By Johan Laubscher
The clear theme from the past weekend was one of wet and drying races, especially on Saturday in all the GT3 specification races on both sides of the equator. The weekend was filled with success and heartbreak in equal measure for the Audi brand.
1. The Weekend
Focussing this week on the weekend of 21-22 April 2012
2. The events
- FIA GT1
- FIA GT3
- Brazilian GT
- Superstars
- DTM presentation Wiesbaden
- Targa Tasmania
- Austrian Hillclimb
- DMV-TCC
- RCN
2.1. FIA GT1
The second round of the FIA GT1 World Championship was held at Zolder. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT #33 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Frank Stippler started from pole and Oliver Jarvis put in an amazing drive in the first half of the race and pitted as the leader on the drying track. The good fortune did not last long, Jarvis had called for slick tires but due to radio problems the team did not receive this message and sent Stippler out on wets, he was subsequently passed and had to pit again for slicks. A similar fate befell the sister #33 car of Ortelli and Vathoor. The tire disaster dropped both WRT cars down the field, eventually finishing just outside the top 10. Race two started on a reasonably dry track but with ominous black clouds surrounding Zolder. Teams gambled with tire choice choosing between slicks and wets. The Belgian WRT team got the gamble wrong and their slick tires dropped them down the field in the early stages. The track began to dry and the WRT pair began moving back up through the field before the first pit stop where the cars opted for slicks again. The team then battled in the middle of the top ten with the two Audis running together until Ortelli and Jarvis came together with Ortelli punting Jarvis off track accidentally under heavy breaking. Both cars continued circulating with #32 finishing in 6th and #33 in 10th.
2.2. FIA GT3
Qualifying for round 2 of the FIA GT3 championship at Zolder was an Audi affair. The Novadriver R8 LMS ultra took pole for race one and Sainteloc took a 1-2 for race two. Race one saw another drying track race and the tire choice pit stops were the key to the race. The #14 Novadriver R8 LMS was in a tremendous three-way lead battle during the beginning of the race but the wrong tires caused them to slip back to an eventual sixth after having taken the lead on the pit stop cycle. Race two was again a wet race with a drying track. All three Audis again chose the wrong tires by staying on wets after the pit stops anticipating more rain. The Audis dominated the race in the wet conditions but after the pit stops the wrong tires ended their chances. The rain did come but it was too late, a dry line and various spins for the Audis resulted in the cars finishing well down the order.
2.3. Brazilian GT
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 the weekend’s races. Race one was yet another race that effectively got off to a wet start, 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.
2.4. Superstars
The second round of the Italian Superstars series was held at Imola and it got off to a fast start for the Audi RS5s. Johan Kristoffersson was immediately fast in practice as well as the other two Audis. In qualifying all three Audis finished in the top seven with Johan Kristoffersson taking his maiden pole position. Thomas Schoffler took seventh and Gianni Morbidelli fourth. The first race was an Audi formation, Morbidelli quickly moved up to second behind Johan Kristoffersson and the two Audi RS5s moved away from the field. The two battled hard until Morbidelli tried to pass Kristoffersson on the last lap but contact occurred which damaged Morbidelli's RS5 and dropped him to seventeenth with his car engulfed in flames. Johan Kristoffersson came through to win the race, a remarkable victory in the young Swede’s rookie year and his first race at Imola. Thomas Schoffler finished ninth in his first race with the RS5. Race two would see complete domination by the young Swedish driver Johan Kristoffersson. He made it a successful double for the weekend and a fact to behold: every session of the weekend in which he competed he was fastest/the winner (he did not take part in practice session two). Thomas Schoffler completed the Audi success with a top five finish and Morbidelli finished lower down in race 2.
2.5. DTM presentation Wiesbaden
The German DTM championship held their annual pre season launch day at Wiesbaden. All the manufactures were present to showcase the new cars and drivers to the large crowds. It rained on the day but it did not dampen the spirits and enjoyment of the 72000 strong crowd. The DTM season kicks of next weekend at Hockenheim.
2.6. Targa Tasmania
Two Audis were present at the Targa Tasmania in Australia, one Audi R8 V10 and the Audi TT RS of Matt and Casey Close. From the start The TT RS was fast and held sixth by the end of day one. Day two would see a storming drive from the Close’s who won four stages and moved up to third overall which they held at the end of day two and day three. Day four would see tragedy strike. The TT RS rolled at the 20km mark in the stage ending the rally for the pair. It was reported that Matt was experiencing lower back pain and was taken to hospital for observation. We wish both Matt and Casey close a speedy recovery; they had put in a tremendous performance during the event in very difficult and changeable conditions. The R8 V10 of Laurence Kalnin and Doug Fernie finished in the top 20.
2.7. Austrian Hillclimb
The Austrian Hillclimb Championship held an event at Auersbach. The Marko Racing team was there armed with the Audi A4 STW. Andreas Marko won his class and also came third overall.
2.8. DMV-TCC
The second round of the German DMV-TCC series was held at Hockenheim. Two Audis from Roth Racing competed in the event. Eddy Kamm finished second in the first race in his 2004 Audi A4 DTM R11 and Marc Roth finished in the top 30 overall in both races with his Audi A4 STW.
2.9. RCN
It was the first round of the RCN championship. A series that is very similar to the VLN but for less professional teams and drivers to compete on the legendary Nurburgring Green Hell. Various Audis compete in the series ranging from Audi S2, Audi TTs and many more.
2.10. Other Audi news
The Portuguese Novadriver team have confirmed that they will be running two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars for the remainder of the 2012 season. The team has acquired one new ultra and will be upgrading their older car to ultra specification.
Oryx Racing has withdrawn their entry for next weekend's Grand Am event in Miami. The event will also see the debut of the new Limitless Racing team.
3. Next Weekend’s events (28-29/04/2012)
- - Grand Am
- - Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge
- - DTM
- - BTCC
- - SA Bridgestone Production Cars
- - Czech Series
- - French GT Tour
- - VLN
- - Spanish GT
- - Open GT (Entry list pending)
- - World Challenge
- - HSR – Mitty
- - VdeV
- - Chinese R8 LMS Cup
- - Austian Hillclimb
It was a weekend filled with ups and downs for the brand of the four rings. The big news was the disappointments at Zolder. Hopefully next weekend, which is another action packed weekend will have even more success and less heartache for the brand.
All photos are hosted at their respective websites which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
