Audi customer teams celebrate touring car successes on two continents

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

Winning streak in Europe: The Audi RS 3 LMS won five international races on the third weekend in May. Nicola Baldan had every reason to celebrate in the TCR Europe. At the second event in Zolder, the Italian clinched his first victory in six years. In the cockpit of the Baldan Group by Comtoyou Audi RS 3 LMS, he started from pole position and crossed the finish line in the first sprint with a lead of almost eight tenths of a second. After the first third of the season, he moved up to third place overall in the championship standings and also leads the Diamond Trophy standings. In the TCR European Endurance, Turgut Konukoglu and Eric Brigliadori secured their second victory in a row. The Turkish-Italian driver combination prevailed in Vallelunga in an Audi RS 3 LMS of Texaco Team AMS with a 47-second lead. Second place went to Sandro Pelatti in an Audi from PMA Motorsport after 64 laps. Barkin Pinar/Zekai Özen and Ibrahim Okyay/Seda Kaçan, two other Audi privateer teams from Texaco Team AMS, followed in the next two places. The new season in the Sports Car Championship Canada powered by Michelin began with two multiple victories for Audi. Richard Boake won the first race at Canadian Tire Motorsport Park with a lead of more than 26 seconds ahead of Anthony Martella. Ron Tomlinson completed the 1-2-3 victory. Boake came out on top again in the second race. Second place went to last year’s champion Dean Baker, 3.1 seconds behind. In the Belcar Endurance Championship, Audi customers celebrated a one-two class victory at the season opener in Zolder. Manfred Verbeke from M&D Racing won his category by five seconds ahead of Nick van Pelt/Olivier Bertels in the Audi RS 3 LMS from VP-Racing. Joe Marshall took second place in the TCR UK with the Audi RS 3 LMS. The Briton from the Rob Boston Racing team finished 1.6 seconds behind the winner in the third sprint at Snetterton. Ivars Vallers returned from Austria with a trophy at the second TCR Eastern Europe event. The Latvian finished the second race at the Red Bull Ring in third place in the LV Racing Audi RS 3 LMS.

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Unbeaten in the Gold Cup: As in the season opener at Brands Hatch, Audi customer teams secured both race wins in the Gold Drivers classification at the second round of the Fanatec GT World Challenge Europe powered by AWS Sprint Cup. In Misano, Paul Evrard/Gilles Magnus in the Audi R8 LMS from Saintéloc Racing were unbeatable in the first one-hour race in this category. In the second race, the Audi customers even recorded a one-two-three victory in this classification with Lucas Légeret/Simon Gachet from CSA Racing ahead of Evrard/Magnus and Max Hofer/Luca Engstler from Liqui Moly Team Engstler by OneGroup. In the GT America powered by AWS, Audi customer teams achieved two podium finishes at the fourth event. Johnny O’Connell took second place in the Audi R8 LMS from SKI Autosports in the first race at the Austin circuit. The American had initially led the race, but then James Sofronas overtook him in another Audi. Sofronas only lost the lead to a Mercedes ten minutes before the end and then dropped back to fourth place. In the second race, Sofronas crossed the finish line in third place in an Audi after a thrilling battle for second place with Kyle Washington – his team-mate at GMG Racing, who was driving a Porsche. In the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop racing series, Arnold Neveling finished third in the Audi R8 LMS in the second race at the fourth event in Zwartkops.

Audi R8 LMS GT2

Podium for the defending champions: The new season of the Belcar Endurance Championship began with a podium finish for the PK Carsport team. Stienes Longin secured pole position in the Audi R8 LMS GT2 in Zolder. His father Bert drove the start and led the race until the first driver change. Stienes Longin then dropped back to second place on used tires. At the end, a safety car phase interrupted the regular race rhythm. While driving behind the lead car, Stienes Longin noticed a slow puncture, which he did not have changed due to the short remaining race time. After 71 laps, the Belgian driver finally managed to cross the finish line in third position.

Audi R8 LMS GT4

Strong performance in Misano: Team Speedcar achieved its best performance so far in the current GT4 European Series powered by Rafa Racing Club season at Misano. At the second event, Robert Consani set a new lap record at the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS GT4 in the second qualifying session on his way to pole position. In the first race, Consani and team-mate Benjamin Lariche crossed the finish line in second place in a strong field of 49 starters. In the second race, Lariche thrilled the spectators in a duel with a BMW team. Although the Audi privateers led for almost the entire race, they received a ten-second penalty for contact with an opponent, which was later added to their race result. Lariche only just failed to make up this amount by the finish line. In the end, the result was another second place, this time just 0.3 seconds behind. The two Frenchmen moved up to third place in the Silver Cup standings. On the fourth race weekend of the Extreme Supercars Driven by Dunlop racing series in South Africa, the G&H Transport Racing customer team recorded two class victories. Anthony Blunden drove his Audi R8 LMS GT4 to first place in Class C in both sprints on the Zwartkops circuit.

Audi Sport 

Dakar-winning concept from Audi at the Greentech Festival: Audi was the first manufacturer to win the Dakar Rally in January 2024 with an electrically powered prototype with a high-voltage battery and an energy converter. Guests at the Greentech Festival, Europe’s leading event for sustainable technology, were able to experience this innovative technology. The Audi racing car attracted the attention of all visitors in the exhibition at the entrance to the trade fair. Dr. Rüdiger Recknagel, Head of Environmental Protection for the Audi Group and Managing Director of Audi Stiftung für Umwelt GmbH, presented the Greentech Festival’s Pioneer Award to the company Sublime Systems on stage.

Coming up next week

23–26/05 Donington (GB), round 3, British GT Championship
24–25/05 Taupo (NZ), round 2, North Island Endurance Championship
24–26/05 Spa (B), round 3, International GT Open
24–26/05 Lausitzring (D), round 2, DTM
24–26/05 Lausitzring (D), round 2, ADAC GT4 Germany
24–26/05 Fuji (J), round 2, Super Taikyu Series