AvD 100 Meilen: GT podium for RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra at Dijon

By Johan Laubscher

The AvD 100 Meilen held round five alongside the DMV TCC at Dijon this weekend. It was another strong showing for the RS Tuning Audi R8 LMS ultra.

RS Tuning were victorious with their #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra at the Red Bull Ring last time out, when they won overall in a very wet race. The team again entered a single Audi R8 LMS ultra for the endurance event at Dijon, the penultimate AvD 100 Meilen event for the 2013 season. It had already proven to be a good weekend for the team, as they achieved a class podium in each of the two DMV TCC races held at Dijon on Saturday.

The #77 Audi R8 LMS ultra, driven by Suzanne Weidt and Dietmar Haggenmüller, qualified in seventh place overall behind the prototype cars, but they were on pole position within the GT class. They completed the endurance race by finishing in seventh position overall, taking second place in the GT class.

The finale of the 2013 AvD 100 Meilen season will be taking place at Monza in three weeks time. 

Photo credit: AvD Race Weekend

GT Tour: Brilliant 1-2 Audi victory in chaotic Magny-Cours race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

Perfect second race for Audi at Nevers Magny-Cours today. A fine 1-2 victory for the Audi R8 LMS ultra, with a second straight win for Team Speed Car in a chaotic race.

Already winners yesterday, the #36 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Vincent Abril and Dino Lunardi took another sensational race win today. Youngster Vincent Abril had a heroic stint in the second part of the race. In the closing stages Vincent Abril passed several rivals on a slippery track with heavy rain. With only a few minutes left in the race, Abril made the winning move passing the leading Porsche 997 GT3 R. A great result for Team Speed Car, their third race win in the demanding French GT series this season.

In second place was another Audi, the #42 R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing, with drivers David Hallyday and Gregory Gulivert. Just like Vincent Abril, David Hallyday was able to finish the race very strongly. The popular French singer overtook a lot of rivals on track to reach a great second place in the end.

Another Audi also made it into the top 10, the #82 R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing. The car shared by Marc Sourd and Mathieu Jaminet finished in ninth place. The debuting #007 Audi R8 LMS (ex-Abt Sportsline) from Team Speed Car was nineteenth. The #83 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing did not take part in the race.

Photo credit: GT Tour

Super GT: Hitotsuyama Racing Audi narrowly misses top ten at Fuji

By Johan Laubscher

The Japanese Super GT hosted round six at Fuji Speedway this weekend. A difficult weekend turned into a very good race for Hitotsuyama Racing and their Audi R8 LMS ultra, but lady luck was not on their side.

The single 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Hitotsuyama Racing was on the grid at Fuji. Their regular drivers were back in the car this weekend: Akihiro Tsuzuki and Richard Lyons.

It has proven to be a difficult 2013 season for the team and this continued in qualifying, as they qualified in twenty-fourth place within the GT300 class.

Despite coming from twenty-fourth on the grid, the team was able to move up through the field. They stormed into the top ten and got as high as eighth. Unfortunately lady luck did not smile upon the team, as a gearbox issue lost them time with only four laps to go. They ultimately finished thirteenth in GT300. The race was won by the #4 GSR BMW Z4 ahead of the #31 äpr Toyota Prius and the #86 Crystal Croco Lamborghini.

Round seven of the Super GT will be held at Autopolis in October.

Photo credit: Hitotsuyama Racing / RacerLink

British GT: Unlucky Audi teams in Zandvoort race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

British GT Championship race 2 at Zandvoort was a difficult event for the Audi teams today. Neither of the two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars made it into the top 10.

The #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra from United Autosports finished eleventh, the car is shared by Matt Bell and Mark Patterson. In the first half of the race Matt Bell had strong pace and was able to fight hard with the leading group in front. After the mandatory pit stop Mark Patterson took over the car. Unfortunately the Audi dropped several positions and finished the race in eleventh.

The other Audi entry had an even harder race. The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra from team WRT finished in twenty-sixth place. Warren Huges, who started the race, improved on track and passed several rivals. After the pit stop Rembert Berg took over the Audi. On his out-lap the local Dutch driver was running very slow on track. As was the case yesterday, the WRT Audi was forced to head back to pitlane, but this time it was a retirement.

Race victory went to the #31 Porsche 997 GT3 R from Trackspeed. Second was the #18 Ferrari 458 GT3 from FF Corse and third the #33 Porsche 997 GT3 R from Trackspeed.

Now after Zandvoort the series will move Donington Park for the season finale, October 5th and 6th.

Photo credit: United Autosports

Audi endurance experience: The online game

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi France has been organizing the Audi race experience for the previous two years. An all-Audi A1 1.4 TFSI field with 5 meetings annually on the most prestigious French circuits. The cars are really production based and the competition is open for Audi customers.

Now Audi France is launching this experience on the net. A very nice online strategy racing game where you manage your own virtual Audi A1 racer and compete against other players. Please note the game is only available in French.

You can subscribe to the Audi endurance experience online game right here: www.audi2echallenge.fr

Photo credit: Audi France