PHOTOS: Audi BTCC teams at Snetterton

A selection of great photos taken by our friend Phil Laughton from last weekend's BTCC round of Snetterton. Three Audi NGTC races cars took part in the event, two Audi A4 from Rob Austin Racing and one Audi S3 from AmD Tuning.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

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World RX: Magical Canada RX for ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

The ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport performed very well in the FIA World Rallycross Championship round at Trois-Rivières. The privateer German Audi team scored their best results so far in World RX with improving Audi S3 Supercars.

The team entered two cars in the only North American event of the season. Team owner René Münnich was joined in Canada by Norway's Tommy Rustad who replaced Alx Danielsson in Quèbec.

Tommy Rustad an Euro RX regual with a Volkswagen Polo (Marklund Motorsport) was impressive all weekend long in Canada. The Norwegian driver was among the fastest in all of the four heats and managed to qualify to the semi-finals.

The driver of the #24 Audi S3 RX started the first semi-final from the back of the pack but made history at the end of the 6-lap race.

Tommy Rustad took full advantage of the chaos in front of him and moved to the lead. He managed to control the race and won ahead of world class competitors like Toomas Heikkinen and Tanner Fous. A performance that gave the ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport a first appearance ever in a World RX final.

Tommy Rustad narrowly missed the overall podium in the big. He finished in fourth place overall right behind American star Tanner Foust. A sensational result for the ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport.

René Münnich was fast as well in Canada in the first two heats on Friday. Unfortunately he did not take part in the Saturday's two heats with his #77 Audi S3 RX.

The next World RX round for ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport will be in Norway at the demanding Hell circuit. Alx Danielsson is expected to be back to the team.

Photo credit: ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport

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IMSA CTSCC: Positive Performance for Kyle Gimple at Road America‏

Kyle Gimple Press Release

The IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge Series staged Round 7 of the championship at Road America on Saturday and it was another positive outing for Kyle Gimple and his Compass360 Racing squad. Since debuting the new No. 75 Advanced Paint Technology/Children’s Tumor Foundation Audi S3 at Sebring International Raceway earlier this year, the team has worked to improve the car and has seen marked progress through the past few races.

Despite minimal practice time during the weekend, Gimple and co-driver Paul Holton drove to a 14th place finish in the race after starting 15th when qualifying was washed out and the grid was set by championship point order. That result is the team’s best finish this year in the Audi machine.

An issue with the car during the first practice and then a long red flag period during the second practice, saw the No. 75 Audi only take six laps around the Road America circuit prior to the drop of the green flag. But even without the full allotment of practice time, Gimple was happy with the set-up on the car and pleased with the improvements the team has made.

“The car was good - much better this weekend than we've had in the past,” said Gimple. “It's a good sign that we're accelerating our development with the car, getting faster each weekend. It's the second weekend in a row we're leaving basically happy with where we finished. We ended up 14th, and a top-15 this weekend is really good. It's the best finish we've had all year in the Audi. We'll go to VIR (Virginia International Raceway), where we've tested before, and just improve from there. I'm expecting by the time we go to Road Atlanta we'll be on the box. We'll see how it goes, it's definitely promising. But there is some stuff we have to work on to get the car to the next level, so we'll try to get it to that point by VIR.”

Gimple will next be in IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge action on August 20 at VIR for the Oak Tree Grand Prix event.

Photo credit: Sideline Sports Photography

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NPCC: Audi S4 quattro racers in thick of Zwartkops action‏

Audi South Africa Press Release

As has become expected from the Audi S4 quattro competitors, they were right in the thick of the race day action at Zwartkops Raceway on Saturday.

Round five of the National Production Car Championship (NPCC) proved another exciting part of the 2015 season and the Audi S4 quattro racers were the pace setters.

The four Audi S4 quattros were the top four qualifying NPCC competitors on Saturday morning, with Gennaro Bonafede (32 – Audi Sasolracing) the quickest followed by Simon Moss (38 – Engen Xtreme), Hennie Groenewald (8 – Audi Sasolracing) and Michael Stephen (12 – Engen Xtreme). This also meant the first two rows of the starting grid for race one were all Audi.

For Bonafede, starting on pole meant his first race win for the day, with teammate Groenewald in second place and Stephen in third. Moss brought his Audi S4 quattro home for fifth. With race two a reverse grid, the Audi S4 quattro racers were faced with having to fight their way through the field. By the chequered flag, Groenewald had worked his way up to second place with Stephen fourth and Bonafede fifth and Moss sixth.

For race three it was Bonafede again the lead Audi S4 quattro across the finish line, winning the last race of the day in the process with Stephen in fourth, Groenewald fifth and Moss ending the day in 15th place.

The NPCC entrants will contest their next round for 2015 at Dezzi's Raceway in KwaZulu-Natal on Saturday, August 29. This will be a first for the field with none of the Audi S4 quattros having competed at the circuit before.

Photo credit: MotorPress.co.za (Morne Condon)

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BTCC: Improvements for Nicolas Hamilton at Snetterton with AmD Tuning Audi S3

By Tarek Ramchani

Nicolas Hamilton had a positive weekend at Snetterton in the demanding British Touring Car Championship. Behind the wheel of the Audi S3 Sedan from team AmD Tuning he performed well in his second appearance in the BTCC.

Nicolas Hamilton started the Snetteron weekend with good performances in the two practice sessions on Saturday. He was twenty-second in the first session and twenty-fifth in the second one. Later he qualified in twenty-sixth place overall.

On race day Nicolas Hamilton had a very unlucky opening race. He crashed with his Audi S3 and was forced to retire with 3 laps to go. A lot of work for the AmD Tuning squad who was able to repair the car in time for the second race of the day.

The Audi driver bounced back very well in race 2. Lewis Hamiton brother ended the 12-lap event in a very strong sixteenth place. His best result ever in the premier Britih motorsport series.

Nicolas Hamilton concluded the Snetterton weekend in twenty-second place in the third and final race of the day.

Credits to the driver who is batteling very well against the BTCC regulars and to the AmD Tuning crew who prepared a very competitve Audi S3.

Photo credit: BTCC

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TUSC: Fast but unlucky Paul Miller Racing Audi at Road America

By Tarek Ramchani

Paul Miller Racing was fast but unlucky in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race at Road America. The Noth American Audi Sport customer racing team started the 2h45 event from position four on the grid.

The #48 Audi R8 LMS was shared by Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase finished the event in sixth place in GT Daytona class. The two drivers had a solid race and performed very well with their Audi against strong rivals for GTD top spots. The car was running in second place in class but unfortunately lost some positions in the closing stages of the race.

Compass360 Racing peformed well in their second race with the Audi GT racer. The #76 Audi R8 LMS driven by Ray Mason and Pierre Kleinubing ended the Elkhart Lake race in ninth place in class.

GT Daytona victory went to the #33 Dodge Viper GT3-R ahead of the  #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in second place and the #73 Porsche 911 GT America in third.

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman

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BTCC: Positive results for Rob Austin Racing in Snetterton touring car races

Rob Austin Racing Press Release

Rob Austin Racing exceeded expectations with strong points finishes in today’s Dunlop British Touring Car races at Norfolk’s Snetterton circuit – a venue at which it has previously struggled for results with its Audi A4s.

Rob Austin raced to ninth and eighth place finishes in his Exocet AlcoSense Audi in races two and three. There was also a points finish for team-mate Hunter Abbott with 12th in race two – and it could have been more had he not been spun out of contention in race three.

Rob’s results owed much to a strategic call in race one after problems in Saturday’s qualifying session – later traced to a broken suspension component – had left him back in 21st on the grid.

He commented: “We had nothing to lose from that far back so took the strategic decision to start from the pit lane, some time after the rest had gone – that gave us a clear track and I was able to concentrate on a fast lap which decides the race two grid. P13 was a good return…

“From P13 race two came to us with ninth although I have to admit we rode our luck a bit in the opening laps – some of the driving out there was crazy today. P9 on the grid for race three became P8 at the end and I’m really pleased with my driving in that race – we don’t have the fastest car here so I put everything into turning in precise, consistent lap times which payed off as those behind were getting close at the end.

“Snetterton has not been kind to us in the past but this shows how we have evolved as a team over the past 12 months and how we’ve progressed the cars. I’m really pleased with my day and of course Knockhill – one of our best circuits – is next up. I’m really looking forward to that one.”

Hunter is also leaving Snetterton on a high despite the results across the three races masking his true form.

He said: “It’s actually been a positive weekend when you drill down and take a look at it – I was quick straight away in first free practice on Saturday and to qualify 13th fastest outright, well within a second of pole, was very pleasing – that’s a gain of 14 places and more than two seconds compared to what I got out of the car here 12 months ago!

“Race one, hands up… I made an error with a quick spin and it dropped me out of the points. Race two we had a small problem with the turbo which took away some straight line speed but, still, 12th place was much more reflective of our pace this weekend. Race three I was running P11 and am confident a top ten was on only for Collard to misjudge things and spin me off the track. Up until that point we were mixing it with BMWs and Hondas…

“Snetterton is always a great barometer for teams to really gauge the progress they’ve made and it’s clear, by the significant increase in our pace this weekend on a circuit which has never been the best for us, that all the hard work is paying off.”

Photo credit: Rob Austin Racing

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World RX: The Audi drivers performed well in Trois-Rivières day 2 action

By Tarek Ramchani

As was the case on Friday, the Audi drivers performed very well in the second day of FIA World Rallycross Championship action at Trois-Rivières. Two of them made it to the final showing great performances with their respective Supercars.

It's was a magical Saturday for the ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport team. Tommy Rustad not only gave the team their first appearance in a World RX final but also took the overall victory in the first semi-final. Sensational results and performances by the Norwaigian who replaced Alx Danielsson for the Canadian round behind the wheel of the #24 Audi S3 RX.

Tommy Rustad narrowly missed the podium in the big final and ended in fourth place right behind Volkswagen's Tanner Foust. A great result and achievement for the privateer German Audi team.

Mattias Ekström the EKS team owner ended the Canadian event in sixth place. Eki was among the fastest in the field all weekend long with his #10 Audi S1. Only bad luck prevented him from fighting for the overall victory in the final.

Credits to three other Audi drivers who did not take part in the semi-finals. Anton Marklund (#92 Volkswagen Polo), Robin Larsson (#4 Audi A1) and René Münnich (#77 Audi S3) pushed very hard and performed well but faced a lot of bad luck as well.

Trois-Rivières victory went to Peugeot Hansen' Davy Jeanney ahead of two Volkswagen Polo from Marklund Motorsport with Toomas Heikkinen second and Tanner Foust third.

Rallycross of Canada Results

The next round for FIA World Rallycross Championship will be in Norway at the famous and challenging Hell circuit.

Photo credit:  World RX 

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TUSC: The 2016 IMSA WeatherTech Championship calendar unveiled

IMSA Press Release

As part of a “State of the Series” presentation that included the introduction of WeatherTech as new entitlement partner and the announcement of a 10-year extension of official partnerships with TUDOR and ROLEX, IMSA officials unveiled a 12-event schedule for the 2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship.

The schedule opens with the 54th Rolex 24 At Daytona on Jan. 30-31, which will be the debut event at the new Daytona International Speedway motorsports stadium following the completion of the $400 million DAYTONA Rising project. The WeatherTech Championship Prototype (P) class will feature a 10-race schedule, while an 11-race calendar is planned for the Prototype Challenge (PC), GT Le Mans (GTLM) and GT Daytona (GTD) classes.

Every venue on the 2016 WeatherTech Championship schedule hosted the series in 2015. Notable modifications include the addition of the PC class alongside the P and GTLM classes at Long Beach on April 16, the inclusion of all four classes (addition of GTD) at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park on July 10 and the addition of GTLM to the PC and GTD classes at Lime Rock Park on July 23.

“The schedule of world-class venues that host WeatherTech Championship events continue to be one of IMSA’s most significant assets for our stakeholders and race fans,” said IMSA President Scott Atherton. “We’ve been able to confirm our following year’s schedule in August for the second consecutive year, which provides clear direction for our teams as they make their plans and speaks to the great relationships we’ve developed with our event promoters. Wherever possible, we’ve also preserved date equity and made strategic additions to the content at some venues, giving us 12 strong events in 2016. I’ve said it before, but our 2016 calendar provides our teams, marketing partners and most especially, our fans, with one of the best schedules in the industry – we couldn’t be more pleased.”

The WeatherTech Championship will continue to be anchored by four prestigious endurance events – also collectively known as the Tequila Patrόn North American Endurance Cup. Following the Rolex 24, the series moves to Sebring International Raceway on March 19 for the 64th Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. The Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen moves back one week from its traditional date in 2016 to July 3, and the season will conclude on Oct. 1 at Road Atlanta in Braselton, Georgia with the Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda.

In addition to the endurance events and the previously mentioned event at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park, all four WeatherTech Championship classes also will be featured at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca on May 1, Road America on Aug. 7 and Circuit of The Americas on Sept. 17.

Detroit’s Belle Isle Park again hosts the P, PC and GTD classes on June 4 as GTLM teams take their traditional break for the 24 Hours of Le Mans, and VIRginia International Raceway will showcase the two WeatherTech Championship GT classes on Aug. 21.

In addition to the race schedule, IMSA officials an IMSA-sanctioned test for all four WeatherTech Championship classes at Daytona International Speedway on Nov. 17-18. This test will be the first of two IMSA-sanctioned preseason tests at Daytona, joining the Roar Before The Rolex 24, which will be held on Jan. 8-10, 2016.

Complete broadcast details will be released later, but all races again will be televised by FOX Sports.

2016 IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship Schedule

Date Event/Venue/Location (Classes Participating)
Jan. 30-31 Rolex 24 At Daytona (All)
Daytona International Speedway – Daytona Beach, Florida

March 19 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida (All)
Sebring International Raceway – Sebring, Florida

April 16 Tequila Patrón Sports Car Showcase at Long Beach (P, PC, GTLM)
Long Beach Street Circuit – Long Beach, California

May 1 Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix (All)
Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca – Monterey, California

June 4 Chevrolet Detroit Belle Isle Grand Prix (P, PC, GTD)
Belle Isle Park – Detroit, Michigan

July 3 Sahlen’s Six Hours of The Glen (All)
Watkins Glen International – Watkins Glen, New York

July 10 Mobil 1 SportsCar Grand Prix presented by Hawk Performance (All)
Canadian Tire Motorsport Park – Bowmanville, Ontario, Canada

July 23 Northeast Grand Prix (PC, GTLM, GTD)
Lime Rock Park – Lakeville, Connecticut

Aug. 7 Continental Tire Road Race Showcase (All)
Road America – Elkhart Lake, Wisconsin

Aug. 21 Oak Tree Grand Prix (GTLM, GTD)
VIRginia International Raceway – Alton, Virginia

Sept. 17 Lone Star Le Mans (All)
Circuit of The Americas – Austin, Texas

Oct. 1 Petit Le Mans powered by Mazda (All)
Road Atlanta – Braselton, Georgia

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman

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TUSC: Paul Miller Racing Audi qualified fourth at Road America

By Tarek Ramchani

The Paul Miller Racing team qualified in a strong fourth place at Road America after a thrilling TUDOR United SportsCar Championship qualifying session.

The #48 Audi R8 LMS was the fourth fastest within the GT Daytona class with a best time of 2:10.125. The car is shared by Dion von Moltke and Christopher Haase

The two drivers are leading the overall GT Daytona points standing and will target a race victory tomorrow at Elkhart Lake after a very unlucky Lime Rock Park round last time out.

The Compass360 Racing entry qualified in tenth position in GT Daytona class. The #76 Audi R8 LMS is driven by Ray Mason and Pierre Kleinubing. This the second race for the Canadian team with the Audi GT racer in the demanding TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Pole position in GT Daytona went #73 Porsche 911 GT America ahead of the #33 Dodge Viper GT3-R in second and the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 in third.

The TUSC race at Road America is set for Sunday.

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman

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BTCC: Ups and downs for the Audi drivers in Snetterton qualifying

By Tarek Ramchani

A sunny Snetterton circuit played host to a thrilling British Touring Car Championship qualifying session this afternoon. Three Audi cars took part in the event with some ups and down.

Best ranked Audi driver was Hunter Abbot. Behind the wheel of the #54 Audi A4 from Rob Austin Racing he qualified in the first half of the table in a promising thirteenth place. He set a personal best time of 1:56.788, just 0.741 behind the fastest time overall in the session.

His team-mate Rob Austin had a harder qualifying session. Driving the #101 Audi A4, he was twenty-first overall with a personal best time of 1:57.973. The Rob Austin Racing team owner will be eager to bounce back on race day.

Nicolas Hamiton made some improvements with the #28 Audi S3 Sedan. The AmD Tuning driver qualified in a positive twenty-sixth place and set a personal best time of 1:59.623. This only Nicolas Hamiton's second appearance in the demanding BTCC.

Up ahead it was an all Volkswagen affair. Team BMR Volkswagen Passat CCs locked all three top places. Pole position went to the reining champion Coling Turkington ahead of his team-mates Aaron Smith in second and Jason Plato in third.

The three BTCC races are set for Sunday. We wish the best of luck to the two Audi teams and their drivers.

Photo credit: BTCC

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Super GT: Frustrating qualifying for Audi teams at Fuji Speedway

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi Super GT teams had a frustrating and disappointing qualifying session today at the famous Fuji Speedway. Both of Audi Team Hitotsuyama and Audi Team Racing Tech pushed hard and yet it was not enough to fight for the top spots in the demanding GT300 class.

The best ranked R8 LMS ultra was the car from Audi Team Hitotsuyama. The #21 Audi supported by W Racing Team (WRT) and driven by Richard Lyons and Tomonobu Fujii was eighteenth fastest within the GT300 class. Their best time was 1'39.298.

The Audi Team Racing Tech entry was twenty-second in class. Their #86 Audi R8 LMS is shared by Christian Mamerow Sn ya Hosokawa Shinya Hosokawa. Their best time in qualifying was 1'39.713.

The two Audi Japan backed squads will be eager to bounce back on race day. Once again they will have to challenge competitive cars and teams representing a great selection of Japanese and European teams.

GT300 pole position went to the #55 Honda CR-Z from team ARTA. The #65 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from team Leon was second fastest. The top three was completed by the #31 Toyota Prius from team apr.

Fuji GT300 Qualifying Results

The 300km endurance race will be held on Sunday.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / Racing Tech

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World RX: Strong opening day for Audi drivers at Trois-Rivières

By Tarek Ramchani

The FIA World Rallycross Championship action has started at Trois-Riviéres. The Audi drivers performed very well in the openind day of the Canadian round.

EKS team owner Mattias Ekström ended the day in a very strong second overall with a total of 84 points. Eki is driving the #10 Audi S1 EKS quattro and was third in the two heats of the day.

Tommy Rustad who is debuting in FIA World Rallycross Championship with the ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport team is sixth overall with 72 points. Behind the wheel of the #24 Audi S3 RX he was tenth in Heat 1 and sixth in Heat 2.

EKS's Anton Marklund narrowly missed the top-ten with the #92 Volkswagen Polo, he ended in eleventh place with 67 points. The talented Swedish driver thirteenth in Heat 1 and improved up to eighth in Heat 2.

René Münnich the ALL-INKL Münnich Motorsport team owner was fourteenth overall with a total of 59 points. The German driver of the #77 Audi S3 RX was fourteenth in Heat 1 and fifteenth in Heat 2.

Bad luck hit again Robin Larsson. The 2014 Euro RX champion ended the day in ninteenth place with 33 points. It all started well with an eleventh place in Heat 1. Unfortunately he was not able to take part in Heat 2 as his #4 Audi A1 Supercar suffered a broken driveshaft.

Action will resume on Saturday at Trois-Riviéres with Heat 3, Heat 4, the Semi-Finals and big Final.

Photo credit:  World RX 

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Super GT: Richard Lyons looking forward to a strong race at Fuji Speedway

Richard Lyons Press Release

Super GT hits its halfway point in the championship season and its back at Fuji Speedway Japan for round 4. Fuji Speedway, the only track to feature twice in the SuperGT calendar and will again be tricky for the Hitotsuyama Racing/WRT combinations R8 Ultra, but after some great testing and preparation through the June and July break in action they will be looking for a strong finish at this famous track. 


Richard Lyons:


"Looking forwards to getting back out there in our Super GT Audi R8 at Fuji Speedway for Rd 4."

"This past week WRT staff joined with Hitotsuyama team to prepare and train for the upcoming races. Fuji hasn't brought us much luck recently but I feel that we have prepared well so look forwards to some just rewards!"

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing

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