Blancpain Sprint Series: Audi teams at Moscow Raceway - Weekend round-up

By Tarek Ramchani

The Moscow Raceway played host to the fourth round of the 2015 Blancpain Sprint Series last weekend. Three Audi Sport customer racing teams took part in the 2-day action in Russia with some strong performances but also a lot of bad luck too.

Audi Motorsport Blog had detailed coverage of the event. Here is a complete round-up:

Preview: Six Audis for the Moscow Raceway round

Spotter Guide: Moscow Racing Spotter Guide

Practice session report: 1-2 Audi in Moscow Raceway second practice

Qualifying session report: Front row for Phoenix Racing at Moscow Raceway

Qualifying race report: Extremely unlucky qualifying race for Audi teams at Moscow Raceway

Main Race report: Late penalty denies Phoenix Racing from second place in Moscow Raceway main race

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

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Blancpain Endurance Series: Ups and downs for I.S.R. Racing Audis at Monza

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

The round of Monza, opener of the Blancpain Endurance Series 2015, had more than one twist for the men of the Czech team I.S.R. Racing.

The weekend turned out to be quite unlucky for the lineup of the n.74 car and particularly for Fabio Onidi, who had a severe impact on the protections at the exit of the Ascari chicane, after the positive times set by Anders Fjordbach and Andrea Roda. The driver from Milan has been taken to the medical center of the circuit first and then to the hospital for further checks. He was later diagnosed a fracture of two vertebras but fortunately he did not have any more severe consequence. The heavy damage reported by the car did not allow its fixing in time for the race.

The weekend of the n.75 R8 was decided about forty minutes into the race, when a drive-through was handed to Bonanomi for an action in the heat of the start judged beyond the limits of the regulation. Salaquarda and Vervisch tried to get some ground back in their stints, ending in absolute P20.

Igor SALAQUARDA (I.S.R. Racing, Team Principal):

"The whole team ISR Racing is close to Fabio after a satisfaction-less weekend: we wish him a prompt recovery and wait him soon on track. Fabio, Anders and Andrea were doing a great job and it would have been interesting to see where they would have ended in the race."

"We knew that Monza does not suit much our car. Marco, Filip and Frédéric managed to keep a race pace similar to that of the other Audis, confirming the fact that, on circuits suiting the R8 better, we will be among the protagonists. The penalty issues in the first stint unfortunately vanished any chance to get a good result."

The Blancpain Endurance Series will resume from Silverstone (UK) next 24 May.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

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Blancpain Sprint Series: Silver-Cup victories and big points for I.S.R. Racing Audis in Nogaro opener

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

The opening round of the Blancpain Sprint Series 2015, race held on the French circuit of Nogaro, awarded the first success to team I.S.R. racing thanks to the double win secured by the brothers Thomas and Anders Fjordbach (DNK) in the Silver Cup.

A tricky tarmac that was humid in some spots on Saturday's qualifying prevented the two Audi R8 LMS ultra of the Czech team to show their full potential, as Bonanomi-Salaquarda and the Fjordbach pairing were careful not to make any mistake that would compromise the outcome of their weekend.

The Qualifying Race on Sunday witnessed a great comeback from both lineups: Bonanomi and Salaquarda managed to get back all the way to absolute P6 on the number 75 car, and were followed by the Fjordbach brothers on the number 74 challenger, as the pairing secured in this way the victory in the Silver Cup.

The positive 'weekend' of the two Danish brothers was rounded up in the best possible way in the Main Race, that was, as tradition, exceptionally run on Monday. The two clinched another victory in the Silver Cup. Bonanomi and Salaquarda also put in a solid race, ending seventh at the flag after a consistent race.

The Blancpain Sprint Series will resume next 10 May from Brands Hatch (UK).

Photo credit: Audi Media

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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: I.S.R. Racing turning the page: Gulf 12 Hours to open a new cycle in Endurance racing with exclusive participation in the Blancpain GT Series from 2015

I.S.R. Racing Press Release

18/11/2014 - Team I.S.R. Racing announce its participation to the Gulf 12 Hours race from 11 to 13 December in Abu Dhabi.

Following the positive debut in endurance racing last July during the 24 Hours of Spa – race ended within the points – the team will bring to Yas Marina an Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by a new lineup made by Aditya Patel (IND), Jiri Pisarik (CZ) and Filip Salaquarda (CZ).

Igor Salaquarda (I.S.R. Racing, Team Principal):
“The 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi will be another interesting test bench for the team ahead of the forthcoming season and of the exciting challenge we have in front of us. Over the last five years we successfully took part in the World Series by Renault 3.5 with our drivers scoring several victories, consequently becoming Formula 1 stars.

Several wins came thanks to Esteban Guerrieri, Daniel Ricciardo, Sam Bird and many other satisfactions came from Filip Salaquarda, Nathanael Berton, Jake Rosenzweig, Sergey Sirotkin, Christpher Zanella and Jazeman Jaafar. We wish to thank all of them for the great moments we had the chance to share.

Looking to challenging future goals has always been in the DNA of our team and at the end of this year’s campaign we decided to focus exclusively on a very high level project in GT racing, which means stopping our participation to the World Series by Renault.

Endurance races have always excited me and the decision was taken with the great enthusiasm. Ideas started to get into shape and we got the first Audi R8 LMS ultra in July, car that we positively brought I.S.R. to the GT debut in Spa. Things evolved since then and now we devised a specific programme for 2015 that will involve two Audi R8 LMS in the Blancpain Endurance Series and two in the Blancpain Sprint Series.

The whole team is quite excited for this new project and we are all extremely motivated to start on the right foot in this fascinating category, where we count on opening a new cycle full of success starting from the Gulf 12 Hours of Abu Dhabi”.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

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Spa 24 Hours: Marc Basseng on position 14 with the Czech Team ISR at the 24 hour race of Spa-Francorchamps

Marc Basseng Press Release

Rosenbach/Spa-Francorchamps (rol/ot) The race driver Marc Basseng from Rosenbach (Saxony) returns from the Total 24 hour race with about 60 drivers at start on Sunday (27th of July) in Spa-Francorchamps (Belgium) with a good 14 th overall position. He shared the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS Ultra of the Czech Team ISR with the German Fabian Hamprecht and the Czech Filip Salaquarda.

“We crossed the finish line and we scored a good position with our GT3 race car, which is a nice success”, the 35 year old explained, who is on overall position ten at the Pro Cup drivers ranking after the fourth season event of the Blancpain Endurance Series. Winners in Belgium have been his brand colleagues Laurens Vanthoor (Belgium), Markus Winkelhock and Rene Rast (both Germany) of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, which for Basseng drives this year as well.

“The team ISR had its 24 hour race premiere and its premiere with an Audi, so our result is even better. Of course there is not that much experience yet, which means a loss of time at the pit stops for example. But we made it until the finish line”, Marc Basseng explained, who has been FIA GT1 world champion in 2012. “Of course we had a few highlight in Spa, the car in the gravel as well as a fire accident in the pit, when fuel ignited and the Audi has been on fire. Nobody got hurt and after the flames were extinguished we were able to get back on track.”

The race must have been very exhausting due to the heat, the furious driving of other combatants, a lot of crashes and safety car phases. “But it has been great fun anyway”, the driver from Rosenbach said, who has been behind the wheel for about eight hours. The next race at the VLN long track championship for Marc Basseng is already scheduled for next Saturday (2nd of August). He will share the cockpit of the Audi R8 LMS Ultra of Team Phoenix Racing with Frank Stippler (Bad Münstereifel) at the four hour long 37th RCM DMV Grenzland race.

Photo credit: Audi Media

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Spa 24 Hours: Audi wins the Spa 24 Hours 2014

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi did it again at Spa-Francorchamps. The Ingolstadt brand just won the prestigious Total 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps overall with the all conquering Audi R8 LMS ultra. A total of four cars made into the Top 5 overall.

The winning #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra run by the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was simply the best car in this demanding all GT3 field. Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock who started from pole position Saturday afternoon crossed the finish line victorious covering 527 laps. René Rast made the decisive move with 15 minutes left passing the leading BMW.

The three drivers pushed very hard all race long and deserved this victory after a very hard 24-hour race. Laurens Vanthoor, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock gave also Audi a first victory this season in the Blancpain Endurance Series.

René Rast won his second Spa 24 Hours victory after the victory in 2012 with Phoenix Racing. for both Laurens Vanthoor and Markus Winkelhock this is a first win in the Belgian Ardennes.

Second place went to the #77 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Sports Trophy Team VDS driven by Dirk Werner, Lucas Lhur and Markus Paltalla. The podium was completed by the #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in the hands of Christopher Mies, Frank Stippler and James Nash who performed very well all race long.

A great race for the French Sainteloc Racing team. Their #26 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Guilvert ended in a very strong fourth place.

Bad luck hit the three-time Le Mans 24 Hours winners. André Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Marcel Fassler finished twelfth overall after loosing many laps in their garage.

Credits to the British Parker Racing Team who finished the Spa 24 Hours in a fine second place within the Gentlemen Trophy class. Their #22 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Ian Loggie, Leonid Machitski, Carl Rosenblad and Julian Westwood.

This marks the third major endurance victory for Audi this year after the wins at Le Mans 24 Hours with Audi Sport Team Joest (Audi R18 e-tron quattro) and the Nurburgring 24 Hours with Phoenix Racing (Audi R8 LMS ultra). Audi repeated an achievement already done in 2012 when the brand won all three major European endurance races.

For the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT today's victory at Spa-Francorchamps is their second in the Belgian endurance classic after their first win back in 2011.

At first the Audi victory looks really easy, but fact is the field was great and the race was very hard for all competitors. A lot of Saftey Car periods and even a long red flag after a horrific crash involving two Ferrari 458 GT3s highlighted this 2014 edition.

Now all focus will be on the Blancpain Endurance Series season finale at the Nurburgring. Audi teams and drivers will fight for the championship titles in the special 1000km race. Laurens Vanthoor is the new Pro-Cup leader with 74 points followed by the three Sainteloc Racing Audi drivers Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Guilvert in second with 67 points.

Photo credit: Audi Media

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Spa 24 Hours: Marc Basseng joins I.S.R. Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra

By Tarek Ramchani

The Czech I.S.R. Racing team has confirmed its dirver line-up for the upcoming Spa 24 Hours race.

The #75 Audi R8 LMS ultra will compete in the upper Pro-Cup class. The car will be shared by three drivers, the already announced Filipe Salaquarda and Fabian Hamprecht will be joined by Audi GT factory driver Marc Basseng.

The German driver who is racing with the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT this season in the Blancpain Endurance Series driving the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra along with Laurens Vanthoor and Cesar Ramos, will switch to  I.S.R. Racing in Belgian endurance classic

Marc Basseng massive experience with the Audi R8 LMS ultra and the Spa 24 Hours will be a big boost for a team who recently joined the Audi Sport customer racing family and preparing to do the full Blancpain Endurance Series in 2015.

Photo credit: I.S.R. Racing

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