Successes for the Audi R8 LMS in three countries

Audi R8 LMS GT3

Strong start in Italy: Tresor Audi Sport Italia got the season off to a good start in the Campionato Italiano Gran Turismo Endurance at Vallelunga. The driver trio of Alex Aka/Pietro Delli Guanti/Rocco Mazzola started the three-hour race from third place. Aka made up one place in the Audi R8 LMS on his debut on the race track just outside Rome and was then able to put pressure on the leading former Formula 1 driver Giancarlo Fisichella in a Ferrari. His team-mates Mazzola and Delli Guanti continued the battle for the lead. However, after the number 12 Audi incurred a five-second penalty, the trio of drivers ultimately had to concede defeat by a narrow margin of 5.8 seconds. The second Audi with Glenn van Berlo/Andrea Cola/Leonardo Moncini in fourth place was a mere four tenths of a second off the podium after a strong fightback from 18th on the grid. In the British Endurance Championship, the Audi customer team PB Racing by JMH celebrated a victory at Silverstone from pole position. In changeable weather, Peter Erceg/Marcus Clutton confidently drove the Audi R8 LMS to their third win of the season in the two-hour race with a three-lap lead. In the North Island Endurance Series in New Zealand, Team International Motorsport was narrowly beaten this time after three titles in the past. Luke Manson/James Penrose in the Audi R8 LMS were tied on points with a trio of McLaren drivers for first place in the standings after finishing fourth in the finale at Hampton Downs. The two Audi privateers only lost the title fight due to poorer qualifying results. Third place in the final three-hour race went to Sam Fillmore/Daniel Gaunt in another of the team’s Audi cars. Steve Brooks/Bill Riding in an Audi from Wolfbrook won the amateur standings of the racing series, as they did last year.

Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)

Podium results in Europe: The JWB Motorsport team recorded a podium result at the third round of the British Endurance Championship. Philip House drove the team’s Audi RS 3 LMS to second place in its class at Silverstone. At the second round of the Nankang Endurance Academy in Riga, the DMK Racing Team drove the Audi RS 3 LMS to third place in its class. After Antti Jartsev/Deividas Sakalauskas had initially led the two-hour race, they dropped back in the last half hour due to a fuel supply problem.

Coming up next week

20–23/06 Watkins Glen (USA), round 5, IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge
21–23/06 Zolder (B), round 2, Belcar Endurance Championship
21–22/06 Misano (I), round 3, TCR European Endurance 
21–23/06 Hungaroring (H), round 4, International GT Open
21–23/06 Spa (B), round 3, GT4 France
21–23/06 Spa (B), round 4, British GT Championship
21–23/06 Zhengzhou (CHN), round 3, TCR China Championship
21–23/06 Zhengzhou (CHN), round 3, TCR China Challenge
22/06 Nürburgring (D), round 3, Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie 
22–23/06 Fuji (J), round 3, GT World Challenge Asia
22–23/06 Misano (I), round 3, Coppa Italia Turismo
22–24/06 Calabogie (CDN), round 2, Sports Car Championship Canada presented by Michelin