Showing posts with label I.S.R. Racing. Show all posts

Saturday, March 14, 2015

Blancpain Endurance Series: Top class performance and reliability for I.S.R. Racing in the two testing days at Paul Ricard

Saturday, March 14, 2015 Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

March 13th, 2015 - Pre-season official testing of Blancpain Endurance Series that ended yesterday at Paul Ricard converted the work done by team I.S.R. racing over winter to prepare the debut season in the series into very promising indications.

The two Audi R8 LMS ultra lined up by the Czech team turned out to be very competitive in both days and set the pace among the coupes of the house of the four rings in several sessions. Marco Bonanomi (ITA), Frédéric Vervisch (BEL) and Filip Salaquarda (CZ) on car number 75 ended both two days in P6 (1'57.476 and 1'57.324 the best lap times). Anders and Thomas Fjordbach (DEN) lapped on Wednesday on the number 74 car working mainly on the race pace, while Fabio Onidi (ITA) made his debut, taking over from Thomas Fjordbach, on Thursday. Car 74 had quite a busy schedule that allowed the team to clock 59 laps on the first day and a solid 100 in the second, a very handy mileage to verify the reliability of some components ahead of the races.

Igor SALAQUARDA (I.S.R. racing, Team Principal):
"Drivers and team completed an excellent work, combining performance hunting to race pace optimization. We met all the goals we set ahead of us. Our best times position as well within the top-ten, that was also the best result for Audis. Regarding reliability, we put a lot of kilometers under our belts without any problem".

Team I.S.R. racing will get on track in Misano Adriatico next 18 and 19 March for a further testing session and shortly after in Monza for the Blancpain Endurance Series 2015 opener.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

Blancpain Endurance Series: I.S.R. Racing with Frédéric Vervisch for a top class lineup in the Blancpain Endurance Series

Tuesday, March 03, 2015 Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

02/03/2015 - Slightly more than a month before Monza's opener, I.S.R. Racing lineup for the Blancpain Endurance Series is getting completely defined. The squad based in Prague reached an agreement with the Belgian ace Frédéric Vervisch, who will race alongside the already announced duo Marco Bonanomi and Filip Salaquarda, forming one of the most competitive lineups of the whole championship.

Vervisch, class 1986, moved to single seater racing in 2004. It was the start of a long series of wins and titles, such as French Formula 3 Vice Champion, German & Asian Formula 3 Champion and Champcar Atlantic Rookie Champion. The Belgian finished his single seater career with a 3rd place in the highly valued Superleague Formula. Since his GT entry, he has been one of the protagonists of the Belgian Racing Car Championship - Long Races Cup, where
he ended last season taking the title of vice-champion.

Frédéric Vervisch:
"Racing in a highly professional team was my first objective for 2015 and when Igor Salaquarda showed me I.S.R Racing sporting programme and the team's working method I realized what my future would have been. Marco and Filip are two excellent team mates and the Audi R8 LMS ultra is a very competitive car: I am certain a successful season is ahead of us".

The new lineup will make its debut next 11 March at Paul Ricard for the two collective testing days proceeding the Blancpain Endurance Series. In that occasion, Team I.S.R. Racing will take on track the two Audi R8 LMS ultra that will be running during the season.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

Blancpain GT Series: I.S.R. Racing testing two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at Slovakia Ring

Monday, March 02, 2015 Johan Laubscher

By Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing is busy preparing for the 2015 Blancpain GT Series. The Czech Audi Sport customer racing team is testing both of its Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at the Slovakia Ring this week.

It is the first time that I.S.R. Racing is running both cars after receiving and preparing its second chassis. The team tested its first Audi R8 LMS ultra at Misano two weeks ago, the same car with which I.S.R. Racing debuted in GT racing at the Spa 24 Hours and Gulf 12 Hours last year.

I.S.R. Racing's 2015 campaign includes the full Blancpain GT Series with two cars entered in both the Blancpain Sprint Series and the Blancpain Endurance Series.

The BSS entries includes the first car with the Fjordbach brothers, Anders and Thomas Fjordbach from Denmark. Their teammates in the second Audi R8 LMS ultra will be Marco Bonanomi and Filip Salaquarda.

The full driver line-up for the BES has not yet been revealed. So far the first entry will be driven by Anders Fjordbach and two yet-to-be named drivers. The second car will also be driven by the BSS pairing of Bonanomi and Salaquarda, alongside a third driver who will also be announced in the coming weeks.

The Blancpain GT Series will be hosting two sets of official test days during March, BES at Paul Ricard and BSS at Misano. The race season will then kick off with the BSS at Nogaro from 4-6 April, followed by the BES opener at Monza from 11-12 April.

Photo credit:
Fjordbach Racing
Filip Salaquarda
I.S.R. Racing

Blancpain GT Series: I.S.R. Racing testing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Misano

Wednesday, February 11, 2015 Johan Laubscher

By Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing is taking part in a two-day test at Misano this week, Thursday and Friday 12-13 February. One of the Czech team's two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will be run during the tests as the team prepares for the 2015 Blancpain GT Series.

Two of their drivers, Marco Bonanomi and Filip Salaquarda, are on hand in Italy to drive the #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra at Misano.

2015 will be I.S.R. Racing's first full-season campaign in GT racing with the Audi R8 LMS ultra as their weapon of choice. They had previously focussed on the World Series by Renault formula in recent years. Their GT racing debut was at the 2014 Spa 24 Hours with their Audi R8 LMS ultra, which they also entered at the 2014 Gulf 12 Hours.

It has already been revealed that I.S.R. Racing will be entering the 2015 Blancpain GT Series, entering both the Blancpain Endurance Series and Blancpain Sprint Series. They will be armed with their two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra squad in both the BES and BSS.

I.S.R. Racing has also already taken delivery of their second Audi R8 LMS ultra and is busy preparing it for 2015. (The car to the left, pictured above)

The Blancpain GT Series will be hosting two sets of official test days during March, BES at Paul Ricard and BSS at Misano. The race season will then kick off with the BSS at Nogaro from 4-6 April, followed by the BES opener at Monza from 11-12 April.

Photo credit:
I.S.R. Racing
Filip Salaquarda

Blancpain GT Series: Bonanomi and Salaquarda with I.S.R. in the Blancpain GT Series

Monday, February 02, 2015 Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

02/02/2015 - Further to the agreement with the Fjordbach brothers, I.S.R. Racing is delighted to announce two more drivers that will be competing with the Prague based team in the Blancpain GT Series 2015. The second Audi R8 LMS ultra lined up in the Blancpain Sprint Series will be driven by a top class pairing: Marco Bonanomi (ITA), works driver for the house of the four rings and Filip Salaquarda (CZ). The two drivers will also be competing in the Blancpain Endurance Series alogside with a third driver to be shortly announced.

Bonanomi, 29 years old, after competing in karting build a solid career in single seaters starting from Formula Renault 2.0 in 2001 and climbing the ladder up to GP2 in 2009. In 2010 he moved to endurance racing at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS, clinching second in the Italian GT Championship. In 2011 he has been official test driver in the development programme of the Audi R18 TDI and secured the Italian GT title on an Audi R8 LMS. In 2012 he won a prestigious podium at the 24 Hours of Le Mans on Audi R18 ultra and triumphed at the 24 Hours of Zolder on Audi R8 LMS ultra. He has been Audi works driver in FIA WEC in 2014 on Audi R18 e-tron Quattro - Hybrid in the Le Mans and Spa-Francorchamps rounds.

Salaquarda, 30 years old, after karting has been competing with relevant results in the main training categories like Formula BMW, Formula 3 and World Series by Renault since 2002. In 2012 he moved to GT international racing and obtained several podiums and wins.

The first on track duty for the Czech team is scheduled for next 12-13 February in Misano Adriatico, followed by further testing ahead of the championship's opener.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

Blancpain GT Series: Anders and Thomas Fjordbach in Blancpain GT Series with I.S.R. Racing

Tuesday, January 27, 2015 Johan Laubscher

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

27/01/2015 - Preparations ahead of sporting season 2015 continue relentlessly at I.S.R. Racing, as the team is to compete in endurance racing.

The team reached an agreement with the brothers Anders and Thomas Fjordbach: they will compose the drivers pairing of one of the two Audi R8 LMS ultra that will be lined up in the Blancpain Sprint Series. Anders' programme will also involve the Blancpain Endurance Series, where he will compete alongside two drivers to be decided in the next few weeks.

Anders Fjordbach (DEN), class 1990, made his debut in motor racing in 2007 after some seasons in karting. He took part in several national single-branded championships up to 2009, among which the Volkswagen Polo Cup and the Renault Clio Cup. He then took two years off from competitions, but in 2012 he ended the Danish ThunderSport Championship in sixth place, scoring several podiums that were also repeated in the following two years. In 2014, he came close to claim the class victory at the 24 Hours of Dubai on a Porsche 997. He ended in fact second after keeping the lead for eighteen hours. Anders did eventually secure the victory in edition 2015, race won on a 997.

Thomas Fjordbach (DEN), class 1993, after karting has been racing in several national championships on cars like the Renault Clio Cup from 2011 to 2013. In that year he has also been competing in the Asian series Scirocco Cup Asia (taking one victory and nine podiums), in the Scirocco R China Master Challenge in Macau and in one round of the Ferrari Challenge Taiwan (one podium). In 2014 he has been among the protagonists of GT Asia where he claimed one win and nine podiums ending the season in third place.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

Gulf 12 Hours: Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on the provisional entry list

Tuesday, November 04, 2014 Johan Laubscher

By Johan Laubscher

The fourth Gulf 12 Hours will be taking place on 13 December 2014. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are currently entered to compete at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. The latest entry list was released today.

This endurance event has a unique format with the twelve hour race being split into two sperate six hour races.

Absolute Racing is leading the Audi Sport customer racing charge with a two-car entry. It will be a very busy weekend for the team, as they are also prepairing and fielding the twenty cars of the Audi R8 LMS Cup, which will be hosting its season finale at Yas Marina.

The third Audi R8 LMS ultra entry is from I.S.R. Racing. This will be the Czech team’s second event with their new Audi GT3 machine, after they debuted the car at the 2014 Spa 24 Hours.

Audi entries as of 4 November 2014:
Absolute Racing - 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra
Absolute Racing - 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra
I.S.R. Racing - 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra

The provisional entry list can be seen HERE.