ADAC GT Masters: Audi R8 LMS ultra wins ADAC GT Masters

Audi Press Release

• René Rast/Kelvin van der Linde are the new Champions
• Prosperia C. Abt Racing defends title in the team classification
• Audi R8 LMS ultra wins second championship title in 2014 season

Ingolstadt, October 5, 2014 – René Rast (D) and Kelvin van der Linde (RSA) have won the ADAC GT Masters 2014 in the finale at Hockenheim. As a result, Audi celebrates winning its second championship title within 14 days with the Audi R8 LMS ultra, after the production based GT3 racecar had already scooped the Blancpain Endurance Series title. Furthermore, Prosperia C. Abt Racing won, like last year, the team classification in the ADAC GT Masters.

It was a premiere for both talents: René Rast has already won six motorsport titles for brands within the Volkswagen Group, but none for Audi. The East Westphalian from Minden now celebrated his first championship in the R8 LMS ultra. As a result, the 27-year old race driver crowns a season during which he won the 24-hour races around the Nürburgring and at Spa with Audi. Kelvin van der Linde, at 17 years of age last year the youngest ever Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup Champion, is only an adult since June. The South African from Johannesburg claimed three wins during the season and a total of nine podium positions together with his team mate in the hard-fought series. The GT3 models from seven brands were represented in Germany’s league of super sportscar.

“I’m proud of my drivers and the team,” said a delighted Christian Abt, Team Boss of Prosperia C. Abt Racing. “Our drivers were consistent and always at the front, scored points in every race and worked step by step for the title. And they delivered the lion’s share of the points so that we could also defend the team title.” Christian Abt won the ADAC GT Masters in 2009 as driver with the Audi R8 LMS, in 2010 Team Abt Sportsline won the team classifications. Last year, Christian Abt was successful in the team classification as Team Boss of the newly formed Prosperia C. Abt Racing squad, now both titles went to the Frankfurt based team.

“Congratulations to our new Champions,” said Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “The ADAC GT Masters is one of the most important GT3 racing series, in which many strong private teams and brands were capable of winning this year. Winning the championship was anything but a matter of course and is well deserved. Our GT3 sportscar has now won 25 titles since the 2009 season. Numerous other Audi customer teams fight worldwide over the forthcoming weeks for the next championships.”

The Audi R8 LMS ultra is developed, built, sold and supported by the quattro GmbH. More than 50 per cent of the race car is based on the production line R8 model. In the meantime, 120 examples of the GT3 racecar were delivered worldwide to customers.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

ADAC GT Masters: Audi drivers Réne Rast and Kelvin van der Linde the 2014 champions

ADAC GT Masters Press Release

Audi duo Van der Linde and Rast wrap up drivers' championship ahead of time. Daniel Keilwitz and Andreas Wirth win penultimate race of season in a Corvette.

Kelvin van der Linde (18, ZA) and René Rast (27, Germany) are confirmed as champions for the 2014 ADAC GT Masters season. Driving a Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi R8, 18 year-old van der Linde from South Africa and 27-year-old Rast from Frankfurt only just squeezed into the Top Ten in the penultimate race of the campaign, but it was still enough to secure the title after main challenger Jaap van Lagen (37, NL) in a GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 botched his pit stop and finished outside the points.

"That was an absolute thriller and an emotional rollercoaster," said the newly crowned champion Rast after the race. "On the first few laps, we were feeling down in the dumps, but then on the second stint, we breathed a huge sigh of relief, and by the end, we were in celebratory mood." The winners' trophy for the penultimate race of the 2014 ADAC GT Masters season went to the Callaway Competition Corvette partnership of Andreas Wirth (29, Germany) and Daniel Keilwitz (25, Germany) who came out on top in a dramatic three-way tussle with the BKK MOBIL OIL Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG driven by Luca Ludwig (25, Germany) and Latvia's Harald Schlegelmilch (26) and the TONINO Team Herberth Porsche 911 driven by Robert Renauer (29, Germany) and Martin Ragginger (26, A).

Pit stop mistake costs van Lagen chance of title
The battle for the ADAC GT Masters title at Hockenheim turned out to be a real thriller. Everything appeared to be going van Lagen's way after the start. His team-mate Christian Engelhart (27, Germany) was in third place behind Ludwig in the Mercedes-Benz, who started on pole, and Renauer in the Porsche, while van der Linde in the Audi was just outside the points in P11. As Engelhart handed over the car to van Lagen, the Porsche duo then made a mistake, failing to abide by the prescribed minimum standing time of 0.394 seconds. Van Lagen had to serve a stop-and-go penalty for the infringement. The Dutchman came home in eleventh place, just outside the points, ruining his title chances. That put a smile on the faces of van der Linde and Rast, who brought their Audi home in tenth place, giving them in an unassailable lead at the top of the standings ahead of Sunday's final race. "At the moment, it still feels incredible to me, knowing that we've got the title in the bag," said van der Linde with a chuckle. "I just don't know what to say. It will take me at least until tomorrow to get my head round this."

René Rast: "We began to worry about our lead in the standings after dropping outside the points during the starting phase and then realising that van Lagen was heading for the podium. I hoped that something might happen up front or that there would be a safety car period. And then something really did happen - the Porsche guys made a mistake. To win this championship, you have to do a perfect job all year round, and you can't afford to make any errors. That's why we are right up at the front now. I think that the ADAC GT Masters is the most competitive GT race series in Europe, and winning the title here makes me very proud."

Fifth win of season for Corvette man Daniel Keilwitz
The battle for the lead in the penultimate race of the season was just as exciting as the title fight. At the mandatory pit stop, Ludwig handed the gullwing Mercedes-Benz over to Schlegelmilch while in the lead. The Latvian then came under pressure from Ragginger and Wirth. Corvette driver Wirth, who made up a deficit of 14 seconds on the leader after the driver changeover, first overtook Ragginger and then Schlegelmilch after a determined but fair scrap with three laps left to secure his fifth win of the season. Keilwitz: "We set our car up so that we would be able to attack in the second stint of the race and be quick over the distance. We were simply faster than our competitors in the closing stages, and that was ultimately the decisive factor in our victory today." For local favourite Wirth, who grew up just a few kilometres from the Hockenheimring, this was a first ever win in his home race: "I've finally found my way onto the podium here in Hockenheim thanks to a terrific drive by Daniel and a perfect car."

Max Sandritter (25, Germany), and Jens Klingmann (24, Germany) placed fourth in the BMW Z4, thus keeping alive the chances of PIXUM Team Schubert coming out on top in the team standings. The winners will not be decided until Sunday. Audi specialists Prosperia C Abt Racing have a ten-point lead on the Oschersleben-based BMW outfit going into the finale.

Maro Engel (29, Germany) and Jan Seyffarth (28, Germany) in a ROWE Racing Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG took fifth place ahead of Claudia Hürtgen (43, Germany) and Dominik Baumann (22, A) in a PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4. Hürtgen and Baumann will still be battling van Lagen and Keilwitz for the championship runner-up trophy on Sunday. Sebastian Asch (28, Germany) and Switzerland's Philipp Frommenwiler (25) in a Porsche 911 finished eighth ahead of the HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG driven by Luca Stolz (19, Germany) and Maximilian Götz (28, Germany). The remaining championship point was picked up by Nico Bastian (24, Germany) and Spain's Jaime Alguersuari (24) in a ROWE Racing Mercedes gullwing.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Dupré Engineering Motorsport joins the grid for Hockenheim finale

By Johan Laubscher

Hockenheim is hosting the finale of the 2014 ADAC GT Msters this weekend. At the front of the field the #10 Prosperia C.ABT Racing squad will be aiming for the 2014 title with drivers Rene Rast and Kelvin van der Linde. Along with the regular Audi Sport customer racing entries, there will be another team debuting their Audi R8 LMS ultra in the series this weekend.

Dupré Engineering Motorsport has entered their newly reliveried Audi R8 LMS ultra for the finale at Hockenheim. The team's R8 LMS ultra has been seen competing in the DMV TCC this year with Christoph Dupré behind the wheel.

The #33 Audi R8 LMS ultra entry will be driven by Christoph Dupré and Thomas Schöffler.

Photo credit: Dupre Engineering Motorsport
 

ADAC GT Masters: Rast and van der Linde in Sachsenring double

ADAC GT Masters Press Release

Championship leaders René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde take maximum points haul from penultimate race weekend. Title rivals out of luck on Sunday

The Prosperia C Abt duo of Kelvin van der Linde (18, ZA) and René Rast (27) took a massive step at the Sachsenring towards getting their hands on the ADAC GT Masters champions' trophy. In difficult conditions with rain setting in, the current championship leaders made it two wins out of two in their Audi R8. Ahead of the grand finale at Hockenheim, van der Linde and Rast have opened up a 35-point gap on their closest pursuer, Jaap van Lagen (37, NL) in the GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911, who finished outside the Top Ten in today's race. On a thrilling final few laps, Robert Renauer (29, Germany), who shares the cockpit of his TONINO Team Herberth Porsche 911 GT3 R with Dominik Schwager (37, Germany), cruised past the Prosperia C Abt Audi R8 driven by Fabian Hamprecht (18, Germany) and Nicki Thiim (25, DK) to take the runner-up spot. "A perfect race and a perfect weekend," said a delighted Rast. "Our closest pursuer failed to score, which surely gives us match point for the final at Hockenheim."

Rast takes lead going into Turn 1
This third win of the season was never in any danger for Rast and van der Linde. Rast immediately went into the lead from third on the grid and was given cover to the rear by team-mate Thiim until the driver changeover. Conditions were much more difficult for van der Linde in the second stint of the race as rain began to fall. The South African had a scary moment while travelling at top speed in P1 when the Audi lost a large piece of floor panel. But not even the missing body part or the tricky conditions for the Audi, which was on slick tyres on a wet track, could stop the precocious youngster. Van der Linde made it a double victory, achieving a maximum points haul for himself and partner Rast in the two races at the Sachsenring.

Meanwhile, main title rival van Lagen was not having the best of luck. The Dutchman had to come into the pits to change the rear wing on his Porsche 911 which had sustained damaged in a bump at the start. The premature stop dropped him down the field and out of the points. Placed third in the standings, Claudia Hürtgen (43, Germany) and Austrian Dominik Baumann (21) in a PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4 finished the race in P6 after spinning round in a battle for position. With a 46-point deficit, they now have only a mathematical chance of coming out on top in the finale.

"I was able to snatch the lead from my team-mate Nicki Thiim right at the start and then sail away under no pressure," said Rast. "It won't be easy at the Hockenheim finale in a fortnight's time, but our points cushion is very reassuring."

"That was a very exciting race for us," said van der Linde. "The mixed weather conditions pushed up our pulse rate quite considerably. In the second half of the race, it was difficult to keep the car on the track. Then I lost a part of the floor, which made things even more difficult. However, I didn't take any big risks, because there wasn't much pressure from behind."

Robert Renauer fought his way up into second place behind the Audi. The Porsche man had one of the fastest cars on the track in the second stint, working his way up through the field from seventh position to take second place from the Audi pairing of Hamprecht and Thiim with three laps to go.

Local favourite Philip Geipel (27, Germany), who shares the cockpit of a YACO Racing Audi R8 with Markus Winkelhock (34, Germany), finished fourth, thereby improving on a P5 in the first of the two races on his home circuit. The two PIXUM Team Schubert BMW Z4s driven by Max Sandritter (25, Germany) & Jens Klingmann (24, Germany) and by Claudia Hürtgen & Dominik Baumann crossed the line in positions five and six respectively, followed by the two ROWE Racing Mercedes SLS AMGs driven by Nico Bastian (24, Germay) & Jaime Alguersuari (24, Spain) and by Maro Engel (29, Germany) & Jan Seyffarth (28, Germany). Sharing a Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 for the first time, Poland's Robert Lukas (26) and Australia's Nathan Morcom (22) took ninth place. Leading Gentlemen driver Herbert Handlos (31, Austria) paired with Alfred Renauer (29, Germany) in a TONINO Herberth Porsche not only claimed a ninth victory of the season in his class but for the second time this weekend also scored a point in the overall classification for a tenth place finish.

Handlos edging closer to Gentlemen title after yet another victory
The outcome of the Gentlemen competition will now not be decided until the final weekend of the season at Hockenheim. The result of Sunday's race was a re-run of Saturday. Although Handlos won, he was unable to extend his lead on championship pursuer Dominic Jöst (36, Germany) driving a TONINO Team Herberth Porsche. Jöst and co-driver Florian Scholze (41, Germany) took second place ahead of Switzerland's Remo Lips (32) and Lennart Marioneck (25, Germany) in their Callaway Competition Corvette.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

 

ADAC GT Masters: Audi duo prevails in battle of title contenders

ADAC GT Masters Press Release

Pursuer van Lagen finishes second to remain hot on heels of Audi pairing. Porsche man Handlos close to wrapping up Gentlemen title with eighth win of campaign.

The title chase in the ADAC GT Masters is reaching a climax. In Saturday's race at the Sachsenring, the current Top Three in the championship table were battling it out for victory. In a thrilling duel at the front, championship leader Kelvin van der Linde (18, ZA) and René Rast (27, Germany) in their Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi R8 saw off the challenge of the GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche 911 driven by their closest rival for the title, Jaap van Lagen (37, NL) and Christian Engelhart (27, Germany). Saturday's podium party perfectly reflected the current situation at the top of the championship table, with third place going to Claudia Hürtgen (43, Germany) and Austria's Dominik Baumann (21) in a Pixum Team Schubert BMW Z4. "This second victory of the season was a lot longer coming than we had wanted," said a beaming van der Linde after the race. "We are very pleased to have finished ahead of our closest pursuers - this gives us a bit more breathing space at the top."

Pole-setter van der Linde needed nerves of steel in the first half of the race. The Audi driver converted pole position into a race lead, but then saw it whittled away by two safety car periods in the first seven laps. The yellow flags first came out after a collision involving Israel's Alon Day (22) in a BKK MOBIL OIL Zakspeed Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG and Max Sandritter (25, Germany) in a Pixum Team Schubert BMW Z4 on the opening lap, and again on Lap 6 after a mechanical breakdown left Patrick Assenheimer's (22, Germany) Corvette stranded in the middle of the track.

After the restart, van der Linde managed to defend the lead ahead of pursuer Engelhart in the Porsche 911 but was unable to shake him off completely. It was only after van der Linde handed over to Rast at the mandatory pit stop that the Audi built up a 3.5-second advantage over the Porsche which now had van Lagen at the wheel. But the margin was once again eaten away ten minutes before the end of the race when the safety car was deployed for a third time after a technical defect forced Corvette driver Sebastiaan Bleekemolen (36, NL) to a halt at the side of the track. Six minutes before the end, the race was on again for a final five laps in which Rast and van Lagen slugged it out for the race win and championship lead. The Audi man held on to his lead and crossed the line 1.3 seconds ahead.

"The safety car period towards the end obviously didn't help, but I managed to re-establish a small gap for the last few laps," said Rast after his seventh ADAC GT Masters race victory. "We had to be careful with our strategy today. We actually wanted to take our pit stop early in Race 1, but if we'd done that, the Porsche might have been able to gain time, and the situation would have become a lot tighter. Consequently, we adapted our strategy in line with that of the Porsche and pitted late."

Baumann and Hürtgen sustain title challenge with P3
It was also a sound strategy that resulted in third place for Hürtgen and Baumann, keeping the BMW duo in the title race. Hürtgen was running sixth after the start and pitted early in the ten-minute window, allowing Baumann to move up to P3 during the second stint. Sebastian Asch (28, Germany) and Switzerland's Philip Frommenwiler (25) finished fourth in their Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911, much to their relief after a long barren spell in the campaign. Local favourite Philip Geipel (27, Germany) and co-driver Markus Winkelhock (34, Germany) in a YACO Racing Audi R8 LMS finished fifth, their best result of the season.

A drive-through penalty for exceeding the maximum speed in the pit lane cost Luca Stolz (19, Germany) and Maximilian Götz (28, Germany) of HTP Motorsport a possible podium spot. Their gullwing had moved up to third immediately after the start but dropped back to seventh after serving the drive-through, slotting in behind Maro Engel (29, Germany) and Jan Seyffarth (28, Germany) driving a Mercedes entered by ROWE RACING.

David Jahn (23, Germany) and Sven Barth (33, Germany) of RWT Racing Team were the fastest of the Corvettes, coming home in eighth position ahead of Fabian Hamprecht (19, Germany) and Nicki Thiim (25, DK) in a Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi R8. Austrian Herbert Handlos (31), championship leader and class winner in the Gentlemen standings, took tenth place in the TONINO Team Herberth Porsche 911 that he shares with Alfred Renauer (29, Germany).

Chance for Handlos to clinch Gentlemen title on Sunday
Dominic Jöst (36, Germany) and Florian Scholze (41, Germany), both of TONINO Team Herberth, kept the thrilling title fight in the Gentlemen class on the boil. Handlos did indeed take his eighth race win at the Sachsenring from team-mates Jöst and Scholze. However, due to the points scoring system in the Gentlemen category which takes driver pairings into account, the Austrian extended his lead in the standings by only 1.5 points. Switzerland's Remo Lips (32) and ADAC Sports Foundation protégé Lennart Marioneck in a Callaway Competition Corvette finished third.

Audis qualify 1-2-3 for Race 2
The winners of the first race secured another promising grid position in Sunday's second race (Race 2 broadcast live on kabel eins, from 11.45 am onwards) and will start in third place behind fellow Audi drivers Nicki Thiim and Austrian Daniel Dobitsch (30) of kfzteile24 APR Motorsport. Rast will be on the second row next to the Porsche of title rival van Lagen

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Audis dominate qualifying at Sachsenring

ADAC GT Masters Press Release

Audi and Porsche carve up first two rows between them. Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi R8 on pole position for both races.

Changeable weather was once again a factor as the penultimate race weekend of the ADAC GT Masters at the Sachsenring got underway, but it was unable to put the brakes on Kelvin van der Linde (18, ZA) or Nicki Thiim (25, DK) in their Audi R8s. The two drivers entered by Prosperia C Abt Racing, the team managed by former ADAC GT Masters champion Christian Abt, each won their qualifying heat to book pole position in the ADAC GT Masters races on Saturday and Sunday (both shown live on kabel eins from 11.45am CEST). "Pole is only one small step and doesn't mean anything in itself, but it's a good position to be in for the title fight," said championship leader van der Linde after claiming his second ADAC GT Masters pole position. "Now I'm hoping for a good start in Saturday's race."

Qualifying 1 for Race 1 on Saturday:
An impending thunderstorm caused qualifying to get off to a hectic start, although current championship leader van der Linde seemed unruffled. The South African immediately went to the top of the timesheets and found himself sitting pretty after ten minutes of the 25 allotted to the session when it was interrupted: a contact between Albert von Thurn und Taxis (31, Germany) in the Reiter Engineering Chevrolet Camaro and Maro Engel (29, Germany) in a ROWE Racing Mercedes-Benz had left the Camaro in the gravel. While the track marshals were sorting this out, the rain set in. As it then proved impossible to set faster times on the wet track, van der Linde's pole position was assured. "We have found a very good setup for our Audi, and everything had gone very well in free practice," said van der Linde with a degree of satisfaction.

Lined up behind the Audi are two Porsche 911s, with Robert Renauer (29, Germany / TONINO Team Herberth) sharing the front row and Christian Engelhart (27, Germany /GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport) in third.

One driver with particular cause for cheer was Philip Geipel (27, Germany) in a YACO Racing Audi who qualified fourth in his home race, the best grid position yet for the local hero. Luca Stolz (19, Germany) in an HTP Motorsport Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG starts from fifth ahead of Claudia Hürtgen (42, Germany) in a Pixum Team Schubert BMW Z4; She and her Austrian co-driver Dominik Baumann (21) are currently placed third in the championship standings.

Qualifying 2 for Race 2 on Sunday:
On a drying track, the second qualifying heat turned out to be one of the most exciting witnessed this season. The lead changed hands eleven times during the course of the session, but in the end it was Nicki Thiim, who made it a 1-2-3 lockout for Audi, whilst notching up his second pole in successive race weekends. Starting alongside Thiim is Austria's Daniel Dobitsch (30) in a kfzteile24 APR Motorsport Audi, and behind them in third position is van der Linde's team-mate René Rast (27, Germany), with whom he not only shares the cockpit of his Prosperia C Abt Racing Audi but also the championship lead.

"On a wet Sachsenring, it was a balancing act between driving as fast as possible and still staying on the track," said Rast. "The title is now uppermost in our mind, so it wouldn't have been right to take excessive risks."

The makeup of the second row is highly relevant to the destination of the championship winners' trophy, with closest pursuer Jaap van Lagen (37) from the Netherlands qualifying fourth in his GW IT Racing Team Schütz Motorsport Porsche.

Sebastian Asch (28, Germany) in a Farnbacher Racing Porsche 911 starts from fifth ahead of Markus Winkelhock (34, Germany) in a YACO Racing Audi R8.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Second place for René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde in Nürburgring race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi drivers René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde took full advantage of the wet conditions in ADAC GT Masters race 2 at the Nürburgring today. A brilliant second place at the end of the 1-hour sprint race.

The two drivers sharing the #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra from team Prosperia C.Abt Racing were very fast. They narrowly missed race victory by just 0.644s behind the winning #1 Corvette Z06 GT3 of Daniel Keilwitz and Andreas Wirth.

René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde are now overall series leaders with 155 points each, they are chased by Porsche driver Jaap van Lagen with 152 points.

Bad luck hit all other four Audis, all of them outside the Top 10. The #16 Audi from YACO Racing finished the race in fourteenth place with drivers Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel. The #11 R8 LMS ultra from Prosperia C.Abt Racing was eighteenth with  Christer Jöns and Markus Winkelhock. The #100 car from kfzteile24 APR Motorsport was ninteenth in the hands of Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll.

Unfortunatelly, the #11 Audi from Prosperia C.Abt Racing shared by Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim was forced to retire, the car which started today's race from pole position.

Nürburgring Race 2 results can be seen here.

The ADAC GT Masters will have a 3-week break before resuming at the Sachsenring, September 19th to 21st.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Bad luck for Audi teams in Nürburgring race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams faced another unlucky race in ADAC GT Masters today at the Nürburgring. Two R8 LMS ultra cars made it into the Top 10.

At the end of 38-lap rece, the best ranked Audi car was the #10 from Prosperica C.Abt Racing in sixth place overall. The car shared by René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde was 7.233s behind the winning car. The two drivers pushed really hard with a penalized Audi R8 LMS ultra in the German based GT series.

Their team-mates Christer Jöns and Markus Winkelhock were eighth with the #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The #16 Audi from YACO Racing finished the race in fourteenth place with drivers Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel.

The third car from Prosperia C.Abt Racing was further behind. Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim were eighteenth with their #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra. The #100 Audi from kfzteile24 APR Motorsport was twenty-first with drivers Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll.

Overall race victory went to the #13 Corvette Z06 GT3 from RWT RacingTeam. The #21 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from BKK Mobil Oil Racing Team Zakspeed was second. The #8 Porsche 997 GT3-R from Tonino Team Herberth was third.

Nürburgring race 1 results can be seen here.

Race 2 is set for tomorrow, the #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Prosperia C.Abt Racing driven by Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim will start from pole position.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Frustrating race 1 for Audi teams at Slovakia Ring

By Tarek Ramchani

As was the case yesterday in all free practice and qualifying sessions the Audi teams faced a very hard race 1 today in ADAC GT Masters at the Slovakia Ring

The Audi drivers pushed really hard and all three teams worked very well and yet it was not enough to challenge for the top spots.

In the closing stages in the 1-hour event, Audi ace René Rast was able to charge back and take the sixth place with the #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Prosperia C.Abt Racing. A great performance given how penalized the Audi R8 LMS ultra is at the Slovakian track. René Rast who shared the car with Kelvin van der Linde took vital points in the battle for the overall championship title.

All the other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were outside the Top 10. The #16 entry from YACO Racing finished in eleventh place with drivers Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel. The #12 car from Prosperia C.Abt Racing driven by Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof and Markus Winkelhock ended in fourteenth place. The #100 Audi from kfzteile24 APR Motorsport in the hands of Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll was seventeenth. The #11 R8 LMS ultra from Prosperia C.Abt Racing of Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim was twentieth.

Up ahead it was an all BMW PIXUM Team Schubert affair. Race victory went to the #19 BMW Z4 GT3 ahead of the sister #20 machine. The #13 Corvette Z06 GT3 from RWT RacingTeam was third. Race 1 results can be seen here.

Audi R8 LMS ultra cars results:
P6 #10 Prosperia C.Abt Racing -  René Rast / Kelvin van der Linde
P11 #16 YACO Racing - Rahel Frey / Philip Geipel
P14 #12 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof / Markus Winkelhock
P17 #100 kfzteile24 APR Motorsport - Daniel Dobitsch / Florian Stoll
P20 #11 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Fabian Hamprecht / Nicki Thiim

The second race is set for tomorrow.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Disappointing qualifying for Audi teams at Slovakia Ring

By Tarek Ramchani

The ADAC GT Masters is moving to Slovakia this weekend. A total of five Audi R8 LMS ultra are taking part in the event.

Earlier today the Audi teams struggled in the two free practice sessions. Later in the two qualifying sessions the R8 LMS ultras were not able to fight for the top spots.

In the first qualifying session the best ranked Audi R8 LMS ultra was the #16 entry from YACO Racing. Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel qualified in ninth place. All other four Audis were outside the top 10. Series leaders René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde qualified in thirteenth place with their #10 Audi from Prosperia C.Abt Racing.

P9 #16 YACO Racing - Rahel Frey / Philip Geipel
P13 #10 Prosperia C.Abt Racing -  René Rast / Kelvin van der Linde
P16 #11 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Fabian Hamprecht / Nicki Thiim
P18 #100 kfzteile24 APR Motorsport - Daniel Dobitsch / Florian Stoll
P23 #12 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof / Markus Winkelhock

First qualifying session results can be seen here.

The second qualifying session the Audis improved with two cars inside the Top 10. The #10 car of René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde was sixth fastest. Rahel Frey and  Philip Geipel were again fast ending in tenth place with the #16 R8 LMS ultra.

P6 #10 Prosperia C.Abt Racing -  René Rast / Kelvin van der Linde
P10 #16 YACO Racing - Rahel Frey / Philip Geipel
P11 #11 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Fabian Hamprecht / Nicki Thiim
P15  #12 Prosperia C.Abt Racing - Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof / Markus Winkelhock

P22  #100 kfzteile24 APR Motorsport - Daniel Dobitsch / Florian Stoll

Second qualifying session results can be seen here.

Photo credit: Audi Media

Q&A: Interview with Rahel Frey - Audi GT factory driver

Rahel Frey is racing with Audi since 2011. First in the German DTM touring car series for two years and since 2013 the Swiss driver switched to GT racing with competing in various events around the world from German ADAC GT Masters to the Asian based Audi R8 LMS Cup.

Our friend Jean-Baptiste Lassaux at IG Autorennsport had a a very interesting interview with Rahel Frey at the Nürburgring about her 2014 season.

1/ First, a look back to the Nürburgring 24 Hours. Tell us more about your race with the Audi race experience in the Green Hell?

My summary of the 2014 24h race at the Nürburgring is really positive. Our priority was to finish the race, what we did on P22. Furthermore all four drivers on the car (including myself) could improve our personal laptimes compared to last year or compared to former races which was for my the most important. Incidents can always happen in a 24h race and they did unfortunately for us! But our team and especially our mecanics mad a fantastic job to fix this incidents in no time - therefore big thanks once again!

2/ Now, your next race is in Fuji in the Audi R8 LMS Cup. This will be your first time there, so  how do you learn the track before the race weekend?

As usual when I dont know a racetrack, I will watch onboard videos and studying important datas I got from the team. I will be prepared for it.

3/ What are your targets this year in the Audi R8 LMS Cup?

My target is to win the Audi R8 LMS Cup 2014. Right now I'm 10 point behind the leader - a cap which I can still close when I'm clever on driving and on strategy.

Taking care about the tyres is an important point for but as well being clever on using the new "push-to-pass" system which gets us 50hp more when we press the special button for it. Furthermore it's performance balance we get for the first three places (60kg for P1, 40kg for P2 and 20kg for P3) can take influence on the results.

4/ Let's talk about your season in ADAC GT Masters. What do you think about your season so far in the German series?

We had a good start into the new season with immediately scoring points in both races at Oschersleben. Afterwards we made some mistakes where we had to pay for not being in the position for fighting for point anymore. But we learn from every mistakes we do and for sure we will get back stronger again.

5 / What are you expecting in the second half of the season?

As I just mentioned, we will get back stronger and aiming again for more points. Therefore each race track is a new challenge. For sure sometimes one race track fits better for the driver another race track fits best for the car. But in my opinion the BOP 2014 is more equal as last year!

6 / After your two years in the DTM, you switched to GT racing with Audi. Tell us more about what you have learnt traveling and discovring many prestigious tracks and events around the world?

Always when traveling the world you have to find your way through! I got already a lot of experience with traveling around the world for racing and I wont miss any. Some were tough, some were really nice but they all formed my personality like I am today. And for sure each race driver has a list with races or race tracks he likes to drive in or on. I have my list too, some of these tracks were on - some are still on.

7 / Any racing track or series you want to compete in?

Taking every challenge I get! But I would like to drive once in America maybe in the oval with a Nascar.

Photo credit: Autorennsport

ADAC GT Masters: Heroic second for Rast and van der Linde in Red Bull Ring race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

A brilliant second for René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde in the second ADAC GT Masters race at the Red Bull Ring.

After a disappointing and very hard race 1 on Saturday, the two Prosperica C.Abt Racing were able to bounce back. Rast and van der Linde started the 1-hour race from position five on the grid. With some great overtakings and a perfect pit stop the drivers of the #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra clinched a great second behind the winning Corvette Z06 GT3 from Callaway Competition.

A second place sounding like a victory given how the Audi R8 LMS ultra cars suffered all weekend long at the Austrian track. With their great performances, Rast and Kelvin van der Linde have taken the overall lead with 120 points, 10 points ahead of their nearest rival Jaap van Lagen.

Unfortunately the other Audis had a tough race. The #11 R8 LMS ultra from Prosperia C.Abt Racing driven by Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim finished down in sixteenth place. The #16 Audi from YACO Racing shared by Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel was eighteenth. The MS Racing run #100 R8 LMS ultra from kfzteile24 APR Motorsport was forced to retire, the car driven by Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll.

The ADAC GT Masters will have now a two-month break and will resume at the Slovakia Ring, August 8th-10th.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters

ADAC GT Masters: Disappointing Race 1 for Audi teams at Red Bull Ring

By Tarek Ramchani

After a very frustrating ADAC GT Masters qualifying sessions yesterday, the Audi Sport customer racing squad faced a very difficult Race 1 today at the Red Bull Ring.

Today's race was clearly the hardest for Audi teams so far in the 2014 ADAC GT Masters. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra made it into the Top 10. The #10 car from team Prosperia C.Abt Racing driven by René Rast and Kelvin van der Linde finished the 1-hour race in a disappointing tenth place.

An even harder race for the three other Audi R8 LMS ultras. The #11 car from Prosperia C.Abt Racing was  nineteenth in the hands of Fabian Hamprecht and Nicki Thiim.

The MS Racing run #100 Audi R8 LMS under kfzteile24 APR Motorsport banner ultra was twenty-third with drivers Daniel Dobitsch and Florian Stoll. The #16 car from team YACO Racing was position behind, Rahel Frey and Philip Geipel were twenty-fourth.

Race win went to the #1 Corvette Z06.R GT3 from Callaway Competition. Second was the #24 Chevrolet Camaro GT from Reiter Engineering. Third was the #26 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from HTP Motorsport. Race 1 results can be seen here.

Race 2 is set for tomorrow at 12:00 local time.

Photo credit: ADAC GT Masters