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

Read More

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

Read More

VLN: Phoenix Racing with an Audi R8 LMS ultra in Nürburgring VLN4

By Tarek Ramchani

The legendary Nürburgring Nordschleife will play host to the fourth round of the VLN Endurance Championship. Local team Phoenix Racing will field the single Audi R8 LMS ultra in the event.

Phoenix Racing will have a very busy weekend with the team competing in two different locations in VLN and the Blancpain Sprint Series in Russia.

Only one driver has been confirmed so far, Christian Mamerow. The remaining drivers of the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be annouced later.

A total of ten GT3 cars will battle for the outright victory in the Adenauer ADAC Worldpeace Trophy including the brand new  Mercedes-AMG GT3 and two new Lexus RC F GT3s

VLN4 Entry List

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

Photo credit: Phoenix Racing

Read More

Nürburgring 24 Hours: Audi wins the Nürburgring 24 Hours with the new R8 LMS

By Tarek Ramchani

A brilliant victory for Audi at the demanding and prestigious Nürburgring 24 Hours. The  Ingolstadt brand the Nordschleife endurance classic after a titanic battles against BMW and Porsche.

It's the first ever victory for the brand new Audi R8 LMS in a 24-hour endurance race. The winning car #28 car entered by Audi Sport Team WRT was shared by Christopher Mies, Edward Sandström, Nico Mueller and Laurens Vanthoor.

This is the third outright victory for Audi at the Nürburgring 24 Hours following wins in 2012 and 2014.  Audi Sport Team WRT won the German endurance event for the first time after wins at the Spa 24 Hours.

The four Audi drivers pushed hard all race long and had a breathtaking threeway battle with a BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Marc VDS and a Porsche 997 GT3-R from Falken Tire. The race lead has changed several times all race long and especially since this morning. At the end of a hard and fought race, the #28 Audi R8 LMS took the checkered falg victorious.

The second Audi Sport Team WRT performed well too. The #29 Audi R8 LMS driven by Nicki Thiim, Christer Joens, Pierre Kaffer and Laurens finised the race in seventh overall.

The Audi R8 LMS ultra cars had a solid race as well. The privateer Twin Busch Motorsport narrowly missed the Top 10, they ended the race in eleventh place with their #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Audi race experience with their #15 R8 LMS ultra was twelfth overall.

Bad luck hit the two Audi Sport Team Phoenix entries. Both #1 and #4 Audi R8 LMS cars were forced to retire following race incidents. A hard event for the local team who performed very well in the opening stages of the race.

More to come.

Photo credit: Autorennsport

Read More

Nürburgring 24 Hours: Strong qualifying for the Audi teams in the Nordschleife

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams and the new R8 LMS performed very well in the Top 30 shoot-out qualifying session at the Nürburgring. All of the new Audi R8 LMS cars made it into the Top 10 after a very hard and fought session.

Nicki Thiim, Christer Joens, Pierre Kaffer and Laurens Vanthoor were the fastest within the Audi squad. The Audi Sport Team WRT drivers qualified in a strong fifth place overall with their #29 Audi R8 LMS.

The second entry from Audi Sport Team WRT was seventh fastest. The #28 R8 LMS driven by Christopher Mies, Edward Sandström, Nico Mueller and Laurens Vanthoor.

Last year winners Markus Winkelhock, Christopher Haase, Christian Mamerow and René Rast were the ninth fastest. The Audi Sport Team Phoenix drivers where behind the wheel of the #1 Audi R8 LMS.

Their team-mates at Audi Sport Team Phoenix were right behind. The #4 Audi R8 LMS is driven by Mike Rockenfeller, Frank Stippler, Marc Basseng and Marcel Fässler

Overall pole position went to the #26 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Marc VDS. Second place went to the #2 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from Black Falcon Racing. The #20 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Schubert was third fastest.

The Nürburgring 24 Hours endurance race is set for tomorrow.

Photo credit: Autorennsport

Read More

VLN: Maiden victory for the new Audi R8 LMS at the Nürburgring, 1-2 Audi Sport Team WRT

By Tarek Ramchani

An extraordinary VLN Endurance Championship second round for Audi at the Nürburgring. The brand new Audi R8 LMS scored its first ever victory, a brilliant 1-2 win.

At the end of the 4-hour event, Audi Sport Team WRT scored a fantastic 1-2 with their new R8 LMS cars. The winning #10 machine was shared by Christopher Mies and Nico Müller.

Their team-mates Laurens Vanthoor and Pierre Kaffer were right behind taking a strong second place overall behind the wheel of the #37 Audi R8 LMS.

The #11 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Audi race experience took an honorable tenth place overall. The car was shared by Marchy Lee, Franky Cheng and Shaun Thong. The second Audi race experience entry ended in seventeenth place overall with drivers Rod Salmon and Yoong Loong.

The privately built Audi R8 from Düchting Motorsport won the SP8 class and and finished the race in position sixteen overall. While the SP3T class was an all Audi TT RS affair

Photo credit: Audi Media

Read More

VLN: Strong Audi entries at the Nürburgring for round 2

By Tarek Ramchani

A full field of Audi race cars will enter the second round of the VLN Endurance Championship this weekend at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

In the upper SP9 class, no less than six cars will fight for the overall victory. The Audi GT3 squad will include four brand new Audi R8 LMS cars. The Belgians from Audi Sport Team WRT will run two cars. The Nürburgring based Audi Sport Team Phoenix will enter the other two new GT3 racers from quattro GmbH.

Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will enter the 4-hour endurance race. Both cars are coming from Audi race experience.

The SP8 class will see the return of the privateer Audi R8 from Düchting Motorsport

The SP3T class will feature many Audi TT, TTS and TT RS cars. The SP4T class will have only one car, an Audi TT RS.

The qualifying session will be held on Saturday morning. The 4-hour endurance event will follow in the afternoon.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Read More

Nürburgring 24 Hours: Seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars in the Nordschleife classic

By Tarek Ramchani

The provisional entry list for the upcoming Nürburgring 24 Hours race has been released. The Audi brand will be very well represented in the upper SP9 class and will target a third outright victory at the Green Hell.

Seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will enter the demanding Nürburgring Nordschleife classic coming from four different teams.

Four brand new Audi R8 LMS cars will be fielded as a full factory effort. Two very strong and exprienced teams will be in chrage of the new GT3 racers from quattro GmbH. Audi Sport Team Phoenix who are the reinging champions and Audi Sport Team WRT from Belgian with a two-car effort each.

Audi race experience who are familiar with the Nürburgring endurance event will field a pair of R8 LMS ultra cars. Twin Busch Motorsport will enter a single Audi, the team is one of the regular teams in the VLN Endurance Championship.

The Audi R8 LMS cars in 2015 Nürburgring 24 Hours:

Audi Sport Team Phoenix - #1 Audi R8 LMS - Haase / Mamerow / Rast / Winkelhock
Audi Sport Team Phoenix - #4 Audi R8 LMS - Basseng / Fässler / Rockenfeller / Stippler
Audi Sport Team WRT - #28 Audi R8 LMS - Mies / Sandström / Mueller / Vanthoor
Audi Sport Team WRT - #29 Audi R8 LMS - Thiim / Joens / Kaffer / Vanthoor
Audi race experience - #14 Audi R8 LMS ultra - Mayr-Melnhof / Salmon / Ohlsson / Saurenmann
Audi race experience - #15 Audi R8 LMS ultra - Yoong / Cheng / Lee / Thong
Twin Busch Motorsport - #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra - Busch / Busch

Photo credit: Audi Media

Read More

VLN: First round red flagged after tragic accident - Audi R8 LMS race debut

By Johan Laubscher

The opening VLN Endurance Series round held on Saturday was red flagged following a tragic accident on the Nürburgring Nordschleife. Jann Mardenborough in the #23 Nissan GTR NISMO GT3 was involved in an accident at Flugplatz. His car took flight and crashed over the catch fencing into a spectator area. The event was red flagged and subsequently cancelled to allow emergency personnel access to the track.

It has been announced that there was one fatality amongst the injured spectators. Our thoughts go out to all those involved in the incident, the injured spectators and their families and friends. RIP.


Race report for the Audi teams:

This weekend’s VLN event was the race debut of the brand new 2015 Audi R8 LMS. Two new cars joined the field, one entered by Audi Sport Team Phoenix and the other by Audi Sport Team WRT. The factory-supported Audi R8 LMS entries included the driver line-ups of Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase, Mike Rockenfeller and Frank Stippler (Phoenix #15), and Christer Jöns, Laurens Vanthoor, Edward Sandström and Nicki Thiim (WRT #37).

Phoenix Racing also entered one of its older Audi R8 LMS ultra cars (Audi #5) with Christian Mamerow, Markus Winkelhock, Christopher Zoechling and Frank Stippler. This older R8 LMS ultra was the highest placed Audi during qualifying, securing ninth place on the grid. The two new Audi R8 LMS cars were qualified in positions eleven and twelve, WRT ahead of Phoenix Racing.

At the time that the red flag was waved the field was split with different pit-stop intervals. The three SP9 class (GT3) Audi entries were running fifth (#15 Audi R8 LMS), seventeenth (#5 Audi R8 LMS ultra) and twenty-fourth (#37 Audi R8 LMS).

A total of twelve Audi race cars were entered this weekend. The SP9 GT3 machines were joined by Düchting Motorsport’s Audi R8 V10 in the SP8 class, a number of Audi TT RS and Audi TTS entries in SP3T and SP4T (Rotek Racing, LMS Engnieering, S.Pace Racing, race&event), an Audi A4 B7 from Tuning Akademie Ingolstadt and the Frikadelli Racing TT RS.

The #303 Audi TT RS from LMS Engineering was leading the SP3T class when the race was stopped.

Phoenix Racing also debuted its new Race-Taxi at the Green Hell this weekend. The #4 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Hans-Joachim Stuck has the “Crocodile” livery that was seen at the 2015 Bathurst 12 Hour.

Round two of the VLN Endurance Series will be held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife on 25 April.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

Read More

VLN: Phoenix Racing and TÜV Rheinland continue partnership in VLN and Nürburgring 24 Hours

Phoenix Racing Press Release

Phoenix Racing and TÜV Rheinland were able to crown their official partnership right in the first year. With the Audi R8 LMS ultra sporting the distinctive TÜV Rheinland logo Ernst Moser’s motorsport team with drivers Christopher Haase, Christian Mamerow, René Rast and Markus Winkelhock won the ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race Nürburgring. The continuation of the successful partnership between TÜV Rheinland and Phoenix Racing was announced on Friday, 27 March, at a press conference at the Nürburgring that was attended by Dr Michael Fübi, Chairman of the Board of Management of TÜV Rheinland AG, as well.

“TÜV Rheinland and Phoenix Racing both strive for a maximum of safety, quality and precision, as well sharing a passion for motorsport,” Ernst Moser, Team Director of Phoenix Racing, commented.

“This joint success in the Nürburgring 24 Hours has motivated and inspired us, but it is more than the sporting success on the race track that underpins this partnership,” said Prof Dr-Ing Jürgen Brauckmann, Management Board Member Mobility TÜV Rheinland. “For over 40 years TÜV has been accompanying technological innovations with the aim of continually improving quality and safety. Motorsport at the Nürburgring, and this includes our commitment with Ernst Moser and his team as well, offers us an ideal platform for the dialogue with industry and our clientele.”

Frank Stippler, who like last year’s 24-hour race winner Christian Mamerow is part of the Phoenix line-up of regular drivers on the Nordschleife, as brand ambassador continues to be an integral component of the motorsport commitment of the independent testing services provider. Prof Dr-Ing Jürgen Brauckmann: “Frank Stippler is not only a successful racing driver but also an outstanding brand ambassador for us, who ideally communicates the synergy between motorsport and TÜV Rheinland.”

Phoenix Racing based in Meuspath at the Nürburgring and TÜV Rheinland are primarily focused on the 43rd ADAC Zurich 24-Hour Race Nürburgring to be held from 14 to 17 May that Phoenix has previously won a total of four times. The squad of Team Director Ernst Moser and GT Team Manager Bernhard Demmer will be participating in the iconic endurance race in the Eifel with two next-generation Audi R8 LMS cars. In addition, Phoenix Racing, which competes in the two Blancpain GTSeries and as Audi Sport Team Phoenix in the DTM as well, will be contesting all ten races of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring. The VLN opening race is held on Saturday (28 March) and, at the same time, marks the racing debut of the new Audi R8 LMS that is driven on the legendary Nordschleife by Mike Rockenfeller, Christopher Haase, Frank Stippler and Marc Basseng.

Photo credit: Phoenix Racing

Read More

VLN: Phoenix Racing at the opener with two Audis and strong driver line-up

Phoenix Racing Press Release

Phoenix Racing eagerly awaits the season opener in the ‘Green Hell’. When the racing
season on the legendary Nordschleife opens on Saturday, 28 March, with the first
round of the VLN endurance championship, Ernst Moser’s team joins the grid again.
Phoenix Racing plans to compete in all ten races, the first two four-hour races are of
particular importance as they act as preparation for the 24 hour race (14-17 May).

An unusual aspect is that the team based in the industrial park Nürburgring in
Meuspath will compete in the VLN opener with two different cars: with the current
Audi R8 LMS ultra and with its successor the Audi R8 LMS, which was only recently
unveiled to the public at the Geneva Motor Show.

Last year’s 24h winner Christopher Haase and Mike Rockenfeller, DTM Champion in
2013, as well as Frank Stippler and Marc Basseng will drive the new car, with which
Stippler and Markus Winkelhock completed the first tests around the Nordschleife
just two weeks ago. For the R8 LMS, the next generation GT3 sportscar from Audi,
appearing in the VLN opener means a test under race conditions, which should
supply valuable data and experience with a view to the 24-hour race.

One of the drivers sharing the current Audi R8 LMS ultra is Christian Mamerow, who
is a member of Phoenix Racing’s fixed line-up for the popular VLN series. Frank
Stippler will also compete in the VLN as regular Phoenix driver when his schedule
allows.

Both the opening race on March 28 and the second VLN race four weeks later on
April 25 are part of the preparations for the legendary 24-hour race around the
Nürburgring, which Phoenix Racing will contest once again with two cars. Phoenix
won the 24h classic last year with Christopher Haase, Markus Winkelhock, Christian
Mamerow and René Rast. It was the second Audi victory in the Nürburgring
marathon since 2012 and the fourth for Phoenix. In the opening VLN race last year,
Ernst Moser and his team took overall victory with the driver line-up Basseng,
Stippler and the Belgian Laurens Vanthoor.

After various test sessions on Friday (March 27), qualifying follows on Saturday
(March 28) between 08:30 and 10:00, before the huge field of GT3 sportscars and
touring cars starts the four-hour race at 12:00.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

Read More

VLN: Düchting Motorsport testing Audi R8 at Bilster Berg for Green Hell return

By Johan Laubscher

Düchting Motorsport was testing its Audi R8 race car at the Bilster Berg Drive Resort in Germany this week. It was announced earlier this year that the German team was planning to return its old privately-built Audi R8 to the VLN Endurance Series, given that they could find interested drivers.

The opening round of the 2015 VLN Endurance Series will be taking place at the Nürburgring Nordschleife this upcoming weekend (28 March) and Düchting Motorsport will be fielding the Audi R8 as the #148 entry with the driving squad of Maximilian Hackländer and Pierre Humbert.

This car was originally built to compete in the SP7 class with a downsized V8 engine, but it is now intended to run in the SP8 class and it is expected to be a front-runner within the class. It was built before the era of GT3 machinery, such as the Audi R8 LMS, competing in the SP9 class at the Nürburgring Nordschleife.

Düchting Motorsport's Audi R8 was one of the earliest developed Audi R8 race cars. The Dutch-built Creventic Audi R8 V8, also called the “CR-8”, was the first privately built Audi R8 race car and debuted at the 2008 Dubai 24 Hours. A few months later the Düchting Motorsport project was revealed and debuted at the 2008 Nürburgring 24 Hours and VLN. It was only later during 2008 that the factory developed Audi R8 LMS program from Audi Sport themselves was publicly announced, before the GT3 machine debuted on track in 2009.

Photo credit: Düchting Motorsport

Read More