Video: Noisy onboard Novadriver's Audi R8 LMS at Portimao - Pole Position

By Tarek Ramchani

The Spanish Iber GT 2012 season started at Portimao last weekend. Team Novadriver the 2011 series GTS champions raced at home. Team's star César Campaniço pushing the #81 Audi R8 LMS to the limits around the Algarve track.

More Informations:
Team Novadriver official Facebook

A great and noisy video with a stuning pole position in the end. Enjoy.

Second place finish for Audi Sport Team Phoenix at VLN's round 3

By Tarek Ramchani

Round 3 of the VLN Endurance Series today at the Nurbrugring Nordschleife. The Audi R8 LMS scored its best result of the season so far with Audi Sport Team Phoenix.

A nice second place finish for Phoenix Racing and their #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The car shared by Christopher Mies and Markus Winkelhohck was right behind the winning Porsche GT3 R. The sister #15 car of the team finished in a good fourth place outright with drivers Marc Basseng, Christopher Haase and Frank Stippler. The Audi race experience with the #11 car landed in fifteenth place, while the other car from the team #22 R8 LMS finished in twentieth. The Belgian WRT team finished in nineteenth. Bad luck hit the #44 Raeder Motorsport and the #14 Mamerow Racing cars, both retired.

The SP4T class was an all Audi TT RS affair. The #272 from Raeder Motorsport won the class and did achieved amazing thirteenth overall. The #282 car of FH Koln Motorsport was in second and the #269 machine from Raeder Motorsport was in third.

Full race results

Today's race is the final one before the big 24 Hours of the Nurburgring next month.

#15 Audi R8 LMS - Audi Sport Team Phoenix

#36 Audi R8 LMS - WRT

#270 Audi TT RS - Besaplast Racing Team

Five Audi R8 LMS assault on French GT Tour

By Tarek Ramchani

The FFSA GT Tour series will start this weekend at the Ledenon circuit. Last year Audi missed out the championship title in the very last round. This year no less than five Audi R8 LMS race cars will enter the French national GT series.

Team Audi France:

As in the last couple of years Team Audi France will lead the Audi squad in GT Tour. Last year a single car was entered with support from the Belgians of WRT, this year it's the same again. A brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra for the team's regular drivers: Stephane Ortelli and David Hallyday. In 2011 the two drivers battled for the championship title until the last round at Paul Ricard. The official Audi France dealer team will be among the big favorites fighting for the series crown.

Sainteloc Racing:

Sainteloc Racing is a truly privateer team that has been racing with Audi since 2010. Last year they entered two cars and this year no less than three Audi R8 LMSs are joining the series from Sainteloc. Two brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra models in the "main" GT Championship. Gregory Guilvert and Lamic and Dino Lunardi and Bruno Hernandez will share the cars. Right before the French series starts, the two R8 LMS ultra also raced at an international level, doing quite well in both FIA GT3 European Championship and Blancpain Endurance

The third car is an older spec R8 LMS, it will enter the "amateur" GT Cup. Madelaine/Sourd will be the drivers. This car will be among the big favorites in the GT Cup division.

JWS Racing:

New comers to the series and to Audi, JWS Racing will enter the GT Cup with their old spec Audi R8 LMS. The car will be shared by William David and Jean-Marc Quintois. The team is young, but they are aiming high in the GT Cup battle.

For 2012, the GT Tour has a seven round calendar, with a visit to Navara in Spain. The series is set to use the same Balance of Performance as used by the FIA GT3 European Championship. We are hoping for  strong performances from the three Audi teams with the Audi R8 LMS ultra is being the strongest GT3 racer at the moment.

More Informations:

GT Tour official website

GT Tour official Facebook

Consistent and strong Audi R8 LMS results in Brazilian GT round 1

By Johan Laubscher

The Brazilian GT series has gotten a facelift for 2012, a new website, logo and a new Facebook page. The first round of the series got under way this past weekend at Santa Cruz in Brazil. One Audi R8 LMS is present in the 2012 Brazilian GT championship, entered by Ebrahim Motors and driven by Fábio and Wagner Ebrahim. The pair qualified well taking second position on the grid for both of the weekend’s races. Race one was yet another wet race after a massive rain shower just after the race had started. Just like the first FIA GT1 and FIA GT3 races at Zolder on the same Saturday the track began to dry. The R8 LMS was very fast in the wet. The Ebrahims finished second after having held the lead the entire race until loosing the lead on the penultimate lap to the factory BMW Z4 team. Race two took place in warm and dry conditions. The Ebrahim R8 LMS spent the race in second position with a spirited drive in the closing stages to catch the leader but eventually had to settle for second position. A very good weekend, two second places and the overall championship lead in Brazil for the Ebrahim pairing.

The photos are hosted at PortalGT's flickr

More information:
Brazilian GT (PortalGT) website
Brazilian GT (PortalGT) FB page
Brazilian GT (PortalGT) flickr

GMG Racing debuted the Audi R8 LMS at Long Beach

GMG Racing Press Release

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, successfully debuted the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at the 2012 Grand Prix of Long Beach while racing a total of six cars across two races that included a pair of fourth place finishes.

The attention-getting car was the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS, which made its racing debut for the Pirelli World Challenge stop in Long Beach at the Grand Prix. GMG took delivery of the vehicle from Germany less than two weeks before the race and worked around the clock to get it tested and adapted to World Challenge spec in time.

The car posted the third best time in its first official practice session, which was a very wet affair with rain and a touch of hail pounding the track on Friday morning. From a 13th place start the No. 40 GMG Audi R8 LMS piloted by 2006 Grand-Am champion Anders Hainer held its own in Sunday’s race. Despite having two stalled cars block the way at the start, Hainer managed to gain two spots to wrap up an 11th place finish.

"It was an exciting honor to debut the world's first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at a legendary event like the Grand Prix of Long Beach," said Hainer. "It would not have been possible without the support of McKenna Audi, Under Armour and GMG Racing, and on a personal level from my friends and family who were at the race. GMG Racing’s team of guys did a fantastic job getting the car as good as we could in just a week or so, since the car came in from Germany. Now I look forward to working with GMG Racing to further develop this great car as the season progresses.”

“This Audi R8 LMS is the heart of the Audi racing program at GMG,” points out GMG vice president and co-owner Fabryce Kutyba. “It will get focused attention by our development team as we continue to shape the vehicle’s track characteristics and engineer performance motorsport parts for this platform.

More informations:
GMG Racing official website
GMG Racing on Facebook
GMG Racing on Twitter
SCCA Pirelli World Challenge official website

Watch LIVE Brazil GT

By Johan Laubscher

Round one of the Brazilian GT Series. Ebrahim Motors are competing with an Audi R8 LMS and are are doing very well this weekend.

Watch it live here

Live Timing HERE

Audi storming Zolder's FIA GT3 qualifying with double pole positions

By Tarek Ramchani

Circuit Zolder in Belgium is hosting the second round of the FIA GT3 European Championship. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra race cars are there, and they did really well right from the start, taking both pole positions.

For Saturday afternoon Race 1 the pole position went the Portuguese team Nova Driver. The #14 Audi R8 LMS car shared by Cesar Campaniço and Ni Amorim set the fastest time and will start in front of the field. The two Sainteloc Racing Audis struggled in this first qualifying session, the #16 set the ninth time in hands of Marc Sourd and Gregory Guilvert. The sister # 15 machine landed in tenth with Dino Lunardi and Jerome Demay.

Race 2 qualifying again saw Audi domination. The Sainteloc Racing team locked out an all Audi R8 LMS front row. A great battle between the team's stars Gregory Guilvert and Dino Lunardi for pole position. In the end it was the #15 of Lunardi setting the fastest time in front of the sister #16. Novadriver Audi will start from position eight on the grid.

The Audi R8 LMS did dominate the qualifying session, but will have to fight with strong rivals from Ferrari, AMG Mercedes-Benz and Lamborghini. The entry list isn't big, only eleven cars are entered in the Belgian round, but still we are expecting great battles on track as at Nogaro last time out. Hoping for strong performances from both Audi customer team.

Photo Credits: Markus Berns / SRO FIA GT3 European Championship

How to spot an Audi R8 LMS ultra

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi R8 LMS ultra has been a winner straight out of the box and the latest GT3 specification car from Audi Sport has been a sensation. The new car looks fast standing still and looks even better at speed out on track. However with different GT3 Audi race cars on track, being the older Audi R8 LMS and the new Audi R8 LMS ultra some fans may battle telling the difference between these two versions. The following is a little tutorial to elaborate on the visual clues with which to distinguish between the two versions of Audi’s brilliant GT3 race cars.

Spotting an ultra can be difficult, especially depending on the angle of which you see the car. But it is possible to visually tell the two versions apart.

Front View:

Click on the photo for larger image 

1. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra has a much wider rear wing. The older R8 LMS rear wing was 1780mm and the new ultra rear wing is 1920mm.

2. The front vender on the ultra as a slightly different shape with a lower outward appearance, this gives the ultra a lower and wider appearance, while in actual fact it is the same overall width as the older R8 LMS.

3. The air intake above the splitter is slightly different on the ultra. The ultra also does not have a visible board under the front splitter on the centreline of the car which is present on the older R8 LMS. The ultra's front splitter is completely flat underneath when viewed from the front.

4. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra only has one large front side splitter unlike the R8 LMS which had two small ones.

Side View:

Click on the photo for larger image 

5. The rear wing endplates on the new Audi R8 LMS ultra are much larger than the older R8 LMS. See point 11 for more details.

6. The rear wing mounting of the new Audi R8 LMS ultra is in a new lower optimised position. The new mountings are lower and further rearwards (difficult to see in these pictures). See points 16 and 17 for more details.

7. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra has larger air intakes on the side of the car. See point 15 for more details.

8. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra has a small rectangular plate on the side of the front splitter.

9. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra only has one large front side splitter unlike the R8 LMS which had two small ones.

10. The new Audi R8 LMS ultra has a more extended front splitter which has a sharper shape when viewed from above. See point 12 for more detail.

Click on the photo for larger image 

11. Point 5 continued: However, the large rear wing endplate seen in point 5 does not mean that it is defiantly an ultra. Some of the older Audi R8 LMS cars are also using the larger endplate mounted on the older, more upright mountings. As you can see above in point 11. The picture on the left is the Novadriver R8 LMS in 2011 and on the right is the same Novadriver R8 LMS in 2012 which is NOT an ultra, but it has the larger endplate. This R8 LMS is termed the 2011 evolution model so to say. It has some updates but it is not full ultra specification.

Click on the photo for larger image 

12. Point 10 continued: Here one can clearly see the difference between the new ultra's sharper extended front splitter and the old R8 LMS's shorter and more rounded front splitter.

Rear View:

Click on the photo for larger image

13. From the rear the cars are almost visually identical; the only visible difference is the wider rear wing and the lower rear wing mountings on the ultra. Both the old R8 LMS and the new ultra have a visually similar rear diffuser.

Other Aspects:

Click on the photo for larger image

14. The new ultra has fixed windows and a sliding window opening on the driver’s side of the car. The new ultra has carbon doors whereas the older R8 LMS had the normal production doors. The production based doors of the old car still had operating windows which could be put up or down (Note the windows on the R8 LMS on the left are in the down position). The new ultra with the carbon doors does not have operating windows and hence has a little sliding window on the driver’s side of the car, another feature with which to identify an ultra.

15. Here one can also see the larger air intake more clearly. The new ultra has a much larger intake which has a much sharper apex corner compared to the older R8 LMS ultra

Click on the photo for larger image

16. Point 6 continued: Some of the Audi R8 LMS ultras have been seen running the new wider rear wing but using the more upright mountings similar to the older R8 LMS. In these photos the WRT car on the left is an ultra and has the new wing mounted on the older mountings. The Phoenix car on the right is also a new ultra but has the new rear wing and mountings. Here one can see the new ultra mountings have a more curved design and reach further rearwards and hold the wing in a lower vertical position than compared to the older R8 LMS mountings.

Click on the photo for larger image

17. Point 6 continued: The differences of the rear wings are difficult to see. This is a design drawing taken from a technical document about the new R8 LMS ultra (Link to this document bellow). It clearly shows the difference between the old rear wings, rear wing mounting and rear wing position. The yellow wing is the older R8 LMS rear wing, note that the rear wing is narrower and that the mountings for the wing are more forward and upright. The blue wing is the new wider R8 LMS ultra rear wing. Note the new mountings here are lower and reach further rearwards than compared to the older R8 LMS. 

There are many differences under the skin of the new Audi R8 LMS ultra including revised carbon doors, new layouts to the cooling system etc. The above “tutorial” gives one the ability to at least visually distinguish between the cars. For some more information regarding the technical aspects of the ultra have a look at this great link to a gallery hosted at the J-Fly R8 LMS teams' Facebook page which shows a technical document of the ultra, see it HERE

The Photos are by:
Fabian Wiedl
Norbert Kratz 

Jean-Baptiste Lassaux from www.autorennsport.ch

NovaDriver
Christian Mamerow

More Information:

Novadriver FB page

IG-Autorennsport FB page

Christian Mamerow FB page

Video: noisy Audi R8 LMS testing at Spa

By Tarek Ramchani

The new Audi R8 LMS is racing all over the world. Alfab Racing a Swedish customer Audi team was at Spa-Francorchamps testing their new manchine. The team will race this season Swedish GT Series. 

The car looks nice with its black and white livery. Enjoy the noisy V10 with this great video from Gumbal

Video: Team Novadriver 2012 Audi R8 LMS season videos

By Johan Laubscher

The Portuguese Novadriver team is another great Audi R8 LMS customer team that prides itself at producing brilliant videos after each event. The Novadriver team will be competing on many fronts in 2012 with entries in the FIA GT3, Portuguese and Spanish GT series.

The team have already competed at round 1 of the FIA GT3 series and the first two rounds of the Portuguese GT series. Enjoy:

Portuguese GT - Round 1 - Braga

FIA GT3 - Round 1 - Nogaro

More Information:

Novadriver FB page

Novadriver youtube channel

Video: Belgian Audi Club WRT Monza Report

By Johan Laubscher

The Belgian Audi Club WRT team have competed in their second major event of 2012, the first round of the Blancpain Endurance Series at Monza. The team very nearly won the event but due to various factors finished in the second and sixth positions.

As has become tradition WRT prepares a video of each of their race events. Here is the latest video, featuring the team at Monza. Enjoy:

 WRT Monza video trailer

WRT Monza video

More Information:

WRT youtube channel

Belgian Audi Club official website

WRT official website

WRT official Facebook

FIA GT1 World Championship official website

Exciting highlights video of 2012 Bathurst 12 Hours - Audi victorious

By Johan Laubscher

The 12 Bathurst 12 Hour race in Australia was one were the drivers fought against the elements with torrential rain during the race. Three Audis had entered the race with two from Phoenix wearing the now famous Kangaroo and Spider liveries and one from United Autosport. Unfortunate where three had started only one would make it to the finish, but most importantly the one that did finish the race did so in first place. The Kangaroo Audi R8 LMS of Christer Jöns, Christopher Mies and Darryl O'Young were victorious for the second year in succession.

Each year a highlights package is put together of the race and this year’s highlights have already been uploaded onto youtube by AMFForumvideo, an Australian youtube channel which is renowned for great Australian motorsport videos from both past and present.

Enjoy the highlights (split into four parts) here:

Bathurst Highlights Part 1

Bathurst Highlights Part 2

Bathurst Highlights Part 3

Bathurst Highlights Part 4

GMG Racing to Debut First Ever World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at Grand Prix of Long Beach

GMG Racing Press Release

GMG Racing, the multi-series professional racing team and premier performance tuning facility for European vehicles in Southern California, will debut the world’s first World Challenge Audi R8 LMS at the Grand Prix of Long Beach for Round 3 of the 2012 Pirelli World Challenge series. The vehicle is just one of five being fielded by GMG for the race, the most of any team, which is fitting for an event practically taking place in the team’s back yard in Southern California.

“GMG Racing got our hands on this vehicle from Phoenix Racing in Germany less than two weeks before race day,” acknowledges James Sofronas, GMG Racing president, co-founder, and lead driver. “We worked closely with SCCA officials to determine how to get the car into World Challenge spec and our crew has been implementing the modifications around the clock in preparation.”

The modified Audi R8 LMS GT3 will debut in the GT Class for the April 15 World Challenge race in Long Beach. The car will be driven by the newest addition to the GMG Racing team, 2006 Grand-Am Champion Anders Hainer from Hidden Hills, California.

“GMG Racing is excited to have a quick and experienced driver such as Anders Hainer piloting the World Challenge Audi R8 LMS,” noted Sofronas. “The Audi R8 LMS represents an amazing racing platform that I predict will have a big impact on motorsports in North America.”

“It’s a real challenge to return to motorsports for an event like this in a car that has yet to be put through its paces in America,” acknowledged Hainer. “I look forward to getting to know the car and how it handles in race traffic as the season progresses. It’s a great opportunity.”

“Racing the R8 LMS starts a new chapter in GMG’s racing history and we are very excited to add the Audi brand to the racing department,” stated GMG vice president and co-owner Fabryce Kutyba. “GMG has a long standing history tuning Audi road cars over the last ten years and now racing the R8 will help with the development of motorsport-proven performance parts.”

More Informations:

GMG Racing official website

GMG Racing on Facebook

GMG Racing on Twitter

Pole position for Audi at FIA GT3 Nogaro qualifying

By Tarek Ramchani

The FIA GT3 European Championship 2012 season has started at Nogaro. Three Audi R8 LMS race cars are there, from Sainteloc Racing for cars #15 and #16 and the third one #14 from the Portuguese team Nova Driver. The three cars immediately did well in the South of France. 

A very strong performance from Sainteloc Racing with a nice 1-2 in the qualifying session for Race 2. Gregory Gulivert driving the #16 Audi R8 LMS is ahead of his team mate Bruno Lunardi in the #15 car. Both drivers set the respective fastest times in the second session, giving Audi an all R8 LMS front row for tomorrow's first Race. The #14 Audi car of Team Novadriver landed in seventh. Not bad for a debut from the Portuguese team in FIA GT3. Earlier in Race 1 qualifying the #16 Sainteloc Racing R8 LMS finished second behind the pole sitter #1 Mercedes-Benz SLS GT3 AMG. The #15 Sainteloc Audi landed in fifth, while the #14 Nova Driver R8 LMS is ninth.

The Audis were the fastest cars setting a great pace in the second session, however the Ferrari 458 GT3 cars were very close finishing in third and fourth. We are expecting great actions on track in both races despite the small grid of only twelve cars.

#15 Audi R8 LMS - Sainteloc Racing

#14 Audi R8 LMS - Team Nova Driver

Photos hosted at FIA GT3 European Championship Facebook page

Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra spotted at the Nürburgring

The brand new Spec Audi R8 LMS ultra raced during the opening round of the German VLN Endurance Series at the Nurburgring. It was run by team Phoenix Racing and it looks great.

Photos by our friend Norbert Kratz, more at his Flickr Channel

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Ready for FIA GT1 World Debut

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Press Release

Competition is back! As the long winter break ends, the Easter weekend will see the kick- off of the FIA GT1 World championship, in its new shape, i.e. open to GT3 cars. It is the Circuit Paul Armagnac of Nogaro, in South-Western France, which will host the season- opener and a race that will mark the debut of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in a World Championship, in what is only its third season of racing. Strong of last year's successes, which include the Driver and Team titles in the Blancpain Endurance Series and the overall success at the 24 Hours of Spa-Francorchamps, the Audis R8 LMS (in their latest "ultra" version) start the 2012 campaign in the FIA GT1 World with two top-level line-ups: Ste´phane Ortelli-Laurens Vanthoor and Frank Stippler-Oliver Jarvis.

Like always at the eve of a new season, and even more so when a new championship is about to be launched, anxiety but also expectations are running high. "We all know that the launch of the new FIA GT1 World has been a challenge", comments Team Manager Vincent Vosse, "but it is a first satisfaction to see that everything is almost in place, after a true race against time. As far as we are concerned, almost everything is unknown to us, and we will have to wait at least after the qualifying session, to have an idea where we stand. We haven't had much time to work with the new R8 ultra, but I trust Audi has developed a competitive machine as usual, and we will have to discover the Pirelli tires. I'm confident in the work we have done and I believe we have one of the strongest, if not the strongest, driver line-up. We know the value and the expertise of Ste´phane Ortelli and Frank Stippler, we have been extremely pleased with the quick adaptation and the professionalism shown by Laurens Vanthoor, our youngest recruit, and the curriculum of Oliver Jarvis speaks for itself. We are definitely ready to take the track."

As a matter of fact, the Belgian Audis are in Nogaro since the beginning of the week and have participated to the two-day testing session ahead of the event. "These two days, foreseen to finalize the balance of performance, but also devoted to testing, were very useful", reckons sports director Pierre Dieudonne´, "we have been in the top end of the time sheets throughout all the sessions, although this doesn't mean much as we all know, and the new Pirelli tires have shown good consistency."

Among the drivers of the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, it is rookie Laurens Vanthoor who has posted the best lap time, confirming his trouble-free switch to GT cars. "Of course, GT cars are different from single-seaters", says the 20-year-old from Hasselt, "Roofed cars have another kind of volume and weight, and also they have features such as ABS, traction control and power-steering that a Formula 3 does not have, but the first phase of adaptation took me only a few laps. I am perfectly aware, though, that I still have many things to learn, in order to be able to reach the limits of the full potential of the car, and that I have to get acquainted with the specificities of GT racing, such as pit stops, driver changes, race strategy, etc".

As for the venue hosting this first event of the FIA GT1 World, Nogaro, it is certainly not the least difficult and technical circuit, but it is one that is equally appreciated by drivers and fans, as Ste´phane Ortelli, who knows it well, explains: "Nogaro is a track of the old school, a natural circuit that has remained unchanged throughout decades, except for one corner, and has not been de-natured with chicanes. It is not a big track, but has a good combination of long straights, where you can overtake, fast and slower corners. It's a track where it is essential to find the right pace, and where you have also to be careful. Like all older circuits, the walls are not too far, and some of the braking zones can be treacherous. In any case, it's a circuit I love and with a very nice atmosphere. The track offers many spectacular watching zones, and fans come in large numbers. In French racing, it is a tradition to start the season here, and being here at this time of the year sounds certainly familiar to me!"

The event will respect the traditional schedule of the Coupes de Paques, with free practice on Friday, qualifying on Saturday and the two one-hour races held on Sunday and Easter Monday, respectively.

More Informations:

Belgian Audi Club official website

WRT official website

WRT official Facebook

FIA GT1 World Championship official website

Bell And Bateman Ready For Oulton Park British GT Challenge With United Autosports

United Autosports Press Release

• Young chargers confident for season opener at Cheshire circuit
• Silver status for young drivers in updated Audi R8 LMS GT3
• Successful pre-season test gives early indication of perfect pairing

Matt Bell (Newcastle-upon-Tyne) and Charles Bateman (Boston, Lincs) head to Oulton Park in Cheshire for the opening round of the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship over the Easter weekend and both young drivers have their eye on lifting the crown.

Competing with Leeds-based United Autosports in the team’s Pilgrim Food Service-sponsored Audi R8 LMS GT3, both Bell (22) and Bateman (25) are proven British GT race winners, both taking victories in the series last year. Bell annexed a superb victory at Snetterton in partnership with American Mike Guasch, while Bateman took victory in the second race at Oulton Park and also at Donington Park.

Bell led the series for much of the season amidst intense competition and is very confident as he enters his second full year in the series with his new team mate. The youngster is getting plenty of mileage under his belt in 2012 as he dovetails between the British and Blancpain Endurance Series in the United Autosports McLaren MP4-12C GT3.

Bateman, who started in the Caterham Academy in 2004 and spent the next three years competing in the various Caterham derivatives, changed to sportscars from 2007 to 2010, racing in the Porsche Carrera Cup and taking several podiums along the way. Last year, he won the two British GT races in a Ferrari, so this will be his first season in the successful race-winning United Autosports’ Audi R8 LMS GT3.

Both Bell and Bateman will be available at Oulton Park on Saturday and Easter Monday at designated times at the United Autosports garage to meet and greet the fans, and for autograph-signing sessions.

Organiser, SRO Motorsports Group, has a seven-meeting calendar scheduled for 2012 featuring the UK’s best circuits, Oulton Park, Rockingham, Snetterton and the Grand Prix circuits of Brands Hatch, Silverstone and Donington Park. Round two in May takes place on the Nürburgring German Grand Prix circuit. SRO is repeating the successful mix of one, two and three-hour races for the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT Championship.

United Autosports is co-owned by American, Zak Brown and Briton, Richard Dean, and enters its third season of GT racing as it aims for its first major sportscar title.

United Autosports young chargers: Charles Bateman (left) and Matt Bell

Charles Bateman (UK), Age 25. Born: Boston, Lincs UK. Lives: Boston, Lincs, UK:

“We tested at Oulton Park last Friday and it went well. I feel very settled with the team and I'm looking forward to working with all the guys at United Autosports over the coming season. I think Matt and I will work well together in getting the best out of the car. My first impressions of the Audi are extremely promising. Having had only a short amount of time behind the wheel I already have confidence in what I believe the car can do. I'm really looking forward to the Easter weekend at Oulton Park and seeing how the Audi performs over the race distance.”

Matt Bell (UK), Age 22. Born: Newcastle-upon-Tyne, UK. Lives: Barningham, UK:

“The test day last week at Oulton Park was very busy, and was more a day for Charles to acclimatise to the Audi, and me to re-acclimatise to it. I was impressed with the rapid progress Charles made as he got used to a new car, and it really filled me full of confidence for the year. We had some goals that we set out to achieve last week and I think we achieved them quite well, and Charles and I worked very well together.

“We have been given Silver status for the championship, which means we’re going to be given a penalty of 4 seconds per hour added onto our time in the race, so if it’s a 2-hour race, we’ll be penalised an extra 8 seconds. However any safety car intervention could prove a disadvantage and negate any advantage we may have. Oulton Park is one of my favourite circuits full stop, and Charles won from last place on the grid last year in a Ferrari, so I’m really looking forward to the Easter weekend.”

Richard Dean (GB), Managing Director & Co-Owner of United Autosports:

“Our British GT deal came together very late this year, which isn't ideal in trying to build an understanding and working relationship with the drivers. Fortunately though, Charles fitted in straight away on our initial test with him at Oulton Park, and he seemed to take very few laps to get an understanding of the Audi. We’ve worked with Matt now for a couple of seasons and the pair seem very similar in personality and what they require with regards set up.

“Everything seems to be lining up for a good year for us. We are organised and have experience as a team in every department, so it is up to us to help the drivers along and create a winning opportunity for them.”

More Informations:

United Autosports official website

United Autosports official Facebook

United Autosports on Twitter

British GT Championship official website

Good warm up for WRT and JWS Audi R8 LMS teams - VdeV

By Johan Laubscher

Earlier in the year Audi fans saw some clues from the Belgian W Racing Team regarding a specific French championship. The WRT team took part in the V de V series test days at Dijon and rumours surrounding a few WRT V de V race participations emerged. V de V is a French championship for a variety of different race cars which compete in both sprint and endurances races across Europe.

The opening round of the V de V series took place in Spain at the Catalunya circuit for a 6 hour endurance race on the weekend of April 1st. Originally a total of four Audi R8 LMS cars had been entered for the race. Two from WRT and one from both JWS Racing and AB Sport Auto. Despite four cars on the original entry list only two cars would ultimately take part. One car from WRT driven by François Verbist, Yves Weerts and Kurt Mollekens and one car from JWS driven by William David and Jean-Marc Quintois. The WRT team had originally planned two cars, one for the team bosses to have some fun in and the other to be driven by more rapid drivers, but in the end only one car took part in an event deemed to be more for fun and preparation than for out right results. The JWS Racing entry was also aimed for preparation. This was the first race meeting for the JWS Racing team and their goal was to use the race to prepare for the 2012 French GT Tour season.

Both teams qualified very well for the race with WRT claiming class pole followed by JWS second in class, 4th and 6th overall respectively. The race got underway in very warm conditions with some great racing. JWS unfortunately retired early on lap 6 after an on-track incident. The team was very disappointed but they are fully focused on their next race, the season opener of the French GT Tour. WRT soldiered on in the 6 hour race which served as a good warm up for the team’s busy 2012 season, ahead of their FIA GT1 debut one week after this event. WRT finished the 6 hour endurance race in 4th position overall and 2nd position in class.

The 6 hours of Catalunya served as a good warm up for the both JWS Racing and WRT teams. We will soon see both teams and their R8 LMS cars in action again in various other races around Europe and in the case of WRT, around the world as well.

Photos by JWS Racing

More Information:

JWS Racing FB page

W Racing Team FB page 

V de V website

WRT # 8 Audi R8 LMS and JWS #38 Audi R8 LMS

JWS Racing #38 Audi R8 LMS