Audi Motorsport Newsletter 20/2016

Valuable test kilometers for Audi at Le Mans

Audi is prepared for the toughest race of the year – the 24 Hours of Le Mans. The 13.629 kilometer long race track is only closed off for the test day and race week. “For this reason it’s even more important to use this time productively. We started the test day with detailed programs,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. The two Audi R18 completed a total of 138 laps in France. This equates to 1,881 kilometers. Lucas di Grassi (BR), who starts with Loïc Duval (F) and Oliver Jarvis (GB), set a 3m 21.375s lap to record the fastest time of the day with the start number ‘8’. His advantage: 0.895 seconds. The sister car of Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer (CH/D/F) lost about two hours in the afternoon due to changing a damper on the front axle and finished fourth. “Nevertheless, we achieved some important targets and are already well advanced with the set-up of our race cars,” said Dr. Ullrich. The race week begins for Audi on June 13 with technical scrutineering in the Le Mans city center, the 24-hour race starts on June 18.

Podium finish and ADAC GT Masters championship lead

At the third round of the ADAC GT Masters season, Christopher Mies and Connor De Phillippi defended their championship lead in the Audi R8 LMS from the Montaplast by Land-Motorsport squad. In the first race, the driver duo produced an impressive comeback drive to move from 16th on the grid to finish sixth. In the second race, the two drivers were running fourth for many laps and pressurizing the third placed car. Thanks to a stop-and-go penalty for their rival just a few minutes before the finish, Mies and De Phillippi moved up to third and in doing so retained their championship lead, now three points, before the summer break.

Audi customer team wins at Donington

The Audi customer team Tockwith Motorsport claimed a victory in the third round of the Dunlop Endurance Championship season at Donington, Great Britain. Phil Hanson and Nigel Moore, who had started from pole position in an Audi R8 LMS, crossed the finish line at the end of the three hour race with a one-lap advantage over their closest rivals and also set the fastest lap.

Molina dedicates DTM victory to Luis Salom and Carlos Castella

Miguel Molina dedicated his second victory in a DTM race to the Moto2 racer Luis Salom who lost his life on Friday and to his friend Carlos Castella who passed away recently. “I heard the news that Luis Salom has left us after a big crash,” said Molina. “Carlos was a friend of the family and had accompanied me in the DTM from my first race. My victory here at the Lausitzring is for both of them and will always be linked with their names.”

World Champions guests at the Lausitzring

Three exceptional German athletes visited the Motorsport Festival at the Lausitzring. Shot put World Champion David Storl, ski jumping World Champion Richard Freitag and biathlon double World Champion Erik Lesser enjoyed the action up close with Audi at the DTM event at the Lausitzring. Erik Lesser drove alongside Manuel Reuter in the Audi RS 5 DTM race taxi and was visibly impressed. “The power and the speed are enormous. I’ve certainly got the taste now and would love to get behind the steering wheel once myself,” said Lesser.

Audi RS 5 DTM meets Audi R8 LMS

At the Motorsport Festival at the Lausitzring, the Audi RS 5 DTM and Audi R8 LMS GT3 sportscar competed at the same race event for the first time. Connor De Phillippi, ADAC GT Masters championship leader together with Christopher Mies, used a photo session with Edoardo Mortara to try the seat for size in his Castrol EDGE Audi RS 5 DTM. “I drove in the DTM supporting program for three years, and obviously you dream of racing in the DTM yourself,” says the US American. “It was great that Edo took the time to explain the cockpit to me.”

Mattias Ekström attends world premiere of new Audi A5

Audi celebrated the world premiere of the new A5 and S5 Coupé with a spectacular 3D lightshow on Thursday evening at its Ingolstadt headquarters. Among the leading protagonists was Audi factory driver Mattias Ekström: the Swede drove an Audi RS 5 DTM onto the Piazza before the new A5 was unveiled. “It was a marvelous show and I’m proud that I was able to be a part of this world premiere,” said Ekström, who travelled directly from the presentation to the Motorsport Festival at the Lausitzring. “I’m sure that you can make a great race car from the new A5.”

Audi Sport with new Twitter address

Audi Sport’s official Twitter account has a new name. Current information about Audi’s motorsport commitment is now available at the easily remembered address @audisport. Audi Sport has been recording rapid growth on Twitter. At the moment, Audi Sport has more than 95,000 followers – and their number is growing every day.

Audi Sport popular at Instagram

Audi Sport’s official Instagram account is becoming increasingly popular. The account has now broken the 100,000 subscriber mark. From the WEC via DTM and the Audi Sport TT Cup to GT racing – Audi Sport shows the best photos from the colorful motorsport world of the four rings on www.instagram.com/audi__sport. Instagram is an element of Audi Sport’s comprehensive social media offer alongside Facebook and Twitter.

A word from ... Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich

The Head of Audi Motorsport after the successful race weekend in the DTM and the test day at Le Mans.

The Motorsport Festival at the Lausitzring was successful. 67,500 spectators attended and your team was also very strong on track.

It was a successful weekend. The one-two of Miguel Molina ahead of Jamie Green on Saturday, but also the comeback drive to second by Mattias Ekström on Sunday were first class sport. We’ve now seen six different winners in the first six races. A fantastic advert for our sport.

You were at Le Mans where Audi prepared during the test day for the most important race of the year. Your summary?

The new R18 drove on the Le Mans track for the first time. It was important to collect data. We used both test sessions productively, and completed 1,881 kilometers in the process and made an important step in preparation for the race. Our six drivers gave plenty of positive feedback with regard to the race that awaits us in two weeks.

The Audi fans were not only pleased about seeing the Audi RS 5 DTM. Your customers were also racing.

The double header event with the DTM and ADAC GT Masters sharing the same venue was a great idea that was well received. I was pleased that the Land-Motorsport team with Connor De Phillippi and Christopher Mies in the Audi R8 LMS took a third place and defended their championship lead as a result. This double header weekend was for many fans certainly highlight on the German motorsport calendar this year.

Coming up next week
10–12/06 Winton (AUS), round 2, Australian GT Trophy Series
10–12/06 Buriram (THA), races 3 and 4, GT Asia
11–12/06 Silverstone (GB), round 5, British GT Championship
12/06 Loïc Duval’s 34th birthday