Tuesday, March 6, 2012

GMG Concludes Successful Test of First Audi R8 LMS GT3 R16 in North America

  Tuesday, March 06, 2012      

GMG Racing Press Release :

Global Motorsports Group (GMG), the premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, has completed initial track testing of the first Audi R8 LMS GT3 in North America.

The successful track test at Buttonwillow Raceway Park is the first step in adding the vehicle to the GMG Racing lineup. GMG Racing campaigns in multiple race series including American LeMans (ALMS) and the Pirelli World Challenge series.

Internally known as the Audi R16, the GMG Audi R8 LMS GT3 is one of the very few manufactured by Audi Sport. The vehicle was acquired from Phoenix Racing in Germany, fresh on the heels of the team winning the 2011 DTM championship and the 2012 Bathurst 12 Hour.

The Audi R8 LMS arrived in America in February as part of a newly-forged technical development partnership between Phoenix Racing and GMG Racing. It was immediately prepped by the GMG Racing engineering team for track testing.

“Our goal was to establish a performance benchmark during the inaugural test, before exploring the limits experienced during racing competition,” stated GMG President and lead driver, who drove the car along with car owner Alex Welch. “We now have a better idea where GMG engineers can intervene and extract even more performance into an already stellar vehicle.”

The car features extensive carbon fiber design and a powerful V10 engine to push the approximately 2800 pound vehicle with 520+ HP through a sequential paddle shifter with a Formula racing configuration. The Audi R16 rides solid with an aluminum body and steel cage bolted to the reinforced chassis for safety and ultra-performance grade rigidity.

GMG will further enhance the vehicle for racing using the company’s experience and innovations. This will include implementing more carbon fiber for weight savings, utilizing GMG’s signature World Challenge components to upgrade the exhaust for more power, and developing suspension components for improved handling.

“The GMG Audi R8 LMS GT3 will be a development test bed for components we’ll make available to our Audi R8 customers for street and track,” noted Fabryce Kutyba, GMG Vice President. “This is a great opportunity to leverage GMG’s years of top level racing experience to create world-class components for a world-class vehicle, especially with the support of Phoenix Racing and Audi Sport AG.”