Macau GP: Provisional entry list reveals an army of Audis and Mr Macau Edoardo Mortara returns

By Johan Laubscher

The sixtieth Macau Grand Prix is set to take place in November. The annual Macau GP press conference was held today, along with the release of the provisional entry lists, which includes an army of twenty-seven Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars.

The big news is the return of Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, the two-time reigning Macau GT Cup champion. He has been unbeaten at Macau for the previous four seasons: two years in Formula 3 and then 2011 and 2012 in the GT Cup with Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars fielded by Absolute Racing.

Audi race cars will be seen in two sets of events at Macau this year: the Macau GT Cup and the Audi R8 LMS Cup.

Macau GT Cup

The 2013 Macau GT Cup is the premiere GT event at the Macau Grand Prix and also features the finale of the 2013 GT Asia Series season. The entry list includes seven Audi R8 LMS / ultra cars. Edoardo Mortara will be leading the Audi Sport customer racing squad in the #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra, entered under the name of Audi R8 LMS Cup, run by Absolute Racing. He will be joined by the Team R8 LMS ultra squad from GT Asia, which will include all three of the regular GT Asia Absolute Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, to be driven by Jeffrey Lee, Francis Hideki Onda and Philip Ma. Marchy Lee, Jeffrey Lee’s teammate in GT Asia, will be entered in the #38 Audi R8 LMS ultra, which is also run by Absolute Racing under the Audi Hong Kong Team entrant name.

Two more Audi R8 LMS cars will be joining the grid. The first is from the Finnish LMS Racing team, who are entering the #4 Audi R8 LMS for Antti Buri. The seventh Audi entry is the IMS team, entering the #78 R8 LMS for Shim Ching.

2013 Macau GT Cup provisional entry list (as of 2013/10/09)

Audi R8 LMS Cup

The Audi R8 LMS Cup will also be racing at Macau, hosting its season finale on the famous street circuit. A total of twenty Audi R8 LMS cars, all run and prepared by Absolute Racing, will be lining up on the grid. Most of the notable regular drivers are listed on the entry list, along with a number of additions. Edoardo Mortara will be driving the #5 Brothers Racing Team (BRT) Audi R8 LMS. Mortara has previously competed in the series, when he dominated the final round of the 2012 season at Shanghai last year. Other notable additions this weekend include: Rahel Frey, Philip Ma and Francis Hideki Onda.

Audi R8 LMS Cup at Macau provisional entry list (as of 2013/10/09)

Macau is a very special annual event and the sights and sounds of Audi R8 LMS cars on this circuit is certainly an annual highlight for Audi motorsport fans. The event is scheduled for 9-10 and 14-17 November 2013. 

Photo credit: Absolute Racing

Audi Sport Team Rosberg no longer the third team

By Tarek Ramchani

Team Rosberg has been racing with Audi as a factory team in the DTM since 2006. The team always used older specification Audi A4 DTM cars, with disappointing results most of the time.

Things have changes since 2011. Team Rosberg welcomed two young and fast drivers, who adapted quickly and really well to the demanding DTM. Portuguese driver Filipe Albuquerque who came from Audi Sport Italia and Italian Edoardo Mortara who came from the F3 single seater formula. Both drivers had a great debut in the German series during 2011. Mortara was on the podium twice and even better he won the non-championship event at Munich Olympic Stadium.

In 2012 Team Rosberg finally had the chance to use a brand new DTM racer, when Audi debuted the A5 DTM R17, an equal start for all three Audi factory teams. Overall the season was very difficult for Audi as a brand, but not for Team Rosberg. Edoardo Mortara won his first ever DTM victory at the Red Bull Ring, the first ever for Team Rosberg with Audi. Later in the year Edo won again at Zandvoort. He finished fifth in the championship. Filipe Albuquerque had a harder year but was always capable of taking points and fighting hard on track, Filipe ended the season in eleventh overall. Audi Sport Team Rosberg was classified fourth in the teams standings, and the best Audi team.

For 2013 both drivers will continue with Audi Sport Team Rosberg. The team is aiming very high for this year's competition in the DTM overall, but also within the Audi squad, to again be the top Audi team alongside Phoenix Racing and Abt Sportsline. The season opener is set for this weekend, at the Hockenheimring. Team Rosberg and their pair of Audi RS 5 DTM cars will try to prove again that they are no longer the third team at Audi.

Photo credit: Audi Media

DTM: A word from … Edoardo Mortara

Audi Press Release

You’ve just returned from a brief visit to Moscow to promote Audi and the DTM race there on August 4. What was your impression?

This was my first visit to Russia. It was really exciting to be standing on Red Square with the Audi A5 DTM. I was particularly surprised about the high interest of the media. Around 50 journalists were there and Mattias Ekström and I had to give a lot of interviews.

And how did the Russian fans respond to the Audi visit?

They were clearly thrilled. I haven’t signed such a large number of autographs as I did at this event in a long time.

Did you get the impression that the people in Moscow were familiar with the DTM at all?

Yes, absolutely. I think the people there have a great interest in motorsport. Their questions showed me that they definitely know the DTM and are paying attention to it. Of course, we’ve still got to explain the series in terms of its various specifications in more detail to the motorsport journalists and the fans. Mattias and I tried to communicate what our sport is all about as best we could.

What are your expectations of the DTM’s Russian debut this summer?

The track will be new for all of us, so there’s not much you can say about it at this point in time. But after my experiences during this brief visit I’m sure that the race will be a resounding success. The people are obviously very enthusiastic about motorsport. I’m already looking forward to running there. We’ll be doing everything we can to deliver a good show to them and to make the race a success for Audi. Generally speaking, I was very impressed with the hospitality and interest of the Russian people. I’m definitely expecting to see full grandstands at the race and am already excited about my next visit to this fascinating metropolis.

Photo credit: Audi Media