Gulf 12 Hours: Ho-Pin Tung 6th in Gulf 12 Hours race at Abu Dhabi’s Yas Marina Circuit

Ho-Pin Tung Press Release

Dutch-Chinese driver Ho-Pin Tung managed to score 6th place in the GT3 / Pro Am-class in this weekends Gulf 12 hours race at the Abu Dhabi Yas Marina circuit. Ho-Pin Tung debuted in the Audi R8 Ultra GT3 fielded by Team Absolute Racing from Hongkong. Ho-Pin Tung joined efforts with Sun Jing Zu and Jian Wei Wang.

In q 1 Ho-Pin Tung secured 5th fastest lap time overall, 2nd in Pro Am-class. His less experienced team mates did 15th and 19th in the following qualification sessions. The combined results in qualification resulted in 14th place on the starting grid.

The more experienced Ho-Pin Tung did very constant and fast stints in the 5 1/2 hours he was at the wheel of the Audi R8. Two unplanned pit stops due to a relatively harmless crash and a spin influenced the result of Team Absolute Racing. At midnight on Saturday the team secured its 6th place in their class and 9th overall.

Abu Dhabi, December 14th, 2014.

Photo credit: hopintung.net

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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: Absolute Racing is ready for a very busy weekend at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher

Absolute Racing is gearing up for a very busy weekend in the United Arab Emirates. They will be doing double duty with an entry in the Gulf 12 Hours and fielding the twenty-car grid for the Audi R8 LMS Cup finale.

The #17 Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra is entered for the Gulf 12 Hours and it will be running with a modified version of its red GT Asia livery. As usual the Absolute Racing livery was penned by berzerkdesign.de.

Sun Jing Zu has been seen been behind the wheel of this car during the 2014 GT Asia Series and one round of the 2014 BOSS GP at Shanghai. He will again be driving the car during the Gulf 12 Hours, being joined by Jiang Wei and Ho-Pin Tung.

I.S.R. Racing will also be on the grid alongside Absolute Racing, bringing the total Audi Sport customer racing count up to two cars for the unique 12-hour race at Yas Marina.

Absolute Racing will also be fielding the entire twenty-car grid of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at Yas Marina. The Audi one-make series is hosting its season finale with two races being held from Friday to Saturday.

It will certainly be a very busy weekend for the Chinese Audi Sport customer racing team. We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi drivers this weekend.

Photo credit: berzerkdesign.de

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Gulf 12 Hours: Audi R8 LMS ultra teams ready for unique split endurance challenge at Yas Marina

By Johan Laubscher 

The Gulf 12 Hours is coming up this week at Yas Marina in the United Arab Emirates. Two Audi Sport customer racing teams will be lining up for this unique twelve-hour endurance event.

Absolute Racing was originally listed as a two-car entry, but one entry was confirmed at the beginning of race week. Their 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 I.S.R. R8 LMS ultra will have the driving trio of Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik.

The race itself has an unique format. It is an endurance event with its twelve-hour duration split into two six hour races which will be held on Saturday.

Audi R8 LMS ultra entries for the Gulf 12 Hours

Absolute Racing – Audi R8 LMS ultra – Sun Jing Zu, Jiang Wei and Ho-pin Tung

I.S.R. Racing – Audi R8 LMS ultra – Filipe Salaquarda, Aditya Patel and Jiri Pisarik

The Audi R8 LMS Cup will also be hosting its finale at Yas Marina as a support event for the Gulf 12 Hours. A total of twenty Audi R8 LMS cars will be doing battle, which will see the 2014 title awarded by the end of the weekend’s two races.

We wish the best of luck to the Audi teams and drivers competing in the Gulf 12 Hours.

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

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. 

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

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

By Johan Laubscher

DragonSpeed has entered their Audi R8 LMS ultra for yet another endurance race this year. They have been included on the Gulf 12 Hours provisional entry list.

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Gulf 12 Hours: United Autosports Audi R8 LMS ultra on the provisional entry list

By Johan Laubscher

The third edition of the Gulf 12 Hours at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi will be taking place in December. United Autosports will be returning to the event once more, armed with their Audi R8 LMS ultra.

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Follow the Gulf 12 Hours LIVE

By Johan Laubscher

Last weekend saw the 25 Hours of Thunderhill and as we move ever deeper into December and with the ever present off-season, we now head onto this weekend. The Gulf 12 Hours is taking place on Friday the fourteenth. This is the last endurance race event for Audi fans in 2012. 

It is the second running of this twelve hour event held at the Yas Marina Circuit in Abu Dhabi. It is an unique event wherein the twelve hours are split into two six hour races with a ninety minute interval in-between. United Autosports took part in the first running of this event which was held in January 2012. The team featured very well in that race as they were part of the lead battle heading to the finish. As was the case in January, United Autosports are back and once again they are the only Audi entry in the race. They have entered a single Audi R8 LMS ultra which will be driven by Matthew Bell, Mark Patterson and Will Bratt.

Bellow we have included a list of all the available links you need to follow the race live. Unfortunately there will not be a live video stream of the event, but regular video updates will be published by the Gulf 12 Hours organisers.

Video highlights

Updated Gulf 12 Hours video highlights link            (No live stream but regular video updates during the event)

Live Timing

Live Timing Link

Live Tracker
Live Tracker link

Facebook

United Autosports on Facebook

Gulf 12 Hours on Facebook

l'endurance on Facebook

Twitter

United Autosport on twitter

Gulf 12 Hours on twitter

l'endurance on twitter

Websites

United Autosports website

Gulf 12 Hours website

Photo by United Autosports 

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United Autosports Audi R8 LMS takes third place at Gulf 12 Hours

 By Tarek Ramchani

The Anglo-American United Autosports took a strong  thirdrd place overall in the first edition of Gulf 12 Hours race at Yas Marina,. The Audi R8 LMS #5 driven by Ryan Dalziel and Venezuelans Enzo Potolicchio and Alex Popow battled very hard for race victory and was even leading with some 20 minutes to go. 

The race itself was run in two seperates heats of 6 hours each, in the end a 3rd spot behind 2 Ferrari 458 GT3 from AF Corse and Kessel Racing, very well done after a disappointing Dubai 24 Hours race. 

Next stop for the team will be the 12 Hours of Bathurst, a challenging eduro event at Mount Panorama, where Phoenix Racing is also set to field two factory supported Audi R8 LMS cars.

Photo credit: United Autosports

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