A weekend to forget for Audi at Zolder

By Tarek Ramchani

Circuit Zolder hosted the second round of both the FIA GT1 World Championship and the FIA GT3 European Championship last weekend. Audi teams are competing in both series, in the end it was some bad luck and disappointing results from a very rainy weekend.

FIA GT1 World Championship:

After dominating the opening round at Nogaro with double victories, the Belgian Audi Club WRT aimed high for their home race at Zolder. All started well on Satruday, with very strong qualifying sessions. The #33 of Oliver Jarvis and Frank Stippler was second, the sister #32 car of Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor, the double winners in France, were fifth.

Right before the qualifying race, the pole sitting Porsche GT3 R of Exim Bank Team China was penalized and that gave the #33 Audi the pole position. It was a wet start to the race and the second placed Lamobrghini Gallardo jumped the start, passing Oliver Jarvis. The track began to dry and the pit window opened for the mandatory pit stop. Jarvis had had placed the #33 in the lead before the pit stops. Most of the front runners opted for dry slick tires but the WRT team chose wet tires. It was later revealed that a communication problem had prevented the team from hearing the drivers ask for slicks on the clearly drying track. This resulted in both Audi struggling and dropping way behind. The #18 BMW Z4 GT3 of Vita4One Racing won the race. The R8 LMS ultra cars finished together but only eleventh and twelfth.

The main Championship Race, was a kind of revered deja vu. Tire choice was a gamble at the start of the race with possible rain. Many cars opted for wets while WRT chose slicks this time round. WRT got the gamble wrong and struggled for pace when it started raining shortly after the race start. The WRT team pushed the cars to their limits and as the track began to dry they began making up places. WRT was the last team to do their mandatory pit stops. This had allowed them to make up a lot of ground but when they rejoined the track their cold slicks were no match for the other cars that had pitted earlier and now had warm slicks. Both Audis dropped back in the field but were still running together. Stéphane Ortelli and Oliver Jarvis battled hard for positions on track, and collided, with the #33 Audi R8 LMS ultra spinning. In the end the #32 Audi of Ortelli and Vanthoor finished in sixth. The sister #33 with Jarvis and Stippler landed in tenth. 

The Belgian weekend wasn't lucky for the WRT boys, however the team was able to keep the overall championship lead. Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor are the outright series leaders. Next time is at Portimao in Portugal. Last year WRT did very well there in the FIA GT3 European Championship by winning a race with their Audi R8 LMS. 

FIA GT3 European Championship:

Things weren't different in the FIA GT3 European Championship. The same as in the World GT1 event, the Audis did very well in both qualifying sessions with great double pole positions but the races did not go as planned.

For Race 1, the new comers to the series Team Nova Driver were able to take their first pole position. The other two Audis from Sainteloc Racing were further back. Before the start the #14 Portuguese Audi was penalized and dropped to third. The race was very wet with the #14 involved in a titanic battle for the lead. The track began to dry and it came down to tire choice at the pit stops. The Audi team again opted for slick anticipating more imminent rain. The rain did not arrive and the three Audi cars weren't able to match the Ferrari and AMG SLS pace. The cars finished in lower positions, sixth was the #14 Audi of Team Novadriver, the Sainteloc cars were grouped in tenth and eleventh.

Race 2 was almost the same as Race 1. Sainteloc Racing's R8 LMS ultra had locked out the front row after a great 1-2 in the qualifying session. Again wrong tire choices combined with various spins resulted in the cars dropping back and they finished almost a lap behind the winning AF Corse Ferrari 458 GT3. 

Overall it was a very difficult weekend for the Audi teams at Zolder. Next time both championships will head to Portugal and the challenging Portimao track. Belgian Audi Club WRT is leading in FIA World GT1 Championship and Sainteloc Racing is chasing the leaders in the FIA GT3 European Championship. We are hoping for better performances at the Algarve track, the Audi R8 LMS ultra is clearly among the best GT3 racers around, if not the best.

Photos hosted at Endurance-Info.com

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

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

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

WRT Phenomenal 2011 Season With Audi

By Tarek Ramchani :

The W Racing Team, a Belgian Audi racing team in only its second year of existence completed a very successful 2011. Entering no less than four different series all over Europe. Despite spreading its efforts across four different championships, they were ultra competitive in each series. They were fighting for all four titles and collected many great victories and championship titles by the end of 2011. Along with being competitive in the various championships the team also won two major 24 hour races overall.

WRT entered the new Blancpain Endurance Series as Belgian Audi Club Team WRT with two factory backed Audi R8 LMS. Factory drivers Filipe Albuquerque and Marcel Fassler also joined the team for the five race season. For round three of the series, the prestigious Spa 24 Hours, the team received full factory support from Audi. Racing under the name Audi Sport Team WRT, the Belgians won the race overall. The first ever victory for Audi at the 24 Hours of Spa, with drivers Mattias Ekstrom, Timo Scheider and Greg Franchi. Greg Franchi also won the drivers title during the finale at Silverstone along with WRT winning the teams standing. A great result for this young team.

The team also competed in the FIA GT3 European Championship. Again entering two cars they and a season of highs and lows. The Belgians scored three race victories. By seasons end both drivers Greg Franchi and Enzo Ide were fighting for the driver’s title at Zandvoort. Enzo Ide finished third in the overall drivers standing after taking victory in the final race of the season. The final results could have been much better had it not been for a lot of bad luck during the 2011 FIA GT3 season. Along with bad luck for WRT the thieving bad Balance of Performance hit the Audi R8 LMS very hard in the European championship, limiting the capabilities of this thoroughbred race car.

WRT competing in France was a feather in the cap of the young team, in only their second year of competition WRT was approached to field a factory car on behalf of another European Audi importer, Audi France. WRT would enter a car in the French FFSA GT Tour under the name Team Audi France with drivers Stephane Ortelli and David Hallyday as the factory entry for Audi France in the series. It was a very strong 2011 season for the team who fought for the title all the way to the finale at Paul Ricard. Despite race victories and many podium spots the team was victim to a lot of bad luck. As at Albi they retired with 8 minutes to go while leading. Or at Paul Ricard the finale, where the Safety Car dropped them from leading the race to a lap down. In the end they claimed the runner up position in the points behind the Pro GT Porsche team. 

Along with WRT’s various European competition they also entered their home series, the Belcar Endurance Championship. With two cars for the full season, with drivers Enzo Ide, Francois Virbist, Xavier Maassen and Bert Longin. WRT achieved some good results including a maiden overall win in the premiere event of the series, the Zolder 24 Hours race with all four drivers in one car. However that was not enough to battle for the title against the ProSpeed Porsche team.

During 2011 WRT also ventured outside of Europe for the first time. WRT was approached to run the factory backed two car effort at the Sepang 12 Hours. The team did very well and was extremely competitive, but yet again it would be a case of bad luck befalling the Belgian team. With only minute remaining in the race, a puncture hit the leading Audi and robbed the team of overall victory, eventually finishing second behind the winning AMG Mercedes. To emphasize the bad luck, this puncture to the leading R8 LMS was the only puncture for any car in the entire event and it happened within the final minutes of the event. Despite the bad luck, the WRT team once again showed both its pace and class. 

2011 was only the second year of competition for the young new WRT team. It was a great one as the team is moving up to world class level competition. Belgian Audi Club WRT will represent Audi in the FIA GT World Championship with two brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra. 

Motorsport is full of “what could have been”, if it had not been for tremendously bad luck during the year, WRT could have made it a clean sweep in 2011. However this was not to be, but one thing is for sure, the team always showed its class and did notch up many great victories and championship titles. 2012 can only bring further improvement and success to this world class motorsport team.

Audi Sport Team WRT - Total Spa 24 Hours

Belgian Audi Club WRT - Belcar Endurance Series

Belgian Audi Club WRT - FIA GT3 European Championship

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT - Blancpain Endurance Series

Team Audi France - FFSA GT Tour

Belgian Audi Club WRT - Sepang 12 Hours

Photo Credits : Blancpain Endurance Series, Belcar Endurance Championship, FIA GT3 European Championship