Rolex Series: Audi R8 GRAND-AM Makes Successful Return at Watkins Glen

Audi of America Press Release

• Drivers and pit crews gain valuable experience and achieve competitive lap times amidst difficult driving conditions
• Both Audi R8 GRAND-AM cars finished race at Watkins Glen and can build upon their performances
• Hunt for GRAND-AM GT endurance championship continues at Indianapolis Speedway on July 26th, 2013

The new Fall-Line Motorsports customer-racing and quattro GmbH factory team showed great promise at Watkins Glen showing good speed and handling during difficult driving conditions due to intermittent rain throughout the race weekend. Fall-Line Motorsports completes its first GRAND-AM GT race and can build on a solid performance. The #24 quattro GmbH R8 GRAND-AM finished in 9th place and the Fall-Line Motorsports R8 GRAND-AM finished in 14th place.

“We congratulate our new racing partner Fall-Line Motorsports for completing their first GT race and also the #24 factory team for their valiant performance at Watkins Glen. Endurance racing is synonymous with the Audi brand and we are confident that the experience gained will benefit the teams as they strive to win the endurance championship at Indianapolis Speedway”, said Scott Keogh, President, Audi of America.

The #24 factory R8 GRAND-AM team piloted by Filipe Albuquerque (Portugal), Edoardo Mortara (France/Italy) and Dion von Moltke (South Africa) started from the 5th position and was making great strides toward a podium finish. The team led the race for 2 hours and 20 minutes in large part due to the efficiency of the 5.2 Liter V10 engine. However, multiple yellow flags were raised at unfortunate times that contradicted the fuel strategy. Emergency fuel stops caused the team to lose position and valuable time leading to a 9th place finish.

The Fall-Line Motorsport/B+ Foundation R8 GRAND-AM completed the race without incident or technical issues and allowed the drivers, engineers and mechanics to gain invaluable experience with the car in the pits and on the track. Continuously changing weather proved to make driving conditions exceedingly difficult throughout the race weekend. Piloting the car were Al Carter, Charles Espenlaub, and Charlie Putman who finished in 14th place.

Both cars finished the race without any technical difficulties and proved they can deliver competitive lap times. The teams will begin preparing immediately for the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as they seek to win the endurance championship.

The race will be televised on Speed TV: Friday, July 26th at 7:30pm EST.

Live timing and scoring is also available at www.GRAND-AM.COM

ABOUT AUDI
Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products, facilities and technologies. Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicles and business topics.

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3′s in the Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSCC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotorswww.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT THE B+ FOUNDATION: The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation honors the memory of Andrew McDonough. Andrew’s mom, dad and sister founded The Andrew McDonough B+ Foundation. The overall goal of The B+ Foundation is to “Do Good”. During the racing season, Al Carter and Hugh Plumb visit kids with cancer in hospitals before racing events to make a positive difference and keep the “B+” message alive through outreach efforts and talks. The B+ Foundation provides financial assistance to families of children with cancer nationwide. In the last two years, The B+ Foundation awarded over $1,000,000 to families of children with cancer while giving over $500,000 to support research efforts. Information about the Foundation and its activities can be found at www.BePositive.org.

Photo credit: Audi USA