Audi R8 LMS (GT3)
Audi’s customer team Smeg Racing clinched the first title of the 2017 season for Audi Sport customer racing in New Zealand. The squad competed at Mike Pero Motorsport Park in Christchurch on New Zealand’s South Island on March 18. Simon Evans/Gene Rollinson won the 3-hour race in the Audi R8 LMS with a one-lap advantage. As a result, the two local campaigners are the new champions in the 2016/2017 New Zealand 3-Hour Endurance Championship.
In the Australian GT Championship, the Audi campaigners experienced a successful second race weekend that earned them six trophies. The event held as part of the F1 Grand Prix supporting program at Melbourne from March 23 to 26 featured four single races. Kelvin van der Linde from South Africa won the second and fourth races in the Audi R8 LMS. Daniel Gaunt from New Zealand added two second places to the tally, and Australians Ash Walsh and Geoff Emery a third place each.
The first driver signings for the sixth season of the Audi R8 LMS Cup in Asia have been confirmed. The three best-placed drivers from last year, three-time champion Alex Yoong from Malaysia, Belgian driver Alessio Picariello and Martin Rump from Estonia, are on board again. New signing Mitchell Gilbert from Australia, Shaun Thong from Hong Kong, the Chinese Cheng Congfu, the South Korean Kyong-Ouk You and Marchy Lee from Hong Kong, who was the first to win the Audi R8 LMS Cup in 2012, have been confirmed as drivers as well.
On the circuit at Reem near Riyadh in Saudi Arabia, Mohammed Bin Saud achieved victory in an Audi R8 LMS in round five of the Saudi Racing Festival on March 25.
Audi Japan at a press conference in Tokyo on March 28 attended by Stephan Winkelmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH, presented its racing projects. Two Audi R8 LMS cars will be competing in the GT300 class of the Super GT racing series. Audi Team Hitotsuyama is relying on Masataka Yanagida, who won the GT300 class and the GT500 classification twice, and on former GT500 champion Richard Lyons from Northern Ireland. The Taisan Sard cockpit will be shared by Shinnosuke Yamada and the Australian Jake Parsons. In addition, Team Birth Racing Project (BRP) and Audi Team DreamDrive presented their programs with the Audi RS 3 LMS.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
In its debut season, the Audi RS 3 LMS achieved its second endurance racing victory in succession. Following class victory in the 24 Hours of Dubai in January, the new race car from Audi Sport won the TCR class in the 12 Hours of Mugello as well. The two Germans, Hermann Bock/Max Partl, from Team Bonk Motorsport achieved a ten-lap advantage on March 18. They were not the only team to return from Italy with a trophy. Team Car Collection Motorsport completed the TCR success with position three claimed by Siegfried Kuzdas/Monika Parhofer/Christian Schmitz/Dirk Vorländer.
In the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring, the Audi TCR customer teams kicked off the season on podium. On March 25, Artur Goroyan/Marcus Löhnert/Matthias Wasel in the Audi RS 3 LMS of LMS Engineering took second place in class, trailed by Atle Gulbrandsen/Kenneth Østvold/Håkon Schjærin from Team Møller Bil Motorsport.
In the 24H Touring Car Endurance Series, a new Audi customer celebrated a podium finish on April 2. Pit Lane Competizioni clinched second place with the Audi RS 3 LMS of Zach Arnold/Enrico Bettera/Roberto Ferri/John Filippi/Alberto Vescovi in the 24 Hours of Silverstone in the United Kingdom.
Two-time champion Stefano Comini is relying on an Audi RS3 LMS in the TCR International Series for the first time. The Swiss began his title defense campaign in the season opener at Rustavi (Georgia) on April 1 by clinching third place with Team Comtoyou Racing.
In the Super Taikyu Series in Japan, an Audi customer team started the season on podium on April 1. In round one at Motegi, Kouichi Okumura/Key Akiyoshi/Daisuke Yamawaki in the Audi RS 3 LMS of Team Birth Racing Project achieved third place in the ST-R class.
Audi Sport TT Cup
Seven weeks before the Audi Sport TT Cup opens the season at Hockenheim, 14 up-and-coming drivers familiarized themselves with their new race cars. At Audi Sport in Neuburg, the drivers from ten countries received initial instructions on handling the near-340-HP Audi TT cup car on March 16.
Coming up next week
08–09/04 Hockenheim (D), rounds 1 and 2 DMV GTC
08/04Nürburgring (D), round 2 VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring
07–08/04 Red Bull Ring (A), round 3 24H Endurance Series
07–08/04 Long Beach (USA), round 3 Weathertech SportsCar Championship
07–08/04 Long Beach (USA), round 3 Pirelli World Challenge
07–09/04 Sandown (AUS), round 1 Australian GT Trophy
08–09/04 Okayama (J), round 1 Super GT
08–09/04 Sepang (MAL), rounds 1 and 2 Blancpain GT Series Asia
