Another Audi R8 LMS ultra debut and another victory - Japanese Super GT

By Johan Laubscher

The latest generation GT3 racer from Audi is quickly picking up where its predecessor left off. The original R8 LMS started winning races straight out of the box and the new R8 LMS ultra is doing exactly the same.

Less than a week after the R8 LMS ultra had its debut race and debut win in Malaysia the R8 LMS ultra lined up in the land of the rising sun. Two Audi R8 LMS ultras and two older R8 LMS cars were entered for the opening round of the 2012 Japanese Super GT series at Okayama. The Super GT is the top motorsport category in Japan and is well known for being a very competitive environment consisting of two race classes, GT500 and GT300. The 4 Audis all compete in the GT300 category.

The two new Audi R8 LMS ultras were fielded by GAINER and äpr racing while the two older cars, which will be upgraded to ultra spec later in the season, were fielded by Hitotsuyama Racing.

The first race of the Japanese GT season had a lot of Audi headlines. Firstly it would be the German marque’s long awaited debut in the Japanese series and also the debut of a certain star lady racer. The #21 R8 LMS from Hitotsuyama Racing would see Cyndie Allemann’s debut in the series alongside teammate Akihiro Tsuzuki. Cyndie’s arrival in the series has sparked a lot of media interest surrounding the Swiss race driver.

Qualifying was a bitter sweet affair with the #11 GAINER Audi in 3rd and the #21 Audi of Allemann and Tsuzuki in 12th. The other two Audis placed lower down the grid. 
  

GT300 race start

The 300km race would see some very exciting racing which became very physical towards the end of the race. The battles for the lead were very tight in both the GT500 and GT300 classes. The GAINER R8 LMS ultra was amongst the GT 300 front runners all race long and endured a fantastic battle for the lead with the #911 Porsche 911. As the race drew to a close all eyes were fixed on the GT500 lead battle which went straight down to the line. In the background the #11 GAINER Audi R8 LMS ultra crossed the line to a well dissevered GT300 race victory. A brilliant debut race for the new car. The other Audis also had a strong showing with 3 of the 4 cars finishing in the top ten.

Victory in the debut race has shown the potential of the car yet again, and the R8 LMS cars will be a force to be reckoned with for the rest of the season. The next race of the season is set for the 500km race at Fuji on the 4th of May 2012.   

Audi Results:

1st - #11 Audi R8 LMS ultra - GAINER - Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka

8th - #30 Audi R8 LMS ultra - äpr racing - Yuki Iwasaki and Yuya Sakamoto

9th - #21 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

18th - #20 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

 

Full Results HERE

 

More information:

Motorsport.com

Hitotsuyama Racing Website

Hitotsuyama Racing FB page

RacerBook FB page

DIXCEL JAPAN FB Page

GAINER Wesbite

äpr racing website

Photos by Eric Gilbert and hosted at Motorsport.com

Race highlights Video:

   

  #11 Audi R8 LMS ultra - GAINER - Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka

#30 Audi R8 LMS ultra - äpr racing - Yuki Iwasaki and Yuya Sakamoto

#21 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

#20 Audi R8 LMS - Hitotsuyama Racing - Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

Audi R8 LMS Strong Qualifying at Okayama's Super GT

By Tarek Ramchani

Japan's Super GT has started, round 1 is at Okayama circuit. Four Audi R8 LMS race cars are there in the GT300 class.

First time out and already the R8 LMS showing a strong pace in the class. The #11 GAINER DIXCEL R8 LMS ultra of Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka got a stunning third in class behind the two leading Porsche 997 GT3 RS cars. Not bad for a debut in the extremely fought GT300 division. Next in a 12th spot is the #21 ZENT Audi R8 LMS of team Hitotsuyama Racing shared by Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki. The car got a strong pace just missing the Q3 session for the top 10. The other two Audi R8 LMS cars struggled. The #30 IWASAKI MODA KUROCO äpr racing R8 is only 18th in class. The second car from Hitotsuyama Racing the #20 Racerbook Audi R8 LMS is last.

The Okayama race is a 300km race. Starting in third is a great debut for the Audi R8 LMS ultra in the top Japanese motorsport series. We are all hoping for strong performances from the four cars and why not the class win, fingers crossed for the race.

Photos hosted at http://www.motorsport.com/

Hitotsuyama Racing Ready for 2012 Super GT with Audi

By Tarek Ramchani

The Japanese Super GT series 2012 season will start next weekend at Okayama. Audi is joining the series for the first time with no less than four Audi R8 LMS. Two cars will be fielded by the Hitotsuyama Racing team.

Hitotsuyama Racing is no stranger to the Audi R8 LMS. In 2011 the team competed in both the GT Asia series and the Japanese based Super Taikyu endurance Series. They took a win at Suzuka in GT Asia. For 2012 the team is moving from a one car effort to two cars, and moving to the world famous and demanding Japanese Super GT series.

The team's two cars will have a four driver line-up :

#20 RacerBook Audi R8 LMS shared by Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

#21 ZENT Audi R8 LMS shared by Swiss female Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

Super GT is divided into two classes, GT500 and GT300. The Audi cars will enter the GT300 class. since last year the GT300 class has been open to FIA based GT3 Spec cars. Audi and team Hitotsuyama joining the series is a great addition to an already world class field. A mix between Japanese exotic cars from Nissan, Toyota, Subaru and European GTs from BMW, Porsche, Ferrari, Lamborghini and Audi. At last week’s official Super GT Test days at Okayama the Audi cars were immediately fast. Hitotsuyama's #21 ZENT R8 LMS of Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki took a great fifth overall in the class. A stunning performance for the debut, with three Audi cars in the top 10. We all hope that will be the case for the race weekends, looking forward to the R8 LMS’s first ever win in the very fought GT300 class.

Hitotsuyama Racing took part earlier this week at the Audi Japan press conference. The two cars showed up with their brand new liveries. Two other teams racing the R8 LMS in 2012 are äpr racing and GAINER. The äpr racing team (not APR Motorsport from America) was also present at the press conference along with a brand new white Audi R8 GT Spyder.

More information:

Hitotsuyama Racing official website

Hitotsuyama Racing official Facebook

Photos hosted at official Facebook page of Hitotsuyama Racing 

#21 ZENT Audi R8 LMS of Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki

#20 Racerbook Audi R8 LMS of Michael Kim and Hideki Noda

First Super GT test: Cyndie Allemann passes the rookie test with success

Cyndie Alleman Press Release

Okayama, Japan, March 18, 2012 – It was a dressed rehearsal for Cyndie Allemann this weekend as she took part of the Japanese Super GT Series pre-season official test at Okayama International Circuit. After signing a contract for an Audi R8 LMS driving seat with Hitotsuyama Racing last month, it was the first chance for the motor racing star from Switzerland to taste the Super GT experience, and meet competitors and fans alike.

“First weekend, first tests in Super GT. First of all, it was all about starting to really work with the team and to discover the series – in particular the GT500 cars on track, as sharing the track with those can be a bit stressful as they are much faster than us (the GT300) on the straight line. I feel like I’m back at Le Mans having to manage the traffic while at the same time focusing on my driving and on-track performances. For the next race, not loosing too much time in traffic will be a big challenge.”

“Otherwise, discovering the paddock was impressive. The cars are amazing and now I’m even more looking forward to this whole season – for me, it’s positive all the way. The Japanese fans who followed me this weekend gave me a lot of support and it’s great to see that a race car driver coming from Switzerland can have a lot of success in another country, especially in Japan.”

Even more important, Cyndie still had to pass the very strict Super GT rookie test – a necessary step to be allowed to race in the prestigious series. She passed this test on her very first attempt, despite the difficult and treacherous weather conditions, clocking the mandatory ten laps all faster than a minimum set time.

“The main thing for me to remember this weekend was the rookie test. Needless to say that there was some pressure, as it was under difficult conditions with sometimes rain, sometimes sun and sometimes greasy track conditions. In addition, the rookie test is fairly strict, as we must make good lap times and if we’re too far off the pole time, or if we spin or go off the track, we don’t pass the test. So I must admit that with the difficult conditions, my stress level was a bit on the high side. But I did pass on my first try and I’m therefore qualified for the series, so it was positive.”

The celebrations were very short for the hard-working Swiss as she spent the rest of the weekend learning the twisty Okayama track, as well as getting to know her new Audi R8 LMS. On Sunday, she was joined by her new teammate Akihiro Tsuzuki for further tests and making even more laps on the Okayama International Circuit, in prevision for the opening round of the Super GT Series in two weeks at the same track.

“In general, my test program went well and I’m progressively getting better – my experience in GT racing is not really big, after all. In addition, it was a new team for me, as well as a new car and a new track, so I took it one step at a time in order to get better track performance. With my teammate Aki, I was able to do some good testing, with tires tests and see the difference between the different types of compounds – that was very interesting, incidentally, as I didn’t think that there was that many differences.”

“In terms of performances, I reached all the goals that I set, but it is clear that there is still a lot of work before getting to the top-3. Little by little, I’m starting to understand the car, but we must still get better to find the right setups on the R8 LMS, because we still have some understeer issues. But all in all, those tests have been quite positive to prepare the first race of the season in two weeks.”

About Cyndie Allemann:

Cyndie Allemann: a World class driver, top athlete and brand ambassador. Always a fan favorite, whether in Europe, in the USA and soon in Japan, 25 years old Cyndie Allemann was literally born for speed.

Her 18-year racing career has seen her compete at the highest levels in many different series and tracks around the World: karting (winning the European junior title when she was only thirteen), open-wheel (EuroF3, Indy Lights, etc.), GT (FIA-GT1 World Championship) and endurance racing (GT1 podium at Spa in the Le Mans Series, 24 Hours of Le Mans, etc.). In 2012, she races in the Japan Super GT Series with the Hitotsuyama Racing team on the Audi R8 LMS.

For more info on Cyndie or to follow her, visit her web site and her facebook fan page at:

www.cyndieallemann.ch

www.facebook.com/CyndieAllemannOfficialPage

About Hitotsuyama Racing:

Founded in 1990 by Mikio Hitotsuyama, Hitotsuyama Racing team has an experience of more than twenty years in auto racing. The team has competed in many top level championships such as the Super GT (formerly known as the JGTC), the Le Mans Series, the Japan Le Mans Challenge (in LMP1, GT1 and GT2 classes), the Porsche Carrera Cup Japan and the Japan Touring Championship. The team has raced many top drivers and set itself apart by its bold vision regarding its racing programs, as well as its ultra-professional approach. Its 2012 racing program includes a full participation in the Super GT championship with two Audi R8 LMS in the GT300 class.

For more info on Hitotsuyama Racing, visit the team web site at:

www.hitotsuyamaracing.net

About the Super GT series:

Born 20 years ago under the name of All-Japan Grand Touring Car Championship (JGTC), the Super GT is the most prestigious auto racing GT series in Japon and Asia. With its two classes (GT300 and GT500), Super GT races are highly competitive with more than 40 regular car entrants. The series is authorized by the FIA and many teams get official support from car manufacturers.

For more info on the Super GT series, visit the series web site at:

www.supergt.net

Photo Credit: Eric Gilbert www.motorsport.com

Audi R8 LMS racing in the land of the rising sun

By Johan Laubscher

The four rings racing in Japan has quite a lot of excitement in store for Audi fans in 2012. No less than four Audi R8 LMS cars will be fielded in the Japanese Super GT Championship this year. It is however not the first time that the Audi brand has been associated with the land of the rising sun.

Sports car fans will affectionately remember Team Goh which competed with the legendary Audi R8 Le Mans prototype cars from 2002 to 2004. Audi Sport Team Goh, as they were formally known had their crowning moment in 2004 when the team took victory at the Le Mans 24 Hours.

2011 saw the return of the Audi brand to Japanese Motorsport with an Audi R8 LMS from Hitotsuyama Racing competing in the Japanese Super Taikyu Endurance Series and in GT Asia.

For 2012 the Audi presence has quadrupled. Four Audis have been confirmed for the 2012 Super GT championship from three different teams. Hitotsuyama Racing will field two Audi R8 LMS cars in the series. The driver parings for the team are lead by car #21 being driven by Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki and car #20 with Michael Kim and Hideki Noda. The #20 is still in the 2011 livery with which it competed at Macau but the #20 Audi R8 LMS is already in its new 2012 ZENT livery, and what a livery. The car looks absolutely stunning in its shiny silver and blue appearance.

The other two cars in the 2012 Super GT are both brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, two of only a handful of ultras that have been completed and delivered worldwide. The two teams running these cars are GAINER and äpr racing (Not to be confused with APR Motorsport from North America). The #11 GAINER car is also an example of a great livery with a beautiful shiny silver livery and is to be driven by Tetsuya Tanaka and Katsuyuki Hiranaka. The äpr racing #30 R8 LMS ultra is still in its plain silver colour as it was delivered and will be driven by Yuki Iwasaki and Yuya Sakamoto.

The Audi R8 LMS cars have been setting very fast times during the official pre-season tests at Okayama and the scene is set for Audis debut in the Super GT series. With four cars, eight fast drivers and three top teams, the four rings are well represented in the land of the rising sun.  

Photos by RacerBook and DIXCEL JAPAN

More Information:
Hitotsuyama Racing Website
Hitotsuyama Racing FB page
RacerBook FB page
DIXCEL JAPAN FB Page
GAINER Wesbite
äpr racing website

Hitotsuyama Racing #21 Audi R8 LMS

Hitotsuyama Racing #20 Audi R8 LMS

äpr racing #30 Audi R8 LMS ultra

GAINER Dixcel Dunlop #11 Audi R8 LMS ultra

Japanese Audi R8 LMS with Cyndie Allemann Challenging Super GT

By Tarek Ramchani :

Great news that comes from Japan. Hitotsuyama Racing, a privateer Japanese Audi team is about to enter the world famous Super GT. The team will field two Audi R8 LMS in the lower GT300 class.

Hitotsuyama Racing isn't new the Audi R8 LMS. Last year they raced in two series, the GT Asia Series scoring a victory at the home round at Suzuka and also the Super Taikyu Endurance Series, almost a Japanese VLN which the team won. The team also raced at the ILMC round at Zhuhai and at Macau. The team is of course backed by Audi Japan.

However things won't be easy for the team, while last year they took parts in proper GT3 races in the Asian series, this year the move into Super GT means more competition and mainly radically different rules. The Super GT which is the top Japanese motorsport series is divided into two classes. GT500 the upper one featuring the fastest cars, almost true "Closed prototypes". While the GT300 one is for less powerful and modified machines. The Audi will enter the GT300 class a much fought class with very large entry lists each round. The competition will come from various challengers, mixing exotic Japanese racers and supercars from Porsche, Ferrari, BMW, Lamborghini, Subaru, Toyota and Nissan. The Audi R8 LMS will have to adapt with this unique format and to slight modifications from its original Spec GT3. Maybe a difficult task, but still not impossible, as last year’s GT300 champions raced a GT3 Spec BMW Z4 GT3.

For the driver lineups, the first one announced is Cyndie Allemann and Akihiro Tsuzuki. Swiss female Cyndie Allemann with her first drive in the Audi R8 LMS. Still she isn't a rookie in GT racing. In 2010 she raced in the FIA GT1 World Championship and the Le Mans 24 Hours with a privateer Ford GT. Cyndie Alleman tested the R8 LMS on February 8th at Fuji Speedway and immediately got confidence with the Audi. Akihiro Tsuzuki isn't a rookie with the car either. Last year he raced with Hitotsuyama Racing in the Super Taikyu Endurance Series, the ILMC round in China, and Macau GT Cup. Akihiro Tsuzuki also did the Super GT, with a Porsche GT3 in the GT300 class. He is familiar to the series and will bring a lot of experience to the team. The second car’s lineup will be announced later.

Thanks to Eric Gilbert and www.motorsport.com for the photos.

Cyndie Alleman - Audi R8 LMS - Super GT

Audi R8 LMS - Japan Super GT GT300 - Fuji Speedway