~ Auto Buzz ~: Audi Motorsport
Showing posts with label Audi Motorsport. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Audi Motorsport. Show all posts

Tuesday, 12 November 2013

Audi News: Motorsport Twitter updates - 11 November 2013




By Tarek Ramchani

Updates on Twitter today about the Audi brand in racing from teams, drivers, official series and the media.


































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Monday, 11 November 2013

Audi News: Motorsport Twitter updates - 10 November 2013




By Tarek Ramchani

Updates on Twitter today about the Audi brand in racing from teams, drivers, official series and the media.































Publication de Armageddon Designs.



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Tuesday, 30 July 2013

Audi in F1 - a fan's point of view




By Tarek Ramchani

There are no doubts that Audi is one of the most successful brands in motorsport. The four rings has already won almost everything in rallying, touring cars and sportscar racing. Audi is still winning with all of their factory built race cars: the R18 e-tron quattro, RS 5 DTM and the R8 LMS ultra. Yet many fans still dream about the ultimate move, to see Audi in Formula One.

Way back in the 1930s Audi's predecessor, Auto Union, had competed in Grand Prix racing. The Silver Arrows from Auto Union and Mercedes-Benz dominated that golden era. Legendary cars from Auto Union like the Type C and Type D cars. But what about seeing Audi in what is seen as the pinnacle of motorsport?


Here is my very personal point of view about all of this, so you have to expect subjective thoughts. As said earlier Audi has won almost everything around the world, mainly at Le Mans. Many believe that the time has come for the big move into the F1 circus. The idea is great no doubts. Who would not want to see Audi cars at Monaco, Monza and around the world in F1? A lot of rumors in recent years have been developed and heard regarding this. And on many occasions Audi officials have always denied this, and argued that F1 is not a target for Audi. These rumors and speculations increased with Porsche's announcement that they would return to Le Mans in LMP1 with a full factory effort. But if Audi was ever to enter F1, it would most likely push Audi AG and the Volkswagen Group to end Audi's Le Mans and WEC program. It's very hard, if not impossible to see the brand doing a triple and very expensive set of programs: F1, Le Mans and DTM. The DTM is very important for the German market, thus Le Mans would probably be sacrificed in that case.


To be honest, if I had to choose between Formula One and Le Mans for Audi, my choice will go immediately to Le Mans. I do follow Formula One, the races, the drivers and the teams. Yet there is always something missing in F1 compared to my enthusiasm for Le Mans and sportscar racing in general. Formula One has a bigger audience and is more popular than Le Mans, no doubts about that. However, Le Mans is something unique, all the tension at La Sarthe for a race that only happens once a year. FIA WEC is very important, but Le Mans is Le Mans. All the tension and all of the passion from the fans. A place for top and elite manufacturers to battle in the upper LMP1 and GT division as well. 365 long days of waiting, then you win or you lose at the mother of endurance races. A single outright win gives any victorious brand great satisfaction. Formula One is a succession of Grand Prix races in a 20 race calendar. Excluding Monaco, and maybe Monza with all the passion from the Ferrari tifosi, all the other races are nearly identical and similar.


The format is different as well, here it is not about endurance versus sprint, but a talk about drivers. F1 is a sport about drivers and individuals, no matter that many argue that it is a team sport. People remember the drivers who won Monaco, Monza and the overall World Championship title more than the teams they raced for. Therefore fans do care a lot more about the drivers, than for the teams or the engine suppliers. In contrast Le Mans has always been a battle of the brands and less about the drivers. The Le Mans cars are also always remembered by the fans. Cars like the Audi R8, Porsche 962, Porsche 917, Mazda 787B, Toyota GT-One and many more, will forever be in the hearts of racing fans the world over. Unfortunately that's not the case for F1 single seater cars, and excluding some of the die-hard F1 followers, it is hard to remember the various different F1 cars.


There is also the technology. Let's be honest, F1 cars are so sophisticated now that they are more related to aeronautics than the automotive industry. Sportscars are also sophisticated, but they have always been more closely related to the world of production cars. The engine power at Le Mans is very open, you see cars with hybrid, diesel, petrol and even electrical in the years to come. At Audi the transfer of technology from the Le Mans Prototypes to the Audi road cars is very frequent, if not crucial. Audi Sport itself is part of the Audi Research and Development department. Audi races to win championships, but they also use all of the data and experience learnt from the track, to transfer this into their road cars.

The cars themselves are also different, F1 is increasingly looking like a spec formula now, the cars look very similar to each other. LMP1 cars on the other hand are different in their designs. An Audi R18 e-tron quattro is way different from a Toyota TS030 Hybrid or a Lola B12/60 Coupe. In 2014 all of the LMP1 cars will have to be closed prototypes, but before that specification the brands were fully free to choose between open top spiders and closed cars. Unfortunately you don't have that freedom of choice in Formula One.

For all the reasons given, I fully believe that Audi racing at Le Mans and in the FIA World Endurance Championship does make a lot more sense than Audi competing in Formula One. To see an Audi LMP1 car taking the overall win at Le Mans is more glorifying than an Audi F1 car, or worse, a F1 car that is only powered by Audi. Anyway, only time will tell about any possible move into F1.

Photo credit: Fourtitude

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Thursday, 23 May 2013

New Audi Motorsport Book: Audi Typenkunde - Race and Rally cars




By Johan Laubscher 

A new Audi Motorsport book is scheduled to be launched in October. The book focuses on Audi race and rally cars from 1968 up until 2013. It will be a must-have book for any Audi and motorsport enthusiast. 

The new book is entitled "Audi Typenkunde" and will be published by Delius Klasing. The authors include Fabian Wiedl, Werner Wiedl and Frank Großhans. Three long-time Audi experts who each have years of knowledge surrounding Audi and the world of motorsport. It will be released 10.10.2013.

The book listing and pre-order can be seen HERE. 

The book description, as given by the Delius Klasing website: 

Renn- und Rallyewagen von 1968 bis 2013
ultra erfolgreich – die Vier Ringe auf der Piste
Le Mans, Nürburgring, Pikes Peak – auf den Rennstrecken der Welt gewinnen die Fahrzeuge der AUDI AG seit Jahrzehnten zahllose Wettbewerbe. Besonders hervorzuheben sind dabei die jüngsten Seriensiege bei Langstreckenrennen und die vielen Erfolge in internationalen Tourenwagen-Meisterschaften. Ebenso unvergessen bleibt die Dominanz der Ingolstädter im Rallyesport der frühen 1980er-Jahre.
Immer maßgebend war und ist dabei die Innovationsfreude der Audi-Techniker. Ob durch den quattro-Antrieb, die Diesel- und Benzin-Direkteinspritzer-Technologie oder den Hybridantrieb mit Elektromotoren – die Messlatte wird bei Audi gern mal ein Stückchen höher gelegt. Das wirkt sich aber nicht nur im Rennsport, sondern auch auf Serienfahrzeuge aus, und die Kunden des Hauses profitieren langfristig von den bei Audi Sport gewonnenen Erfahrungen: Der Motorsport ist und bleibt ein nicht zu ersetzendes Testfeld.
Wie eng die Verwandtschaft von Wettbewerbs- und Serienfahrzeugen bei Audi ist, erfahren Sie in dieser Typenkunde. Alle Rennwagen des traditionsreichen Herstellers werden in Bild und Text vorgestellt. Und so manches bekannte Gesicht ist darunter! Ob Audi Super 90, Sport quattro, V8 quattro DTM oder R18 e-tron quattro: Von den motorsportlichen Anfängen in den 1960er-Jahren bis in die Gegenwart stehen alle Darsteller auf der Bühne – inklusive detaillierter Tabellen mit Technischen Daten, Stückzahlen und Renneinsätzen. Ein unverzichtbares Nachschlagewerk für Fans der Vier Ringe in schnellerer Gangart!

Photo credit: Delius Klasing Verlag GmbH


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Thursday, 27 December 2012

2012 Audi winning motorsport season in 12 photos



By Tarek Ramchani

2012 has been a great season for the Audi brand in the world of motorsport. Championship titles and prestigious race victories were achieved all around the world. The highlight was of course the historical and unprecedented four 24 hour race victories at the Nürburgring, Le Mans, Spa-Francorchamps and Zolder. No other brand has done this before. Audi dominated the FIA WEC by winning the drivers, teams and constructors titles. Included in the FIA WEC triumph was an eleventh outright Le Mans 24 Hours victory with a 1-2-3 for the R18 e-tron quattro cars and the first ever Hybrid win at La Sarthe. Championship titles also came from the demanding Blancpain Endurance Series with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. Edoardo Mortara again proved to be Mr. Macau, by winning in the Asian Macau GT Cup race with the R8 LMS ultra. Privateer Audi teams also achieved great results this year. Audi Sport Italia built and dominated with the RS 5 quattro in the Superstars Series, with Johan Kristoffersson the driver champion. In South Africa the Audi teams and the S4 quattro gave the Four Rings a back-to-back title with Michael Stephen. These successes listed above are just a brief glimpse into the successful 2012 season for Audi as many other titles and race wins came from across the globe. The end of the season was marked by the Audi Sport 2012 Finale at Ingolstadt and the emotional farewell of Dindo Capello. The Italian champion raced at Le Mans 2012 for the last time with the factory squad.

Here is a selection of the best from this Audi racing season portrayed in twelve photos from around the world.

Phoenix Racing won the Bathurst 12 Hour race with the #1 Audi R8 LMS.
Audi Sport Team Joest dominated the 12 Hours of Sebring, FIA WEC season opener.
Audi Sport Team Phoenix won the Nurburgring 24 Hours, first time for Audi.
Audi Sport Team Joest 1-2-3 victory at Le Mans, first ever overall Hybrid win with the R18 e-tron quattro.
Audi dominated the Spa 24 Hours, Phoenix Racing just ahead of WRT for a Audi 1-2.
Belgian Audi WRT won the Zolder 24 Hours with their R8 LMS ultra.
Andre Lotterer, Benoit Treluyer and Macel Fassler are the 2012 FIA World Endurance Champions with Audi.
Johan Kristoffersson and the Audi RS 5 quattro ruled the International Superstars Series in their debut season.
Title defended in South Africa, Michael Stephen and the S4 quattro are again champions in Bridgestone Production Cars
Belgian Audi Club WRT are the Blancpain Endurance Series champions.
Four in a raw for Mr. Macau, Edoardo Mortara who won the Grand Prix of Macau GT Cup race with the R8 LMS ultra.
Emotional goodbye for Dindo Capello after great years with Audi.


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Monday, 13 February 2012

Audi’s Women Race Drivers



 

Written by: Johan Laubscher


The Audi brand has a strong connection with women racing drivers during its history. The opportunity of having women drivers compete for the brand has always been promoted by Audi and women have always formed part of the Audi squad. Some of the well known and legendary Audi women racing drivers are listed below: 


Michèle Mouton


This French lady was probably the most famous of Audi’s women drivers, Michèle Mouton was part of the star-studded driver lineup in the 1980s World Rally Championship. Her co-driver was Fabrizia Pons, forming an all-women team. She joined Audi in 1981 driving the legendary Audi quattro rally cars. She was the first women to win an FIA sanctioned world motorsport event. Misfortune robbed her of the 1982 World Rally Championship title, eventually finishing runner up in the title chase. She retired at the end of the Group B era and went on to be a co-founder of the annual Race of Champions (ROC) event.




Paola de Martini


Paola started her racing career as a young Italian lady at the age of 20 and quickly moved through the ranks of rallying. She suffered a large accident in 1985 and when she returned in 1986 she was behind the wheel of an Audi. She drove various Audi cars in many European Rallys and championship, including the WRC from 1988. Some of the Audis that she drove includes the Audi 80, 90, S2 and Coupe. 1992 was the last time she drove an Audi.  



Tamara Vidali

Tamara, an Italian lady who worked her way through the local Italian championships where she finally joined the Italian Super Touring Championship. After a good showing in 1994 she was contracted by Audi for the 1995-1997 German Super Touring Championship. She represented the Audi brand in Super Touring many times outside of Germany in single events in Italy, Australia, Spain and South Africa. She moved away from the Audi brand after Super Touring came to an end but did return in 2006. She competed in the 2006 Audi Sport Italia championship with Audi Sport Italia in a RS4 scoring many race victories. She also competed once in the 2006 Russian Touring Car Championship for Team Sport-Garage in an S2000 Audi A4 STCC B7.




Vanina Ickx

Vanina Ickx, the daughter of the legendary six time Belgian Le Mans winner Jacky Ickx. Her career with Audi started in 2006 in the German DTM championship driving for the Futurecom TME team. She competed in both the 2006 and 2007 seasons for the TME team driving two year old cars each time. In 2006 she drove a 2004 A4 DTM R11 and in 2007 she drove a 2005 Audi A4 DTM R12. She struggled for results and moved on from Audi back into her first love of Sport car racing where she has shown many positive performances.  



Katherine Legge

A British driver who had shown great promise as a single-seater driver was given the opportunity of joining the Audi DTM squad in 2008. She replaced Vanina Ickx at the Futurecom TME team for the 2008 season in a 2006 Audi A4 DTM R12 plus. Strong performances saw her get promoted to the ABT team for 2009 and the Rosberg Team for 2010, both seasons she was behind the wheel of a 2008 Audi A4 DTM R14. 2010 was her last season driving for Audi.




Rahel Frey

A young Swiss driver who joined the Audi DTM squad in 2011. She was part of the Audi Sport Team Phoenix team alongside teammate and eventual 2011 DTM champion Martin Tomczyk. 2011 was a learning year for the young lady in the very competitive DTM championship with many strong performances showing her potential. She drove a 2008 Audi A4 DTM R14. The 2012 Audi driver lineups are yet to be announced, but it is strongly believed that Rahel will be at the wheel of  one of the new Audi A5 DTM R17 cars.



Cyndie Allemann

Another young Swiss driver will be making her debut with the Audi brand in 2012. It will not be with a factory team but with the Japanese team, Hitotsuyama Racing. She will be competing with an Audi R8 LMS R16 in the highly competitive Japanese Super GT Championship. She has proven herself in single-seaters and GT racing and will be a strong driver during the 2012 Super GT season. She showed her potential during her first test with the R8 LMS.


There is a long legacy of women drivers competing with the Audi brand, many more other than the ones mentioned above have competed in local series around the world. Motorsport may be a male-dominated sport but there is an increase in women drivers around the world, showing that the girls can also race with the boys.There is a long legacy of women drivers competing with the Audi brand, many more other than the ones mentioned above have competed in local series around the world. Motorsport may be a male-dominated sport but there is an increase in women drivers around the world, showing that the girls can also race with the boys.

Photo credits:

Eric Gilbert from www.motorsport.com



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