By Johan
Laubscher
1. The
Weekend
Focussing on
the weekend of 16 - 17 November 2013
2. The
Events
- Macau GT Cup
- GT Asia
- TUSC Sebring Test
- HSR
- Australian Sports Sedans
The 2013 Macau GT Cup
was held as part of the annual Macau Grand Prix this weekend. The Macau GT Cup
was held alongside the GT Asia season finale, running together on track this
weekend. A number of GT Asia entrants were in the field. Four of the six Audi
entries were also entered for the GT Asia finale.
The big news this
weekend was the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo
Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He was joined
by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra, neither
were entered as GT Asia competitors. Absolute Racing was also present with
their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry
from IMS, all four entered in GT Asia. Absolute Racing, who competed with the
team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," arrived as the leaders in the GT
Asia teams' championship points standings and they were aiming to clinch the
title this weekend.
Edoardo Mortara
dominated practice on Friday by over two and a half seconds and he continued
that form during the first qualifying session with a lap record setting provisional
pole position, over half a second clear of the field.
The final qualifying
grid was determined by the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. The
second session was dominated by Maro Engel in the Erebus Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3.
Mortara was the highest Audi runner and qualified in second position on the
grid. His teammate Marchy Lee qualified in eleventh, followed by Jeffrey Lee in
seventeenth, Philip Ma in eighteenth, Francis Hideki Onda in twenty-sixth and
Shim Ching in thirty-second.
The race itself got
underway at 9:20 on Sunday morning and saw Maro Engel in the #36 Mercedes-Benz
leading the way as Mortara dropped from second to fourth, being passed by
Alexandre Imperatori in the #99 Porsche and Renger van der Zande in the #63
Mercedes-Benz. A massive crash collecting a number of competitors occurred on
the first lap, thus prompting the first safety car. The race restarted a few
laps later and the top four remained stagnant with another crash bringing out
the safety car on the restart lap.
Marchy Lee had a good
start to the race and had moved up to sixth by the second safety car. The pair
of Absolute Racing Audis of Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma had progressed well up to
tenth and eleventh, well poised for the teams' championship title.
The race restarted for a
second time and went green to the flag with racing. The top four remained
stagnant until the fourth last lap when race leader, Maro Engel, slowed on
track. This promoted Mortara up to third. He then managed a brilliant
overtaking manoeuvre to take second away from van der Zande in the infield
section of the track. Mr Macau then had two laps to try and pass Alexandre
Imperatori in the Porsche for the lead.
Traffic came into play
coming out of the hairpin on the penultimate lap and Mortara was able to grab
the lead as chaos broke out behind him. Mortara continued to lead as Imperatori
collected van der Zande going into Lisboa. Mr Macau continued to lead and
brought his #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra home for his third consecutive Macau GT Cup victory,
finishing ahead of Watts' McLaren and Imperatori's Porsche. Mortara also set
the fastest lap of the race on the final lap, a 2:19.550, the only driver to
drop into the 2 minute 19 second bracket during the race.
Mr Macau had it all do
and he was able to recover from fourth to first for victory. Marchy Lee rounded
out the top four in fourth, ensuring that two Audis finished within the top
four. Jeffrey Lee and Philip Ma rounded out the top ten in ninth and tenth
respectively. Francis Hideki Onda finished seventeenth and Shim Ching
unfortunately retired.
It was another terrific
Macau Grand Prix weekend for the Audi entrants. This win for Mortara also
marked his sixth straight victory at Macau, as he had won the previous five
races that he had been entered for: the 2009 and 2010 Macau Formula 3 races,
the 2011 and 2012 Macau GT Cup and the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup round at Macau.
Edoardo Mortara continues to deserve his title of “Mr Macau”.
RacerLink [Sean Henshelwood]
2.2. GT Asia
The 2013 GT Asia Series
concluded with the finale at Macau this weekend. The GT Asia season finale was
held alongside the Macau GT Cup, running together on track. A number of GT Asia
entrants were in the field. Four of the six Audi entries were also entered for
the GT Asia finale, which included: Jeffery Lee (#7), Shim Ching (#78), Francis
Hideki Onda (#86) and Philip Ma (#98).
The big news this
weekend was the return of the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion, Edoardo
Mortara, in his his #1 Audi R8 LMS Cup backed Audi R8 LMS ultra. He was joined
by his teammate, Marchy Lee, in the #38 Audi Hong Kong Audi R8 LMS ultra, neither
were entered as GT Asia competitors. Absolute Racing was also present with
their regular three-car GT Asia team, along with another private Audi entry
from IMS, all four entered in GT Asia. Absolute Racing, who competed with the
team name of "Team R8 LMS Ultra," arrived as the leaders in the GT
Asia teams' championship points standings and they were aiming to clinch the
title this weekend. They were leading the standings ahead of Clearwater Racing
and Craft Racing.
Qualifying was split
over two days, with the first session on Friday and the second on Saturday. The
first session concluded with Jeffrey Lee topping the times as the fastest GT
Asia entrant in fourteenth overall. The final qualifying grid was determined by
the fastest times from the two qualifying sessions. The GT Asia 'pole position'
went to Mok Weng Sun in his McLaren MP4-12C, who qualified fourteenth overall.
Jeffrey Lee was the highest GT Asia Audi qualifier and he lined up in fourth
place, seventeenth overall. Philip Ma qualified in fifth, eighteenth overall.
Francis Hideki Onda qualified in twelfth, twenty-sixth overall and Shim Ching
lined up seventeenth, thirty-second overall.
The race itself got
underway at 9:20 on Sunday morning and up front there was a battle between the
front running Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Audi cars. Further back the GT Asia
competitors were looking for passing opportunities and to stay clear of
incidents. A large crash during the opening few corners unfortunately took out
a number of the GT Asia runners. Fortunately the three Absolute Racing Audi R8
LMS ultra cars made it through the carnage and survived the opening laps. Their
main challengers for the teams' title, Clearwater Racing, were unfortunately
collected in the incidents that brought out the first two safety cars.
Jeffrey Lee and Philip
Ma were running together and moved up into the top ten overall. They maintained
their positions to the flag, with Lee finishing ninth ahead of Ma in tenth.
This translated into third within the GT Asia runners for Marchy Lee and fourth
for Ma. The GT Asia ranks was lead by Li Zhi Cong in the #2 Porsche ahead of
Frank Yu in the #30 Craft Racing Aston Martin. Francis Hideki Onda finished
seventeenth overall, taking tenth within GT Asia, ensuring that all three of
the Absolute Racing Audis finished within the GT Asia top ten, vital for the
teams' championship points standings. Shim Ching unfortunately retired from the
race.
These results were
enough to crown Absolute Racing with the 2013 GT Asia teams’ championship
title. Well done to the entire team, who competed as “Team R8 LMS ultra” during
2013.
2.3. TUSC Sebring Test
The first official TUDOR United SportsCar
Championship test days were held at Sebring this weekend. A total of four Audi
R8 LMS cars were entered by three different teams. Flying Lizard Motorsports
entered two cars and Fall-Line Motorsports and Paul Miller Racing both entered
one car each. These Audi R8 LMS cars were entered in the GT Daytona class
(GTD).
The Flying Lizard Motorsports cars included Seth
Neiman, Spencer Pumpelly, Dion von Moltke, Nelson Canache, Oliver Jarvis and
Marco Bonanomi as the drivers. The team team’s two cars carried the numbers #35
and #45.
The Fall-Line Motorsports #46 Audi R8 LMS was
driven by Christopher Mies, Charles Putman, Charles Espenlaub, Bryan Sellers
and Al Carter. The Paul Miller Racing #48 R8 LMS had Bryce Miller and Benoît
Treluyer behind the wheel.
All four cars showed good pace within the GTD class during the test sessions at Sebring.
All four cars showed good pace within the GTD class during the test sessions at Sebring.
2.4. HSR
The Historic Sportscar
Racing series (HSR) held the annual Daytona Historic Races this weekend. One
Audi was entered at this event. Travis Engen and his Audi R8 (chassis #606)
were entered. His car is prepared and run by GMT Racing.
2.5. Australian Sports Sedans
The Australian
Kerrick Sports Sedan Series held its fifth and final round at Sandown Raceway
this weekend. The Audi A4 Silhouette of Darren Hossack did well by qualifying
second on the grid for both of the races. He finished second in the opening two
races and unfortunately did not finish race three.
2.6. Other
Audi News
It was a very busy week leading up to the
first TUDOR United SportsCar Championship pre-season test at Sebring. Two big
announcements were made regarding new Audi Sport customer racing teams. The
first announcement came on Monday, when it was revealed that long time Porsche
entrants, Flying Lizard Motorsports, are going to be switching to a pair of
Audi R8 LMS cars for 2014. They will be fielding the cars in the GT Daytona
class (GTD). They had tested an Audi R8 LMS earlier before taking delivery of
their two cars last week. The team debuted their cars at the Sebring test days
this weekend. Their 2014 driver line-up is yet to be announced. The team’s
press release can be seen HERE.
Audi of America [2013 Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]
The second big announcement regarding new
Audi Sport customer racing teams came on Wednesday, when Paul Miller Racing
were confirmed as another new Audi entrant. Also switching from Porsche, Paul
Miller Racing will be fielding one Audi R8 LMS in the GTD category of the TUDOR
United SportsCar Championship next year. They debuted the car at the Sebring
test days. So far Bryce Miller is their only confirmed driver for the 2014
season. The team’s press release can be seen HERE.
Audi of America [2013 Bob Chapman, Autosport Image]
The Sebring TUSC pre-season test days included four Audi R8 LMS cars, two from Flying Lizard Motorsports and one each from Paul Miller Racing and Fall-Line Motorsports. The second and final official TUSC test will be taking place at Daytona on this upcoming Tuesday and Wednesday, 19-20 December. The four cars from Sebring will be joined by another Audi entry at the Daytona test. Audi Sport customer racing will be fielding one Audi R8 LMS driven by Christopher Haase, thus upping the Audi count to five cars at Daytona.
Fall-Line Motorsports announced their driver
line-up for the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship on the morning of the
first test day at Sebring on Saturday. Their #46 Audi R8 LMS will be entered in
the GT Daytona class (GTD) and driven by Charlie Putman and Charles Espenlaub.
Audi debuted a customer race vehicle for the Grand Am Rolex Series in 2012. This vehicle was an Audi R8 LMS race car modified to meet the Grand Am GT class rules. These cars were called the “Audi R8 GRAND-AM” and competed in the series in 2012 and 2013, highlighted by a 1-2 GT class finish at the 2013 Daytona 24 Hours. Since then the ALMS and Grand Am have merged to form the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship for 2014. This new championship includes a class called GT Daytona (GTD), which allows Grand Am GT cars to compete. The Audis are once again able to compete in this championship class, but they will no longer be called the “Audi R8 GRAND-AM,” as they will now officially be called “Audi R8 LMS” cars, which still currently have the same aerodynamic specification as the cars at the end of the 2013 Grand Am season, including the 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra rear diffuser.
The new home of Audi Sport celebrated its
roof-raising ceremony this week. The new Motorsport Competence Center had its
ceremony on Wednesday. The new center is located in Neuburg and is part of the
Audi Driving Experience Center, which occupies forty-seven acres and includes a
permanent circuit. The bulk of Audi Sports’s development and testing will be
conducted at the new complex in future, but the engine’s will still come from
their facilities in Neckarsulm. Audi Sport will be moving from Ingolstadt to
the new complex in Neuburg during the summer of 2014 and they will be joined by
Audi Sport customer racing in 2015. Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich
and guests were at the ceremony, along with an Audi R18 e-tron quattro and an
Audi R8 LMS, which were on display.
The new FIA Formula E
Championship will be debuting in September 2014. On Friday an exciting
announcement was made by ABT Sportsline. They have become the seventh team to
be announced for the new championship. ABT Sportsline will be fielding two cars
in the championship, competing under the team name/banner of “Audi Sport ABT
Formula-E Team”.
Former Audi factory
driver and a current Audi brand ambassador, Emanuelle Pirro, took part in the
Scirocco R China Masters Challenge at Macau this weekend. He was driving the
#17 Volkswagen Scirocco R. He placed seventh in practice and qualified fifth.
He unfortunately retired from the race following an incident involving Alain
Menu, both drivers retired due to the damage to their cars.
Last week it was announced that Münnich
Motorsport are going to be focussing on their new Audi A3/S3 Supercar for the
new 2014 FIA World Rallycross Championship. More details regarding the project
emerged this week. Münnich Motorsport will be competing in the new FIA World
Rallycross Championship during 2014 and they will be fielding one Audi A3/S3
during their development year. The Audi Supercar will be driven by Rene
Münnich. The car has been built and prepared completely in-house by Münnich
Motorsport and it will be fielded in the Supercar category of the 2014 FIA
World Rallycross Championship. The team will be fielding one of the new Audi
vehicles during the first season in order to focus on the car’s development,
but the possibility exists for more cars in the future. The car
pictured, and which has been seen in testing, is the team's first design
prototype, which they will be using for initial testing and development. They
are currently busy building a second Audi rallycross car and this is the
vehicle that will be used in the championship during 2014. It is said that this
new vehicle will differ visually from the current test car, as the current
car’s striking bodywork is not completely suited for rallycross competition. This project
from Münnich Motorsport is certainly very exciting and it will be great to see
an Audi rallycross vehicle entered in the new 2014 FIA World Rallycross
Championship.
Mattias Ekström will be returning to the 2013
Race of Champions. Ekström, who is a three-time winner of the event, will be
joining fellow factory Audi driver, Tom Kristensen, at the event. The two Audi
stars will also be partnered for the ROC Nations Cup, as part of Team
Scandinavia. The 2013 Race of Champions will be taking place at the Rajamangala
Stadium in Bangkok from 14-15 December.
On Tuesday
Audi Sport Italia announced that they would not be competing in the Six Hours
of Rome at Vallelunga this weekend. The 2012 edition of the race saw both Audi
Sport Italia and WRT competing in the event, but no Audi entries took part this
year.
Andre Lotterer took part in the 2013 1000
Millas Sport event in Argentina this week and weekend. He was behind the wheel
of his red Audi Sport quattro. It was the twenty-fifth edition of the event and
Audi Argentina was the main sponsor.
PK Carsport took part in
the general test sessions held at Zolder on Thursday. It was a very wet and
rainy day for the teams at Zolder. PK Carsport fielded their 2013 BRCC
championship winning #7 Audi R8 LMS at the test. Anthony Kumpen, Frank Beliën,
Tom Boonen and Stienes Longin were behind the wheel for the testing. The car was also present at the Belgian Audi and VW Club track day at Zolder during the weekend.
3. Next Weekend’s events (23-24/11/2013)
- FIA GT Series
- Fuji Sprint Cup
- TUSC Daytona Test (Nov 19-20)
- Britcar
- Option Cup
- Aldo Scribante Regionals
- CMRC
