Audi Sport customer racing: GT3, Audi Sport TT Cup, TCR and now GT4

Audi Sport has been active in international GT3 racing since 2009 and is ranking among the global players in this growth market. Audi Sport customer racing is responsible for the brand’s customer racing program. It is firmly rooted on four continents, has won dozens of international titles and long achieved three-digit production figures. Audi Sport has produced more than 200 R8 LMS cars to date.

"Audi Sport has become a truly global player," says Stephan Winkelmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH. "Our customer racing cars in the highly competitive GT3 market have already exceeded 200 examples and these have collected numerous trophies and titles. In addition to GT3, we have extended the product portfolio even further by entering TCR competition and now the GT4 category as well, two growing formulas offering our customers more worldwide racing opportunities. In doing so, the brand of Audi Sport is becoming even more prominent. The new GT4 car further emphasises the connection between our road and race car technology. 60 percent of the components in the Audi R8 LMS GT4 are shared with its road-going sibling.”

In the Audi Sport TT Cup launched in 2015, Audi Sport customer racing offers young talents an opportunity to enter motorsport with Audi as well. The vehicles in this one-make cup are centrally fielded by Audi Sport and are not for sale. In 2016, Audi customer racing premiered the Audi RS 3 LMS as an entry-level race car available directly from the factory, combined with support similar to the one its GT3 customers are accustomed to. Of major benefit is the fact that the Volkswagen Group with Audi, SEAT and Volkswagen is represented in the TCR three times and, as a result, has logistic advantages in supporting customers.

Now, the Audi R8 LMS GT4 fills the gap between the RS 3 LMS and the R8 LMS. During the 2017 season, Audi Sport is developing the mid-engine sports car to be ready for use in racing, followed by the production launch in the second half of the year. Starting at the end of the year, customers around the globe will be able to order the production-based sports car. “With that, we’re covering a wide range from a one-make cup for up-and-coming drivers through to top-flight GT3 racing,” says Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.