four Audi Sport customer racing / Raeder developed Audi TT RS cars were entered. One of these cars was entered in the SP4T class, the #249 entry with Robb Holland, Ng Charles and 2012 WTCC champion, Rob Huff. The remaining three TT RS cars were all entered in the SP3T class: the #331 from Raeder Motorsport, the #334 from Møller Bil Motorsport and the #290. Two more Audi TTS cars were also entered in SP3T. Qualifying saw an Audi on pole position. The #37 Audi R8 LMS ultra took pole with Marc Basseng behind the wheel, followed by the #15 Phoenix Audi in third. Twin Busch Motorsport qualified sixteenth with their #44 R8 LMS ultra. Rotek Racing took pole in the SP4T class and Raeder Motorsport took pole in SP3T, with Rotek and Raeder placing seventeenth and eighteenth overall respectively. The race itself got underway with tricky wet conditions, but it soon began to dry. Phoenix Racing led from the front with the #37 Audi. By the end of the four hours the #37 Phoenix Racing crew brought their Audi across the line for victory at the final 2013 VLN race. They were followed by the #44 Twin Busch Motorsport Audi R8 LMS ultra in fourth place. The #15 Phoenix Racing Audi finished twenty-fifth, after losing time in the pits, whilst they had been battling up at the front of the race. The #290 TT RS took the SP3T victory and Rotek Racing was the highest placed SP4T runner, despite retiring from the race. This VLN round concluded the 2013 VLN Endurance Championship, a season which saw class and overall race victories for the Audi teams.
Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (26-27/10/2013)
Photo credit:
VLN Endurance Championship
Møller Bil Motorsport
