IBER GT: Cesar Campanico Novadriver Audi narrowly missed Spanish GT title in Barcelona race two

By Johan Laubscher

The Spanish IBER GT Championship season finale concluded with the second and final race at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered for the IBER GT finale.

The IBER GT finale was held alongside the finale of the International GT Open, with both series running together on track. Both championships are split into two categories: the SGT class for GTE specification vehicles and GTS for GT3 specification vehicles.

Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were on the grid, of which two were IBER GT entrants. Team Novadriver had entered both of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars this weekend. The first car from Team Novadriver was the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Cesar Campanico and GT Open GTS class (GT3) title hopeful, Rafael Hideo Suzuki. This #81 car was entered for both the Spanish IBER GT and GT Open. Team Novadriver was aiming for the Spanish IBER GT title and Suzuki was aiming to become the GT Open GTS champion.

Team Novadriver’s second car was the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Manuel Gião and Lourenço Da Veiga, who were only entered in the IBER GT. A third Audi was also on the grid, but it was only entered in the GT Open class, the car entered by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, the #88 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Filipe Albuquerque and Yves Weerts.

The first race was held late on Saturday and concluded with the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra placing fourth within the overall combined results. This was enough to take third overall within IBER GT and second place within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates in the #80 Audi finished fifteenth overall in the combined results.

Qualifying for race two saw the #81 Audi in ninth place overall in the combined results. This was a third place starting position within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates qualified twenty-third overall.

The second and final race got underway on Sunday. This final race of 2013 saw the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Campanico and Suzuki finishing seventeenth overall, after a huge time handicap penalty during the pitstop. They took fourth within the IBER GT GTS class. Their teammates in the #80 Audi were involved in the start-line crash and they suffered damage while trying to avoid the incident. They ultimately finished further back in twenty-seventh position overall.

The final results unfortunately revealed that Cesar Campanico was not crowned as the 2013 Spanish IBER GT champion. He finished third overall in the standings and second in the GTS points. He missed both the overall and GTS titles by a mere three points. This weekend concluded the 2013 Spanish IBER GT season.

Photo credit: Team Novadriver

Audi R8 LMS Cup: Adderly Fong wins 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

•          Fong's third place finish in Macau seals title ahead of Alex Yoong
•          Edoardo Mortara wins round 11 ahead of André Couto and Fong
•          Audi R8 LMS Cup announces 2014 race calendar and contract extensions for Yoong and Marchy Lee

Macau, November 10, 2013 – A dramatic and wet final round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup saw Hong Kong rising star, Adderly Fong, clinch the overall drivers championship. Holding third position from start to finish behind guest drivers Edoardo Mortara and André Couto, Fong was able to secure the maximum points amongst the regular driver's and overtake Malaysian Alex Yoong at the top of the leaderboard. The tight and technical Macau street circuit was even more de-manding because of the slick track conditions.

"It is great to see Adderly [Fong] secure the championship. He came to the weekend with a small chance but he made no mistakes and drove consistently. He deserves it. It is also great to see an Audi dealership team (KLM Group) win this year's title. Marchy (Lee) showed that he will be strong here next week in the Macau GP as he posted the quickest lap time today", said Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. He added: "Next year's calendar shows the exciting further expansion of our cup across Asia, with 3 stops in China and 3 outside, including a new race weekend in Fuji, Japan. In China we will have support races for the World Endurance Championship (WEC) and the German Touring Car Championship (DTM)."

At the start of round 11, Macau racing veteran, Mortara, quickly pulled away from his fellow Brothers Racing Team (BRT) driver Couto, who solidified second position. Behind them the driver's championship was intensifying. Fong was followed closely by "Franky" Cheng Congfu and Marchy Lee. Lee put a lot of pressure on Congfu who eventually lost the perfect line and drove into the barrier, allowing Lee to dive down the inside. Congfu's race was ended here, and Lee had clean air to cut into Fong's lead. The final four laps underlined the competitive nature of the series, with Lee shadowing Fong through every turn. Yet, it was Fong who showed driving maturity to hold Lee off and cross the line for the championship. With the 25 points he earned as the best cup driver, Fong finishes the season with 188 points ahead of Yoong (186) and Marchy Lee (164). Macau winner Mortara and second Couto were not points scoring due to their guest driver status.

Philip Ma won the amateur race in Macau ahead of the overall amateur champion Alex Au, with Eric K finishing in third place.

Fong has had an exceptional second season in the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup. Showing driving maturity beyond his young age, Fong has maintained consistency throughout the series in which he has been placed outside of a podium on only two occasions. It was a tough day for Yoong though. The Malaysian had a very strong season with four race wins. Coming to Macau he led the championship. But his accident during qualifying damaged his car beyond repair, so that he was not able to compete and score valuable points in the final round today.

But there was good news for Yoong as well. As Audi Sport customer racing Asia an-nounced the extension of the contracts for both Alex Yoong and Marchy Lee for the 2014 season.

Next year's competition will see the cup expand even further across Asia with the exciting inclusion of a race weekend in Fuji, Japan. It will also be notable as the first race of the season will take place outside of China at Inje, South Korea. Please see below for the 2014 calendar.

Audi R8 LMS Cup 2014 Race Calendar (Provisional)

•          April: Zhuhai, China (Test Race)*
•          May 3-4: Inje, South Korea
•          July 26-27: Fuji, Japan
•          August 16-17: Sepang, Malaysia
•          September 27-28: China (with DTM, German Touring Car Championship)*
•          October: China*
•          October 31- November 1: Shanghai, China (with WEC , World Endurance Championship)

*to be confirmed

Release Date: November 12, 2013 (131110, Version 1)

Adderly Fong:

"I actually couldn't sleep last night. In 2011 I had a good race here, which gave me an idea of what the track is like. I've only driven the Audi for 20 laps in the rain before. I had no clue I would finish on top of the championship, I tried to drive as hard as I could. I took every corner one by one, and I am very happy to have fin-ished as champion in Macau."

Edoardo Mortara:

"Congratulations to Adderly!! It was a pretty difficult race due to the conditions. With street circuits those conditions are even trickier. I tried to push quite hard at the beginning. It was a pleasure to be able to compete together with André at Macau for the same team. Thank you to Ren Wei from Brothers Racing Team for giving me the opportunity to drive here."

André Couto:

"I am satisfied with second place. My car was very nervous in the rain. During the race I tried to push the same as Edoardo [Mortara]. At some point I saw that I could not catch him anymore, so I thought just bring the car home and secure first and second place for Brothers Racing Team. I am happy to be on the podium."

Alex Yoong:

"It is very difficult day for me. I had a very good season. At the same time I am sad that I did not win it in the end. But I am very happy for Adderly [Fong] and he has won fair and square."

Marchy Lee:

"Well done Adderly!! He deserves the championship. This race was a good race for me, I really tried my best. Yesterday's qualifying didn't go so smooth. I wanted to show everyone I was better than my fifth place in qualifying yesterday. My season wasn't very good because I have not been so consistent this year but I will try again next year."

Alex Au:

"My happiest moment of the season was when, during an interview, I found out that I was champion. That was quite a memorable moment. This is my first time in Macau. It is very exciting to race this circuit. It is very narrow but I had the luxury of racing without too much pressure."

Rahel Frey:

"It was a challenge to race on this very fast, technical and sometimes even dangerous street circuit. Every driver has to decide individually how much risk they want to take. It was a very nice experience and I am happy that I have now done Macau!! And when I come back next time, I will know my way better."

Massimo Vignali:

"It was a rollercoaster season with a lot of ups and downs for me. It was my first season in sprint racing and I learnt a lot. I hope I can come back next year and improve more. To race in Macau was really a highlight of the season, not so many people get this chance. It was memorable."

2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup Top Ten Overall Classification

Round 11, Macau, China – Final Results
 

(Am) Amateur Drivers Cup
(D) Dealer Team
(DNF) Did Not Finish

Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website: www.audir8lmscup.com

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup

Macau GT Cup: Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on display at Macau Supercar and Road Sport Show

By Johan Laubscher

The Macau GT Cup will be taking place next weekend. A total of six Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be taking part and all of them were on display this weekend.

The Macau Supercar and Road Sport Show is held annually on the weekend preceding the Macau Grand Prix. The Macau GT Cup field was on display, which included the six Audi entries. The headliner for the Audi teams is the return of Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara, the reigning two-time Macau GT Cup champion.

We have included a set of photos below, with all six of the Audi entrants at the Macau Supercars and Road Sport Show this weekend. Special thanks to Marco Da Silva Rosario for the great photos.

2013 Macau GT Cup Audi entrants:

#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec) - Edoardo Mortara - Audi R8 LMS Cup

#7 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Jeffrey Lee - Team R8 LMS Ultra / J-Fly Racing (Absolute Racing)

#38 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec) - Marchy Lee - Audi Hong Kong Team

#78 Audi R8 LMS - Shim Ching - IMS

#86 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Francis Hideki Onda - Team R8 LMS Ultra / Tunewear Racing (Absolute Racing)

#98 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013 spec) - Philip Ma - Team R8 LMS Ultra / Team Hong Kong Racing (Absolute Racing)

Photo credit: Marco Da Silva Rosario

GT Open: Rafael Suzuki narrowly missed GT Open GTS title with Novadriver Audi in Barcelona race two

By Johan Laubscher

The International GT Open season finale concluded with the second and final race at Circuit de Catalunya in Barcelona today. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were entered for the GT Open finale.

The GT Open finale was held alongside the finale of the Spanish IBER GT Championship, with both series running together on track. Both championships are split into two categories: the SGT class for GTE specification vehicles and GTS for GT3 specification vehicles.

Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were on the grid, of which two were GT Open entrants. The first car was from Team Novadriver, who had entered their #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra in GT Open with drivers Cesar Campanico and GT Open GTS class (GT3) title hopeful, Rafael Hideo Suzuki. This #81 car was also entered for the Spanish IBER GT. Team Novadriver also entered a second Audi in the event, but this #80 car was only entered in the Spanish IBER GT class. Team Novadriver was aiming for the Spanish IBER GT title and Suzuki was aiming to become the GT Open GTS champion. The second GT Open entered car was entered by Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, the #88 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Filipe Albuquerque and Yves Weerts.

The first race was held late on Saturday and concluded with the #81 Audi R8 LMS ultra finishing fourth overall within the combined standings. They took third place within the GT Open GTS class. The WRT Audi was running at the back of the field, but Albuquerque was able to recover during his stint and the #88 WRT Audi finished in twenty-eighth place.

Qualifying for race two saw the #81 Audi in ninth place overall in the combined results. This was a sixth place starting position within the Open GT GTS class. The #88 WRT Audi qualified eighteenth overall.

The second and final race got underway on Sunday. This final race of 2013 again saw the #81 R8 LMS ultra as the highest placed Audi finisher. Campanico and Suzuki finished seventeenth overall, after a huge time handicap penalty during the pitstop. They finished thirteenth within the GT Open GTS class. Unfortunately Suzuki lost out on the GTS title. The #88 WRT Audi finished further back in twenty-second position overall.

This weekend concluded the 2013 International GT Open season.

Photo credit: Team Novadriver

Super Taikyu: Team Nova Audi R8 LMS ultra at the Autopolis finale

By Johan Laubscher

The Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series concluded at Autopolis this weekend. The round seven finale was a three-hour race event and one Audi R8 LMS ultra was entered.

Nova Engineering, Team Nova, entered their #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra at this final round. Their drivers included Seiji Ara, Shohei Yuzawa and Ryuichiro Tomita.

During qualifying they achieved a fifth place starting position. The three hour race on Sunday took place in very wet and difficult conditions. The event finished with the #8 Audi R8 LMS ultra crossing the line in seventh place within the GT3 class. The race was won by the #555 GoGoGo Nissan GTR GT3.

This concluded the 2013 Super Taikyu season, which was highlighted by a podium finish for Team Nova and their Audi R8 LMS ultra at Suzuka.

Photo credit: Super Taikyu