Gulf 12 Hours: Ho-Pin Tung 6th in Gulf 12 Hours race at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit

Ho-Pin Tung Press Release

Dutch-Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung managed to score 6th place in the GT3 / Pro Am-class in this weekends Gulf 12 hours race at the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit. Ho-Pin Tung debuted in the Audi R8 Ultra GT3 fielded by Team Absolute Racing from Hongkong. Ho-Pin Tung joined efforts with Sun Jing Zu and Jian Wei Wang.

In q 1 Ho-Pin Tung secured 5th fastest lap time overall, 2nd in Pro Am-class. His less experienced team mates did 15th and 19th in the following qualification sessions. The combined results in qualification resulted in 14th place on the starting grid.

The more experienced Ho-Pin Tung did very constant and fast stints in the 5 1/2 hours he was at the wheel of the Audi R8. Two unplanned pit stops due to a relatively harmless crash and a spin influenced the result of Team Absolute Racing. At midnight on Saturday the team secured its 6th place in their class and 9th overall.

Abu Dhabi, December 14th, 2014.

Photo credit: hopintung.net

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Gulf 12 Hours: Overall Top 10 for Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher

The Gulf 12 Hours took place at Yas Marina in Abu Dhabi this weekend. Two Audi Sport customer racing teams took part, each with one Audi R8 LMS ultra entry.

Absolute Racing, the team that also fielded the entire twenty-car grid for the Audi R8 LMS Cup finale at Yas Marina, entered the #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra for the Gulf 12 Hours. Their entry was driven by Sun Jing Zu, Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung. The Gulf 12 Hours was the second race for the Czech I.S.R. Racing team and their #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra, following their debut at the Spa 24 Hours in July. The car was driven by Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik.

I.S.R. Racing qualified ninth on the grid, taking fifth in the Pro-Am GT3 class. Absolute Racing qualified fourteenth overall, eighth in class.

Absolute Racing showed strong pace within the Pro-Am GT3 class, but incidents and damage dropped them down the order and well off the lead lap. Ultimately at the conclusion of the first part of the twelve hour race, the #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra was positioned in eleventh overall and seventh in class, seven laps down from the leaders.

Early accident damage ended I.S.R. Racing’s participation in the first part of the Gulf 12 Hours after only completing nine laps. The car did not re-emerge from the garage and later it was confirmed that the team had retired the #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra and that they would not be taking part in the second part of the event. It was a sad end for the team’s 2014 season, but they will be back in 2015 with an extended GT program which includes the Blancpain GT Series.

By the end of the second and final part of the 2014 Gulf 12 Hours, the Chinese Audi Sport customer racing team of Absolute Racing brought their Audi R8 LMS ultra across the line in ninth overall, sixth in class. It was a strong result for the team.

Photo credit: Gulf 12 Hours / FotoSpeedy

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Gulf 12 Hours: Top ten qualifying grid spot for I.S.R. Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher

The Gulf 12 Hours is taking place at Yas Marina this weekend. Friday saw the first two practice sessions and qualifying during the course of the day.

Both Absolute Racing and I.S.R. Racing are each fielding one Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The Absolute Racing squad's #17 R8 LMS ultra is being driven by Sun Jing Zu, Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung. During the two practice sessions they placed eighth and seventeenth, fifth and tenth respectively in the Pro-Am GT3 class.

I.S.R Racing set the twelve and ninth fastest during the practice sessions, which was enough for seventh and fifth in class. Their #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra has Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik behind the wheel.

The qualifying sessions were held later on Friday. Four sessions were held with an average being taken of the up to four drivers per car. The combined classification revealed that one of the Audi Sport customer teams had made it into the overall top ten. I.S.R. Racing from the Czech Republic qualified ninth on the grid, taking fifth in the Pro-Am GT3 class. Absolute Racing qualified fourteenth overall, eighth in class.

The race itself will be held in two parts on Saturday. The first six hour segment will be getting underway at 09:00 local time in Abu Dhabi, followed by part two at 18:00. We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Photo credit: Gulf 12 Hours

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Audi R8 LMS and ultra invasion at Yas Marina Gulf 12 Hours weekend

By Johan Laubscher

The Gulf 12 Hours race weekend is coming up and an army of Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be running at the circuit.

A total of twenty-two Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be running in two different events.

Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, entered by two different teams, will be taking part in the Gulf 12 Hours on Saturday. It is a unique endurance event with its twelve hour duration split into two six hour races.

Absolute Racing originally entered two cars, but this week that was confirmed to have been reduced to a one-car entry. Their #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Sun Jing Zu, Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung.

I.S.R. Racing from the Czech Republic will be taking part in their second event with their Audi R8 LMS ultra, following their debut at the Spa 24 Hours in July. The #75 I.S.R. R8 LMS ultra will have the driving trio of Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik.

Thursday saw the track action get underway with a night-time practice session. Absolute Racing lead the Audi Sport customer racing charge in eighth place overall, fourth in the Pro-Am GT3 class. I.S.R. Racing was thirteenth overall, eighth in class. Two free practice sessions and qualifying will be taking place on Friday.

The Audi R8 LMS Cup is also hosting its season finale at Yas Marina during the Gulf 12 Hour weekend. Two races with a twenty-strong car grid will be held, one each on Friday and Saturday. Four drivers enter the finale with a chance of clinching the title. Alex Yoong currently leads ahead of André Couto, Rahel Frey and Cheng Cong Fu, with forty-four points covering them from first to forth in the standings.

Couto and Yoong traded the top spots during the two free practice sessions on Thursday.

It is going to be a very exciting weekend at Yas Marina with a large amount of Audi R8 LMS and ultra representation. A thrilling Audi R8 LMS Cup finale and strong entries for the Gulf 12 Hours endurance race.

The provisional schedule for Friday and Saturday is as follows: 

Photo credit: 
Gulf 12 Hours
Audi Communications - Motorsport

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Gulf 12 Hours: Absolute Racing is ready for a very busy weekend at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher

Absolute Racing is gearing up for a very busy weekend in the United Arab Emirates. They will be doing double duty with an entry in the Gulf 12 Hours and fielding the twenty-car grid for the Audi R8 LMS Cup finale.

The #17 Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra is entered for the Gulf 12 Hours and it will be running with a modified version of its red GT Asia livery. As usual the Absolute Racing livery was penned by berzerkdesign.de.

Sun Jing Zu has been seen been behind the wheel of this car during the 2014 GT Asia Series and one round of the 2014 BOSS GP at Shanghai. He will again be driving the car during the Gulf 12 Hours, being joined by Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung.

I.S.R. Racing will also be on the grid alongside Absolute Racing, bringing the total Audi Sport customer racing count up to two cars for the unique 12-hour race at Yas Marina.

Absolute Racing will also be fielding the entire twenty-car grid of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at Yas Marina. The Audi one-make series is hosting its season finale with two races being held from Friday to Saturday.

It will certainly be a very busy weekend for the Chinese Audi Sport customer racing team. We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi drivers this weekend.

Photo credit: berzerkdesign.de

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor lockout front row - Mr Macau on Pole!

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau GT Cup grid lined up for the second and final qualifying session on Saturday morning. Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, set a blistering lap time during the first qualifying session on Friday and claimed the provisional pole position with a lap time 2:18.230.

All was to play for during the final session and it did not disappoint. Laurens Vanthoor set an early fast lap with a 2:18.254, a mere 0.024 seconds behind Mortara. Traffic and a mid-session red flag was the story of the story of the day. A second red flag less than four minutes from the conclusion of the session brought about an end to the proceedings with the session not being restarted. Mortara's pole time from Friday remained untouched and it was an excellent 1-2 result for the Audi race experience team, as Mortara and Vanthoor will be lining up on the front row on Sunday.

The Absolute Racing entries were lead by the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup champion, Adderly Fong, who qualified eleventh. Philip Ma (Audi #98) qualified in twenty-second, ahead of Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) in twenty-third. Jacky Yeung (Audi #77) thirty-first and Mak Hing Tak (Audi #68) was outside of the qualification maximum time.

The race is scheduled for 09h00 local time on Sunday morning. We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Will Mr Macau be able to make it four consecutive GT Cup victories?

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara storms to provisional pole position

By Johan Laubscher

The first of two qualifying sessions for the Macau GT Cup took place on Friday afternoon. The large GT Cup field, including the seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries, took to the track at 13h10 local time.

Practice had shown close times between the front runners and very fast times were expected from qualifying. The Audi race experience duo of Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor had placed third and second respectively during the Free practice session on Thursday.

Friday’s thirty minute qualifying session saw a tight battle at the front with the times coming down throughout the session. By the end of the proceedings the top three had all dropped below the 2:20.000 barrier.

It was again a case of traffic and timing during this qualifying session. Edoardo Mortara found a clear lap and set a blistering time to secure provisional pole position, lowering the qualifying lap record from 2:18.651 (2013 Maro Engel) to a 2:18.230. He was half a second clear of the rest of the field.

His teammate, Laurens Vanthoor, set the fourth fastest time in the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The Audi race experience pairing were split by Earl Bamber in the #72 Porsche and Maro Engel in the #5 Mercedes-Benz.

Adderly Fong again led the Absolute Racing run Audi entries by taking tenth position on the grid with the #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Philip Ma (Audi #98) qualified in twentieth, ahead of Jeffrey Lee (Audi #7) in twenty-first. Jacky Yeung (Audi #77) was in thirtieth and Mak Hing Tak (Audi #68) unfortunately did not set a lap time during qualifying.

The second qualifying session will be taking place on Saturday, followed by the Macau GT Cup race on Sunday morning.

We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers.

Photo credit: AFOS

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Audi history at Macau Part 2: Macau GT Cup 2010 - 2014

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau Grand Prix is a very special annual race event held on the streets of Macau. The 61st edition of the event is coming up this weekend. The Macau GT Cup will see a total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries taking part, including Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara, who is aiming for his seventh consecutive victory in Macau.

This year will mark the ninth time that Audi race cars will be taking part in events at the Macau Grand Prix. As a preview to the race coming up this weekend we decided to take a look back at the Audi history at Macau, which began all the way back in 1993 with touring cars, all the way through to 2014 with GT racing.

Audi history at Macau Part 2: Macau GT Cup 2010 - 2014

2010

After the 1999 victory of Michael Bartels in the Super Touring Audi A4, the Audi brand would not be seen at Macau for over a decade. The drought finally came to an end with the introduction of the Audi R8 LMS in 2009. At the end of 2010 the FIA GT3 specification race car from Audi made its Macau debut with United Autosports and Absolute Racing. The cars were competing in the Macau GT Cup. It was a successful debut with two podium places.

2011

In 2011 the victory was the clear goal, and Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, did not disappoint. Absolute Racing and Mortara were untouchable on their way to victory. Along with the victorious #66 Audi R8 LMS, two more Audi entries were also entered by United Autosports and Hitotsuyama Racing.

2012

The entry list for the 2012 Macau GT Cup included three Audis on the grid. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from the Audi R8 LMS Cup team were entered, which included Edoardo Mortara and Jeffrey Lee. The third Audi R8 LMS ultra was the Team Hong Kong Racing entry of Phillip Ma. Mortara qualified on pole but lost the lead at the start. He went on to win his second Macau GT Cup after an impressive pass for the lead halfway through the race.

2013

Six Audis lined up on the grid in 2013. Edoardo Mortara and Marchy Lee competed in two factory supported Audi entries and they were joined by three R8 LMS ultra cars from Absolute Racing and on R8 LMS from the IMS team. It was an extremely exciting race. Mortara qualified second on the grid and dropped to fourth during the race. Mortara then moved forward and won the race by taking the lead on the final lap.

2014

 

A total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra entries are entered for the 2014 Macau GT Cup, headlined by the Audi race experience squad with Edoardo Mortara and Laurens Vanthoor. Absolute Racing will also be out in force with five cars, including drivers: Jeffrey Lee, Adderly Fong, Philip Ma, Mak Hing Tak and Jacky Yeung.

The Touring Car (1993 - 1999) era of Audi at Macau can be read in Part 1 of our Audi history at Macau HERE.

Photo credit: 
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Absolute Racing

Laurens Vanthoor

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Macau GT Cup: Edoardo Mortara aiming for victory number 7 at Macau

By Johan Laubscher 

The Macau Grand Prix is coming up this week. Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, will be aiming to continue his unbeaten run at this very special annual street race.

Mortara will be racing the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra for the Audi race experience team this year. He has been unbeaten at Macau in every event that he has competed in since 2009. He won the prestigious Macau Formula 3 event in 2009 and 2010 and followed that up by taking the Macau GT Cup victories with Audi in 2011, 2012 and 2013, along with the Audi R8 LMS Cup support event victory in 2013, making it six out of six for the Italian at Macau.

Mr Macau will be aiming to make it seven out of seven this weekend and in doing so, making it four consecutive Macau GT Cup victories for Audi as well.

Audi Communication - Motorsport (Audi PR) released a brief interview with Mortara regarding the upcoming Macau GT Cup race, we have included it below:

The Recent News in Brief press release from Audi Communications - Motorsport: 

A word from … Edoardo Mortara:

Victory in the Formula 3 races in 2009 and 2010 and in the GT Cup from 2011 to 2013. Next weekend, in the Macau Grand Prix, you could be clinching your sixth consecutive win. Who are the major rivals?

There are quite a few. In the GT Cup, two current DTM drivers – Marco Wittmann and Augusto Farfus – and two former ones – Maro Engel and Renger van der Zande – will be competing. They can be rated as strong competitors, just like Laurens Vanthoor, who in the squad of the Audi race experience is my team-mate this year. He won the Blancpain Endurance Series and the GT Series in the Audi R8 LMS ultra. But maybe there’ll be some surprises. After all, drivers in cars from eleven different manufacturers will be competing now. It’s difficult to assess the strength in advance.

Is running alongside a strong team-mate more of a curse or a blessing?

It’s not the first time that Laurens and I compete for the same team. We jointly contested the 2010 season of the Formula 3 Euro Series for the Volkswagen Signature team. So we know each other well from those days. Having a strong team-mate is positive. Laurens is very talented and has made an enormous leap in his career in the past two or three years. I think he’s going to be my fiercest competitor in Macau.

Can you continue to perfect your approach to the race in Macau after so many successful years?

I’ve gained a lot of knowledge about this difficult track in recent years. I know what works and what doesn’t. Obviously, I’ve got an advantage over rookies. But you’ll never achieve 100 percent. I’m working on getting as close to perfection as possible. For instance, I watch videos of Macau races in order to visualize the track over and over.

Do you have a specific strategy in mind for setting up your car for Macau?

No. Macau is so diverse that it’s not possible to set up the car in a specific direction, be it in terms of top speed or maximum downforce. Essentially, you’ve got to be prepared for everything.

Photo credit:
Audi Communications - Motorsport
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Absolute Racing
 

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Macau GT Cup: Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on display at Macau Supercar and Road Sport Show

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau GT Cup will be taking place next weekend. A total of seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be taking part and all of them were on display this weekend.

The Macau Supercar and Road Sport Show is held annually on the weekend preceding the Macau Grand Prix. The Macau GT Cup field was on display, which included the seven Audi entries.

The headliner for the Audi teams is the return of Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, the reigning three-time Macau GT Cup champion. His teammate in the Audi race experience squad will be Laurens Vanthoor, the 2014 Blancpain GT Series and Blancpain Endurance Series champion. The Audi race experience squad will feature the white, black and red Audi Sport customer racing livery, which was also seen on the Audi R8 LMS ultra cars that won at the Nürburgring 24 Hours and the Spa 24 Hours this year.

Absolute Racing will be fielding five cars. Two of these cars are still awaiting their final liveries for the Macau weekend. The #17 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Adderly Fong was seen in its purple #55 Brothers Racing Team livery, but it will soon be receiving its stunning red KLM Group livery which was revealed earlier this week, it can be seen HERE.

Jeffrey Lee will be driving the #7 Audi R8 LMS ultra for Absolute Racing in the Macau GT Cup. His car was seen on display as the #17 R8 LMS ultra that took part in the 2014 GT Asia Series. The car will soon be receiving the #7 livery which has been seen all year in the Asian series. The original #7 R8 LMS ultra suffered heavy damage during the last GT Asia round and thus Lee will be using the #17 chassis at Macau. Philip Ma's #98 Audi R8 LMS ultra was seen in its white and orange livery.

The two older Audi R8 LMS cars, also run by Absolute Racing, were also on display. The #68 KAMLUNG Racing R8 LMS of Mak Hing Tak and the #77 Tiger Racing Team R8 LMS of Jacky Yeung.

We have included a set of photos below, with the seven Audi entrants at the Macau Supercars and Road Sport Show this weekend. Special thanks to Marco Da Silva Rosario for the great photos.

2014 Macau GT Cup Audi entrants on display:

#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Audi race experience – Edoardo Mortara

#2 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Audi race experience – Laurens Vanthoor

#7 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Absolute Racing – Jeffrey Lee

# 17 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Absolute Racing (Brothers Racing Team – BRT) – Adderly Fong

#68 Audi R8 LMS – KAMLUNG Racing (Absolute Racing) – Mak Hing Tak

#77 Audi R8 LMS – Tiger Racing Team (Absolute Racing) – Jacky Yeung

#98 Audi R8 LMS ultra – Absolute Racing – Philip Ma

Photo credit: Marco Da Silva Rosario

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