ADAC GT Masters: Audi dominated the Sachsenring practice sessions

ADAC GT Masters Press Release

Christer Jöns in an Abt Audi sets the fastest time in the second session. The Schütz Porsche stops the Abt Audis making it a one-two-three.

The Audis once again proved unbeatable in the second free practice at the Sachsenring. In a rain-affected session, the fastest time went to an R8 LMS ultra entered by the team belonging to former ADAC GT Masters champions Christian Abt, just as it had in the morning. Christer Jöns and Andreas Weishaupt set the fastest time, but only by the narrowest of margins. The Audi duo in the car bearing the number #3 were only 0.001 seconds ahead of their team-mates Stefan Wackerbauer and Kelvin van Linde who had led the timesheets in the morning.

Klaus Bachler and Martin Ragginger in the GW IT Racing-Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 GT3 R prevented an Abt Audi triple lockout by edging Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim for third place. Current championship leaders Luca Ludwig and Sebastian Asch in the Team Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 acquitted themselves well as fifth fastest, while Dominik Baumann and Jens Klingmann in a BMW Z4 GT3 entered by BMW Sports Trophy Team Schubert finished the day in sixth.

Fabian Hamprecht and Clemens Schmid drove the fastest of the Bentley Continental GT3s (Bentley Team HTP) to take seventh place ahead of the two Audi R8 LMS ultras of kfzteile24 MS RACING driven by Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström, fresh from their victory at the Nürburgring, and by Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng. Free practice was temporarily suspended for five minutes after Stoll and Basseng skidded off the track. Andreas Wirth and Daniel Keilwitz (Callaway Competition) completed the Top Ten in the fastest of the Corvette Z06.R GT3s.

Qualifying for Race 1 will take place on Saturday at 08:00 CEST and for Race 2 on Sunday likewise at 08:00 CEST. Both races will be shown live on SPORT1, with coverage on Saturday and Sunday commencing at 13:00 CEST.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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ADAC GT Masters: Brilliant 1-2-3 Audi victory in a rainy race 1 at the Nürburgring

A brilliant 1-2-3 victory for the Audi Sport customer racing squad in the ADAC GT Masters race 1 at the Nürburgring. C.ABT Racing took the race win ahead of MS Racing and YACO Racing in a race highlighted by rain and difficult track conditions.

The winning #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim. The latter had a phenomenal stint in the second half of the race. The Danish factory Audi driver was impressive and was able to build a very comfortable gap ahead of his rivals.

Second place went to the #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra from MS Racing. The car was shared by Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström.

The podium was completed by the #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra from YACO Racing. The car driven by Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel.

Both of  #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra from MS Racing and #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra from YACO Racing improved in the closing stages.

UPDATE: The #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra from MS Racing has been given the race victory. Race officials gave the race winning #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra from C.ABT Racing a 30 seconds penalty for overtaking under yellow flags.

The #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra from YACO Racing moved to second place. The podium is completed by another car from C.ABT Racing, the #1 Audi R8 LMS.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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ADAC GT Masters: Impressive qualifying for the Audi teams at the Nürburgring

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi Sport customer racing squad performed very well in ADAC GT Masters qualifying sessions at the Nürburgring. All of the three teams were fast and among the strongest in one of the most demanding GT fields in Europe.

In the first qualifying session the best ranked Audi entry was from YACO Racing. Their #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra qualified in sixth place with drivers Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel.

The #24 Audi R8 LMS ultra from kfzteile24 MS RACING was tenth fastest with Marc Basseng and Florian Stoll. Their team-mates Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström were twelfth with the sister #100 machine.

The C.ABT Racing Audis were thirteenth with the #2 car of Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim, fourteenth with the #1 Audi of Kelvin van der Linde and Stefan Wackerbauer and twentieth with the # R8 LMS ultra of Christer Jöns and Andreas Weishaupt.

Things were much better in the second qualifying session with a total of five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars inside the top-ten.  Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel were second fastest with the #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra from YACO Racing. Their best qualifying result this season so far in ADAC GT Masters.

The #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra from C.ABT Racing was third fastest with Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim.

The two kfzteile24 MS RACING Audis improved as well. The #24 R8 LMS ultra of Marc Basseng and Florian Stoll was fifth. Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström were sixth with the #100 Audi.

Christer Jöns and Andreas Weishaupt were ninth behind the wheel of the #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra from C.ABT Racing. Their team-mates Kelvin van der Linde and Stefan Wackerbauer narrowly missed the top-ten and were eleventh fastest with the #1 Audi.

Pole position for both races went to the #36 Porsche 997 GT3-R from GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport. The first race is set for Saturday.

Photo credit: MS Racing / C ABT Racing

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ADAC GT Masters: The Audi squad moves to the Nürburgring

By Tarek Ramchani

The famous Nürburgring circuit will play host to the fifth ADAC GT Masters meeting this weekend. The Audi Sport customer racing squad will be represented by six Audi R8 LMS ultras.

The Audi teams had some ups and downs last time out at the Lausitzring. The three privateers teams will be eager to bounce back and fight for race victories in one of the most demanding GT3 fields in Europe.

C.ABT Racing will once again field three cars. #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Stefan Wackerbauer and Kelvin van der Linde. The #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra is shared by Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim. The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra will have Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns. C.ABT Racing is ninth in the overall standing with 36 points.

kfzteile24 MS RACING will enter the Nürburgring round with a two-car effort. The #24 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng. Their team-mates Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström will share the sister #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra. kfzteile24 MS RACING is seventh in the teams' standing with a total of 57 points.

YACO Racing as always will have a single car. Their #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be shared by Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel. YACO Racing is eleventh in the teams' championship standing with 30 points.

Action at the Nürburgring will start on Friday with two practice sessions and two qualifying one. The first race will be held on Saturday. Warm-up and the second race are set for Sunday.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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VLN: Two Audi R8 LMS ultras for Nürburgring's VLN5

By Tarek Ramchani

The legendary and demanding Nürburgring Nordschleife will play host to the fifth round of the 2015 VLN Endurance Championship this weekend. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will enter the 4-hour event.

The first car is coming from local team Phoenix Racing. The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be shared by three drivers, Frank Stippler, Christian Mamerow and Italian Marco Mapelli. Frank Stippler and Christian Mamerow were on the podium last weekend at the Spa 24 Hours. "Stippi" finished the race second with Audi Sport Team WRT and Mamerow was third with Audi Sport Team Phoenix. While Marco Mapelli is debuting in VLN and he's competing with Audi Sport Italia in Italian GT Championship and also competed with Phoenix Racing earlier this year at Bathurst 12 Hour.

After an emotional podium at the Spa 24 Hours, the Ernst Moser managed squad will target the overall victory in the special 47. ADAC Barbarossapreis.

The second Audi R8 LMS ultra is coming from Twin Busch Motorsport. Their #44 car will be shared by Busch borthers Dennis and Marc and will be joined by Audi regualr Marc Basseng.

A total of eight GT3 cars will compete in VLN5. The two Audi entries will be challenged by three BMW Z4 GT3s, two Porsche 997 GT3 Rs and a single Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

47. ADAC Barbarossapreis Entry List

The qualifying session and the 4-hour race will be held on Saturday.

Photo credit: VLN

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Italian GT: Double podium for Audi Sport Italia in Mugello race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi Sport Italia had an amazing second race at the Mugello today. The official Audi Italia dealer team clinched a sensational double podium in the Italian GT Championship.

Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli were second behind the wheel of the #7 Audi R8 LMS ultra. They started the race from third place on the grid and were among the fastest in the demanding Campionato Italian Gran Turismo field. In the end they were right behid the the winning BMW Z4 GT3 from team ROAL Motorsport. The gap was just 0.755 between the two cars at the end of the 25-lap race.

Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini who started from pole position had a strong race as well. The two drivers who clinched the second place in yesterday's race 1 performed very well in today's one. Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini took a fully deserved final spot on the podium.

These a very strong results for the Italian Audi squad. The next target for the Emilio Radaele managed team is to clinch a first victory this year in one of the most competitive national GT championships in Europe and beyond.

Mugello Race 2 Results

The Italian GT Championship will have a two-month break. Action will resume on September at the Vallelunga circuit near Rome.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

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Italian GT: Audi Sport Italia's Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini take second in Mugello race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi Sport Italia performed well in the opening Italian GT Championship race at the Mugello circuit. The official Audi Italia dealer team took a strong second place after a hard and fought 26-lap race.

Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini who shared the #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra ended the race right behind the winning Porsche. The two cars battled to the finish line for race victory. In the end, the gap was only 0.676 between the second placed Audi Sport Italia's R8 LMS ultra and victorious Ebimotors' 997 GT3 R.

The second Audi Sport Italia entry ended in seventh place overall. The #7 Audi R8 LMS ultra is driven by Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli.  second race.

Mugello Race 1 Results

The second race is set for Sunday. Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini will start from pole position. Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli will start from position three on the grid.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

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Italian GT: Audi Sport Italia on pole position at the Mugello

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi Sport Italia performed very well in today's Italian GT Championship qualifying sessions at the Mugello. The official Audi Italia dealer team clinched a great pole position for Sunday's second race.

In the first qualifying session, the two Audi R8 LMS ultra performed very well. The #7 car shared by Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli qualified in a strong fourth place overall.

Their team-mates Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini were right behind with the sister #6 Audi. The two drivers were fifth fastest.

Later in the second qualifying session, Audi dominated the field. Dindo Capello and Emanuele Zonzini clinched their first pole position of the season with a best time of 1:48.164.

Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli were strong as well. The qualified in a very strong third place for Sunday's race 2.

@MugelloCircuit @AudiSportItalia fantastica pole di @EmanueleZonzini pic.twitter.com/wYoQhTY3Ih

— C.I. Gran Turismo (@CIGranTurismo) July 11, 2015

Race 1 is set for this afternoon.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

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Italian GT: Audi Sport Italia wants victories at the Mugello

By Tarek Ramchani

The Italian GT Championship will be heading to the Mugello this upcoming weekend, round 4 of the 2015 season. Audi Sport Italia will be on site with a pair of Audi R8 LMS ultras.

The Audi Italia official dealer team performed very well at Imola last time out taking two podiums despite a penalizing Balance of Performance. At the Mugello, Audi Sport Italia will be aiming high and will try to clinch a first victory this year in the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo.

The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be driven by Rinaldo Capello e di Emanuele Zonzini. At Imola they took a very strong second place in the first race.

Their team-mates Andrea Amici and Marco Mapelli will share the sister #7 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The two drivers took the final spot of the podium in Imola's race 2.

Action will start at the Mugello on Friday with two practice sessions. The two qualifying sessions and race 1 will be held on Saturday. The second race is set for Sunday.

Photo credit: Italian GT Championship

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VLN: Difficult race for Phoenix finishes with sixth place

Phoenix Racing Press Release

Christian Mamerow (Waltrop) and Ferdinand Stuck (Austria) in the Phoenix Racing entered Audi R8 LMS ultra finished the sizzling battle that raged around the ‘Green Hell’ during the fourth round of the VLN endurance championship Nürburgring in sixth place. Phoenix duo took fifth place in qualifying.

Tremendous heat that put enormous demands on man and machine dominated the first Saturday in July around the legendary Nordschleife. While Mamerow and Stuck coped with the exertions just as well as the Phoenix Audi, it was nevertheless a difficult race for the team from Meuspath close to the Nürburgring. Because due to the current balance of performance, Mamerow/Stuck could not keep pace with the leaders and especially on the straights.

“Our R8 ran perfectly, the pits stops were excellent and there were no incidents whatsoever. Even so, sixth was the maximum today,” explained Christian Mamerow the dissatisfying result due to the excessively small restrictor. In the end, Mamerow/Stuck finished sixth a good 46 seconds behind the winning team.

Mamerow drove the opening stint in the four-hour race. At the first pit stop, Ferdinand Stuck took over the R8 racer before Mamerow assumed driving duties again for the final stint. Phoenix Racing was only momentarily shocked in practice when Ferdinand Stuck and Peter Dumbreck (Porsche) touched lightly at the end of the start-finish straight. Only two plastic parts on the co-driver’s side of the Audi had to be replaced afterwards.

The fifth race of the VLN season is held at the ‘Ring’ on August 1.

Photo credit: VLN

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GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing drivers delighted with Val de Vienne victory

By Tarek Ramchani

The Sébastien Loeb Racing had a strong GT Tour race 2 at the Val de Vienne circuit last weekend. The privateer French Audi team took a fine race win with drivers Mike Parisy, David Hallyday and Philippe Gaillard.

The three drivers of the #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra were delighted after the race (Quotes taken from the official GT Tour website in French)

Mike Parisy: "I had a little moment of doubt at the start of the race thinking we may face technical issues. We knew that we have a very strong line-up. Both David and Philippe performed very well and that helped us. The whole Sébastien Loeb Racing did a great job this weekend"

David Hallyday: "The level of competition in this championship is really high and it's really hard to clinch a race victory here. The car performed really well throughout the weekend. We test here over the winter and that't helped us a lot finding the good step-up for the car. I always been strong here and I like this track. We won after the bad luck in yesterday's race 1 and we hope we will continue this way"

Philippe Gaillard: "My team-mates did a fantastic job in qualifying. Unfortunately we had a very bad race 1 yesterday. To win today's second race is something great, our first one this season. The car ran perfectly and the team did fantastic job. We are back in the battle for the championship title but it won't be easy as we are facing very strong rivals. Again we are happy for this win and we hope more will follow"

Photo credit: Sport-Auto.ch / Sébastien Loeb Racing

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GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi wins Val de Vienne race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

Sébastien Loeb Racing took an amazing victory in the second GT Tour race at the Val de Vienne circuit.

The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by David Hallyday, Philippe Gaillard and Mike Parisy started from pole position and crossed the finish line victrious at the end of the 90-minute endurance event. Yesterday the three drivers started from pole position but were taken out from the race after loosing a wheel. A great result for them against a full field of Ferrari 458 GT3s.

The second Sébastien Loeb Racing entry performed very well. As was the case in yesterday's race 1, the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Christophe Hamon, Christian Bottemanne and Lonni Martins narrowly missed the podium and took a strong fourth place overall.

Photo credit: Sport-Auto.ch

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ADAC GT: Top 5 result for MS Racing Audi in Lausitzring race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams had mixed fortunes in the second ADAC GT Masters race of the weekend at the Lausitzring. The Audi race was highlighted by strong performances and a lot of bad luck as well.

MS Racing performed well with their two Audis in the the 60-minute race. The #100 R8 LMS ultra driven by Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström finished in fifth place overall. The two drivers did not take part in yesterday's race 1 following technical issues.

Their-team mates Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng were strong as well. They finished the race in sixth place behind the wheel of the #24 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

As was the case yesterday, the lone YACO Racing entry managed to enter the top-ten. The #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel crossed the finish line in tenth place.

A much harder race for the C.ABT Racing squad. The defending champions faced a lot of bad luck today. Their best ranked car was the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by the 2014  series champion Kelvin van der Linde and  Stefan Wackerbauer in twelfth place.

The #2 Audi with Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim was fourteenth. Unfortunately the #3 car with Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns did not finish the race.

Race victory went to the #21 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from Zakspeed Racing. Callaway Competition took the second place with the #66 Corvette Z06 GT3. The final spot of the podium went to the #36 Porsche 997 GT3 R from Schutz Motorsport.

The next ADAC GT Masters round will be held at the Nürburgring, July 17th-19th.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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GT Tour: Fourth place for Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi in Val de Vienne race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

Sebastien Loeb Racing narrowly missed the podium in today's GT Tour race 1 at Val de Vienne. The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra ended the 1h30 race in fourth place overall.

The car was shared by Christophe Hamon, Christian Bottemanne and Lonni Martins, they started the race from the third row of the grid. The three drivers performed well and had great battles all race long fighting for the final spot of the podium.

Bad luck hit the sister Sébastien Loeb Racing car. The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra started from pole position but was forced to retire few laps into the race after losing a wheel. The car was shared by David Hallyday, Philippe Gaillard and Mike Parisy. They will start from pole position tomorrow again in race 2.

Photo credit: Sport-Auto.ch

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ADAC GT Masters: Top 10 results for MS Racing and YACO Racing in Lausitzring race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

A sunny Lausitzring circuit played host to the first of the two ADAC GT Masters races of the weekend today. It was race full of ups and down for the Audi entries with a two R8 LMS ultras inside the top-ten.

The Audi teams performed very well in yesterday's qualifying session but were not able to fight for the top spots today

The best ranked Audi car was the #24 R8 LMS ultra of Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng. The two drivers were eighth overall.

Rahel Frey and her team-mate Philip Geipel were thenth behind the wheel of the #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra from YACO Racing. The two drivers improved compared to yesterday's qualifying results.

A harder race for the C.ABT Racing three Audis. Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim were eleventh with the #2 R8 LMS ultra. Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns were fourteenth with the #3 Audi. Kelvin van der Linde and  Stefan Wackerbauer were forced to retire.

The second MS Racing entry faced technical issues and did not started the race. The #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström.

Race victory went to the #80 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Sports Trophy Team Schuber. The #42 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 from HP Racing was second. The final spot on the podium went to the #19 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Sports Trophy Team Schuber.

Lausitzring Race 1 Results

The second ADAC GT Masters race will be held on Sunday.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing takes double pole position at Val de Vienne

By Tarek Ramchani

Sébastien Loeb Racing dominated today's GT Tour qualifying sessions at the Val de Vienne circuit. The French Audi Sport customer racing team took a sensational double pole position.

David Hallyday, Philippe Gaillard and Mike Parisy were the fastest in two qualifying sessions with the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. They will start from pole in the two GT Tour races of the weekend. Their team-mates Christophe Hamon Christian,  Bottemanne and Lonni Martins will start race 1 from position six ad race 2 from position nine.

A great result for the Sébastien Loeb owned team after some unlucky races this year in the French based GT.

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing / V-Images

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ADAC GT Masters: Strong qualifying for Audi teams at the Lausitzring

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams performed very in the two ADAC GT Masters qualifying sessions at the Lausitzring today. The Audi R8 LMS ultras were among the best cars in a very demanding field.

In the first qualifying session Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström were the best drivers within the Audi squad. Behind the wheel of the #100 Audi R8 LMS ultra from MS Racing they were third quickest overall.

Their team-mates Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng were sixth fastest with the #24 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

2014 series champion Kelvin van der Linde and team-mate Stefan Wackerbauer were seventh with the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra from C.ABT Racing.

The other three Audis qualified outside the Top 10. Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim (#2 C.ABT Racing) were twelfth. Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel (#16 YACO Racing) were fourteenth. Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns (#3 C.ABT Racing) did not set any time.

In the second qualifying session the Audi entries were able to perform well again. Jordan Lee Pepper and Nicki Thiim were second fastest and narrowly missed pole position with the #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra from C.ABT Racing.

Kelvin van der Linde and Stefan Wackerbauer (#1 C.ABT Racing) were sixth.  Florian Stoll and Marc Basseng (#24 MS Racing) were seventh. Daniel Dobitsch and Edward Sandström (#100 MS Racing) were ninth. Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel (#16 YACO Racing) were fifteenth. Andreas Weishaupt and Christer Jöns (#3 C.ABT Racing) were seventeenth.

The first race will be held on Saturday with a live stream coverage provided by the series official website.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

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