Blancpain Endurance Series: Top 10 finish for Audi teams in the Paul Ricard night race

By Tarek Ramchani

After an unlucky qualifying session the Audi teams faced a mixed race in the Paul Ricard night race, round 3 of the Blancpain Endurance Series.

After three hours of racing two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars made it into the Top 10 overall. Before the start of the race the Audi teams we aware it will be hard to fight for race win even with strong teams and drivers line-ups. The Audi R8 LMS ultra suffered an obvious lack of top speed compared to their rivals in the very long straights of the French circuit. The Pro-Cup Audis were in a mission, battle for top spots and collect big points.

The #26 Audi from Sainteloc Racing finished the race in a solid fifth place. The car shared by Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Gulivert had a solid race and battled very well in a great quality field.

The #3 R8 LMS ultra from the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT charged back and was able to improve from P14 to a seventh place and sixth within the Pro-Cup class. The car was driven by Christopher Mies, James Nash and Frank Stippler.

Their team-mates Laurens Vanthoor, Cesar Ramos and Marc Basseng ended in thirteenth place with their #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club.

The #55 Audi from the Chinese Brothers Racing Team finished the race in sixteenth place with drivers Zheng Sun, Congfu Cheng and Andre Coutow.

The remaining four Audi R8 LMS ultra entries competed in the Gentlemen Trophy class. The #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was twenty-seventh, the #25 Sainteloc Racing was thirtieth, the #22 Team Parker Racing was thirty-fourth and the #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT was thirty-ninth.

The overall race win went the factory #7 Bentley Continental GT3 from M-Sport Team Bentley. Second place went to the #98 McLaren MP4-12C from ART Grand Prix. Third place for the #85 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from HTP Motorsport.

The Paul Ricard round was the last race in Blancpain Endurance Series before the stellar event of the series, the prestigious Spa 24 Hours.

Photo credit: Belgian Audi Club

Blancpain Endurance Series: Unlucky qualifying session for Audi teams at Paul Ricard

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams had an unlucky and frustrating Blancpain Endurance Series qualifying session at the Paul Ricard. A single Audi R8 LMS ultra car made it into the Top 10.

The best ranked Audi car was the #26 R8 LMS from the French team Sainteloc Racing. The car driven by Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandstrom and Gregory Guilvert was eight fastest with a best time of 1:57.971, only 0.773s down to the leading McLaren car. The three drivers were classified fourth within the Pro-Cup class.

The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT which lead the first Q1 ended in fourteenth place. The car is shared by Christopher Mies, James Nash and Frank Stippler.

The second Belgian Audi Club Team WRT Pro-Cup entry had a harder session. The #1 car with drivers Laurens Vanthoor, Marc Basseng and Cesar Ramos finished in twenty-fourth place.

The other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were further down. The #55 Brothers Racing Team (Pro-Cup) was twenty-ninth, the #25 Sainteloc Racing (Gentlemen Trophy) was thirty-sixth, the #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Gentlemen Trophy) was thirty-seventh, the #22 Team Parker Racing (Gentlemen Trophy) was thirty-eighth and the #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Gentlemen Trophy) was fourty-first.

Overall pole position went to the #98 McLaren MP4-12C from ART Grand Prix. The #85 Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3 from HTP Motorsport was second. The #80 Nissan GT-R from Nissan GT Academy Team RJN was third leading the Pro-Am field.

The combines qualifying session results can be seen here.

The three-hour nigh race will start at 19:15 with a Live Stream coverage at www.blancpain-gt-series.com

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Mixed pre-qualifying session for Audi teams at Paul Ricard

By Tarek Ramchani

Action has started at the Paul Ricard in the Blancpain Endurance Series. The Audi Sport customer racing squad faced a hard pre-qualifying session this afternoon in the famous French circuit.

Only one Audi R8 LMS ultra managed to enter the Top 10. The #3 Audi from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT finished in fifth place overall and second within the Pro-Cup class. The car driven by Christopher Mies, James Nash and Frank Stippler with a best time of 1:58.4122, they only 0.264s behind the leading #11 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Kessel Racing.

A much harder session for all other Audi Pro-Cup entries, all of them were pushed outside the Top 20. The #1 car from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT driven by Laurens Vanthoor, Marc Basseng and Cesar Ramos was twenty-fourth. The #55 Audi from Brothers Racing Team in the hands of Zheng Sun, Congfu Cheng and Andre Coutow was twenty-fifth. The #26 Audi from Sainteloc Racing with drivers Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandström and Grégory Guilvert was twenty-seventh.

Four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are competiting in the Gentlemen Trophy class. The #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT of Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Yves Weerts and Pierre Hirschi was fourth in class. The #22 Audi from Team Parker Racing driven by Ian Loggie, Chris Jones and Julian Westwood was sixth. The #2 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT of Stéphane Pourquie, Harry Teneketzian and Grégoire Chaix was eighth. The #25 Audi Sainteloc Racing of Claude-Yves Gosselin, Jean-Claude Lagniez and Marc Sourd was ninth.

The Audi teams will be back on track tomorrow at the Paul Ricard. The qualifying session will be held a 11:20 local time, the race will start at 19:15.

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Eight Audi R8 LMS ultra in the Paul Ricard night race

By Tarek Ramchani

The Blancpain Endurance Series is heading to southern France this weekend, round three of the 2014 season at the Paul Ricard Circuit. The Audi Sport customer racing squad will be very well represented with no less than eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

In the upper Pro-Cup class, four Audi R8 LMS ultra will fight for the outright win. In the opening two rounds of the series Audi cars finished second at Monza with Sainteloc Racing and third at Silverstone with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT. At Paul Ricard the target will be a first victory this season in a very demanding field.

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will field two cars. The #1 Audi in the hands of Marc Basseng, Cesar Ramos and Laurens Vanthoor. The sister #2 Audi will be driven by James Nash, Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies.

Sainteloc Racing will be back with a single car effort in Pro-Cup. Their #26 Audi R8 LMS ultra will have a strong driver line-up with Stéphane Ortelli, Edward Sandström and Grégory Guilvert.

The fourth effort is coming from the Chinese team Brothers Racing Team. The Absolute Racing run #55 Audi R8 LMS ultra will be shared by Zheng Sun, Congfu Cheng and Andre Couto.

No Audi entries in the Pro-Am class, all the remaining four R8 LMS ultra cars will compete in the Gentleman Trophy class.

As it is the case in Pro-Cup, the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT will field two cars in the class open to gentlemen and amateur drivers. The #2 R8 LMS ultra with Stéphane Pourquie, Harry Teneketzian and Grégoire Chaix. The sister #4 machine will be shared by Jean-Luc Blanchemain, Yves Weerts and Pierre Hirschi.

Team Parker Racing from the UK will enter their #22 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Ian Loggie, Chris Jones and Julian Westwood.

Sainteloc Racing completes the Audi entries in the class with the #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Claude-Yves Gosselin, Jean-Claude Lagniez and Marc Sourd.

The three-hour race is set for Saturday with a night time finish. The Paul Ricard round will be the final one before the demanding and stellar event in the Blancpain Endurance Series calendar, the Spa 24 Hours.

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Podium finish for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at Silverstone

By Tarek Ramchani

Silverstone played host to a great second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series today. The Audi teams performed well with a podium finish and two cars within the Top 4.

After a thrilling 3-hour endurance race the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT took a great third place. The car shared by Laurens Vanthoor, Cesar Ramos and Marc Basseng battled very well and was able to improve. The three drivers started from the ninth place on the grid and bounced back with some great overtaking and a good strategy. The WRT run Audi took a place on the podium in the very last lap passing another Audi.

Audi factory driver Laurens Vanthoor overtook the #26 R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing in the closing stages of the race. The French Audi was driven by Stéphane Ortelli, Gregory Guilvert and Edward Sandström. After the second place in round 1 at Monza, Sainteloc Racing again proving they are among the best in the upper Pro-Cup field.

The two Audis finished behind the winning factory #7 Bentley Continental GT from M-Sport Team Bentley and the second placed McLaren MP4-12C from ART Grand Prix.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT placed another R8 LMS ultra into the Top 10. The #3 car driven by Christopher Mies, Frank Stippler and James Nash ended in ninth place after some bad luck.

The other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars finished the race respectively in twenty-first with #55 Brothers Racing Team (Pro-Cup), thirtieth with #22 Team Parker Racing and third within the Gentlemen Trophy, fortieth with #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Gentlemen Trophy) and forty-first with #25 Sainteloc Racing (Gentlemen Trophy).

Overall it was a good weekend for the Audi Sport customer racing squad at Silverstone with solid performances. The next stop for the Blancpain Endurance Series will be in France at the Paul Ricard circuit, June 27th-28th.

Photo gallery: Blancpain GT Series

Blancpain Endurance Series: Top 5 in qualfying for Audi at Silverstone

By Tarek Ramchani

Silverstone is hosting the second round of the Blancpain Endurance Series this weekend. The Audi Sport customer racing is very well represented, seven R8 LMS ultra cars are entering the event.

The qualfying session held this morning was a positive one for the Audi camp. Two Pro-Cup Audi R8 LMS ultra cars made it into the Top 10 with very small gaps behind the leading cars.

Best ranked Audi was the #26 car from team Sainteloc Racing. The car driven by Stéphane Ortelli, Gregory Guilvert and Edward Sandström qualified in a strong fifth position with a best time of 2:01.439.

The #1 Audi from the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT qualified in ninth place. Laurens Vanthoor, Cesar Ramos and Marc Basseng set a best time of 2:01.980.

The other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars qualified respectevely in twelfth with #3 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Pro-Cup), twenty-first with #55 Brothers Racing Team (Pro-Cup), thirty-fourth with #22 Team Parker Racing (Gentlemen Trophy), thirty-eight with #4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Gentlemen Trophy) and fortieth with #25 Sainteloc Racing (Gentlemen Trophy).

The overall pole position went to the suprising Pro-Am #93 Porsche 997 GT3 R from Pro GT By Almeras. Second was the #98 McLaren MP4-12C from ART Grand Prix. Third another Pro-Am entry, the #80 Nissan GT-R Nismo from Nissan GT Academy Team RJN.

The three-hour endurance event will start at 13:55 GMT with a live stream coverage at www.blancpain-gt-series.com.

Photo credit: Blancpain GT Series

BES: Audi teams performed well in the Monza qualifying

By Tarek Ramchani

Monza is hosting the Blancpain Endurance Series season opener this weekend. The Audi Sport customer racing squad is very well represented with seven Audi R8 LMS ultra taking part in the event.

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT with a three-car effort including two cars in the upper Pro-Cup classThe #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Ramos/Basseng/Vanthoor. The #3 Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Nash/Stippler/Mies. The #4 #Audi R8 LMS ultra with drivers Weerts/Kelders/Blanchemain competing within the Gentlemen Trophy class.

Sainteloc Racing is back to the Blancpain Endurance Series with two Audis. The #26 R8 LMS ultra racing in the Pro-Cup class with drivers Sandstroem/Ortelli/Guilvert. The sister #25 Audi is competing in the Gentlemen Trophy class with drivers Gosselin/Lagniez/Sourd.

New comers to the series are both Brothers Racing Team from China and Team Parker Racing from the UK with a single car effort each. The Chinese Brothers Racing Team #55 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup) is in the hands of drivers Cheng/Zheng/Couto. The Team Parker Racing #22 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Gentlemen Trophy) is driven by Loggie/Jones/Westwood.

The Audi teams performed well this afternoon in the qualifying sessions. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars made it into the top 10.

The #1 WRT car of Ramos/Basseng/Vanthoor qualified fifth overall. The #26 Sainteloc Audi of Sandstroem/Ortelli/Guilvert was sixth fastest. The #3 WRT Audi of Nash/Stippler/Mies was ninth.

The other Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were respectively sixteenth (#55 Brothers Racing Team), thirty-fourth (#22 Team Parker Racing), thirty-sixth (#25 Sainteloc Racing) and thirty-eight (#4 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT)

The Audi teams are facing a strong opposition from very good teams. Benthey are making their debut in the Blancpain Endurance Series. The other brands are very well represented too with strong entries from Mercedes-Benz, Ferrari, McLaren, Aston Martin, Lamborghini, Nissan and BMW.

Pole position went the #98 McLaren MP4-12C from ART Grand Prix. The #11 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Kessel Racing was second. The #90 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Scuderia Vilorba Corse was third.

The 3-hour race is set for tomorrow. We wish the best of luck to all Audi teams and drivers.

Photo credit:  Endurance-Info

BES: Brothers Racing Team Audi R8 LMS ultra heading to the Blancpain Endurance Series

By Johan Laubscher

Brothers Racing Team (BRT) from China will be entering the Blancpain Endurance Series this year, joining a number of Audi Sport customer racing teams already entered for the European series.

Earlier during 2014 it was announced that the Brothers Racing Team will be increasing their involvement with Audi Sport customer racing during 2014. The Chinese team fielded a two-car team in the 2013 Audi R8 LMS Cup and will be increasing that number up to four cars in the 2014 edition of the Chinese Audi one-make series and also competing in European GT events.

BRT was out testing their Audi R8 LMS ultra at Silverstone recently (pictured above). “Franky” Cheng Congfu and Sun Zheng have already been mentioned as two of the team’s three drivers for the Blancpain Endurance Series.

More can be read at Endurance-Info.com original news post HERE.

The 2014 Blancpain Endurance Series will be getting underway at Monza from 11-13 April.

Photo credit: 
Audi R8 LMS Cup
Endurance-Info.com

Audi R8 LMS Cup: Audi China forms motorsport partnership with Chinese racing team BRT

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

• Audi China forms motorsport partnership with Chinese racing team BRT
• Cooperation supports internationalization of Chinese motorsport
• Audi China driver “Franky” Cheng Congfu to race for BRT in Europe
• BRT to field four cars in the 2014 Audi R8 LMS Cup

Beijing, January 21, 2014 – Audi Sport customer racing China has entered into a partnership with Brothers Racing Team (BRT) for the 2014 motorsport season. Audi will provide operational support and training for this year’s extended international motorsport program of the Chinese racing team. The cooperation also includes a driver exchange program. Audi China driver “Franky” Cheng Congfu is scheduled to race an Audi R8 LMS ultra for BRT in European GT competitions.

“BRT is one of the most ambitious racing teams in China and we are very happy to form this new partnership with them. Audi and BRT share the vision of further developing motorsport in China and are both committed to offer new opportunities to Chinese drivers to compete on the world stage”, says Rene Koneberg, Director of Audi Sport customer racing Asia. “We are looking forward to further advance the internationalization of Chinese motorsport, together with Audi as our strong partner”, commented BRT founder “Ricky” Ren Wei.

As part of the extended cooperation, BRT will field a record four cars in this year’s Audi R8 LMS Cup, compared to two cars in the 2013 season. The Audi R8 LMS Cup was founded in 2012 and is the first brand cup of Audi worldwide. The Asia-based competition will visit China, South Korea, Japan and Malaysia in 2014, including support races for the German Touring Car Championship, DTM, and the WEC in China.

Photo credit: Audi R8 LMS Cup