TUSC: Fall-Line Motorsports adds Marino Franchitti to GTD lineup

Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release

Buffalo Grove, IL (August 6, 2014) - The Fall-Line Motorsports GTD team is excited to announce the addition of the 2014 Sebring 12 Hour winner and highly experienced sportscar driver Marino Franchitti to their lineup for the Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America this weekend. Marino will join Charlie Putman in a continued effort to showcase outstanding performance of the Audi R8 LMS. The team has seen their fair share of misfortune in their sophomore year. Expecting results in their second season (first full-season) of competition with the Audi, Fall-Line has missed the mark several times and are now taking an aggressive approach to finish out 2014 with a flourish.

Charlie Putman and Charles Espenlaub have been sharing driving duties on the #46 Audi R8 LMS all season but are welcoming a new perspective from Franchitti at this weekend's event. Franchitti won the 12 Hours of Sebring earlier this year and has been racing sportscars for over thirteen years with numerous victories and pole positions. His knowledge and experience bring a unique insight to the team and a renewed approach to the program.

The addition of Franchitti will add a much needed element of expertise combined with a perspective that can enable us to progress. Both current drivers and team personnel are committed to taking this step to bolster the success of this exciting program moving forward.

#46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS Driver Quotes:

Charlie Putman: "This year has been the "perfect storm" of misfortunes for us. It is sad because we have such great potential, yet small things keep snagging good finishes away from us. We will be really mixing things up in a dramatic way for the Road America race by bringing in more outside development help in an effort to get out of this slump. While we are still looking for a good result at Road America, we are placing a priority on validating both our car and driver development programs through some fresh eyes. We are all looking forward to getting a lot of work done at this event, and then carrying some fresh momentum forward."

Marino Franchitti: "It was great to get the call from Michael (Harvey, Team Manager) to come and drive with Fall-Line at Road America and I'm really looking forward to working with the team, Charlie, and Charles this weekend. Hopefully I can bring a fresh perspective to the program and help the team on the road back to the kind of performances they're capable of."

Charles Espenlaub: "The 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship has not been very kind to us at Fall-Line. As a team we have worked hard to overcome and move forward. As any competitive team we look for all avenues to accomplish that goal. We welcome Marino in joining our effort and helping turn around a rough season."

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: "I am very excited to have Marino join us and I am so proud of our team for coming together and recognizing that we can all benefit from the addition of someone as talented as Marino. I would like to thank Charlie, Charles and Mark (Boden) for appreciating that a team is bigger than any individual and we really look forward to the remainder of the season."

The Road Race Showcase can be seen on FOX Sports 1 at 6:30p ET on August 10. The two-hour and 45-minute race will also have live timing and scoring available at www.imsa.com. Streaming of the qualifying show is available on the IMSA web site beginning at 4:20p ET on Saturday, August 9.

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.

Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Photo credit: Fall-Line Motorsports / Wes Duenkel

TUSC: Marino Franchetti joins Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS at Road America

By Tarek Ramchani

A great news coming from North America and Fall-Line-Motorsports. The Audi customer racing team will welcome sportscar ace Marino Franchitti for the upcoming event at Road America.

The Scotsman will join the team's regualrs Charlie Putnam and Charles Espenlaub at the beautiful Elkhart Lake circuit. The three drivers will share the all blue #46 Audi R8 LMS in the 2h45 TUDOR United SportsCar championship race.

Marino Franchitti will boost Fall-Line Motorsports at Road America with the team eager to perform well in a very demanding GT Daytona class field.

Photo credit: Audi Media

TUSC: Audi teams performed well in Watkins Glen first practice session

By Tarek Ramchani

A positive day 1 for the Audi teams at Watkins Glen in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. A single free practice session was done yesterday with good performances from the Audi R8 LMS cars in a demanding GT Daytona field.

The best ranked Audi was he #45 R8 LMS from Flying Lizard Motorsports, which ended the session in a strong fourth place within the GTD class. The car driven by Nelson Canache Jr, Spencer Pumpelly and Brett Sandberg with a best time of 1:51.110.

The #48 Audi R8 LMS from Paul Miller Racing was sixth fastest with a best time of 1:51.295 in the hands of Christopher Haase and Bryce Miller.

The second Flying Lizard Motorsport entry, the #35 Audi R8 LMS of Spencer Pumpelly, Dion von Moltke and Seth Neiman was eleventh with a best time of 1:52.038.

Fall-Line Motorsports was seventeenth with their #46 Audi R8 LMS shared by Charlie Putman, Charles Espenlaub and Marco Bonanomi with a best time of 1:54.297.

First practice session results can be seen here.

Action will resume today with two practice session followed by the qualifying session.

Photo credit: Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman

TUSC: Marco Bonanomi joins Fall-Line Motorsport Audi R8 LMS at 6 Hours of the Glen

By Tarek Ramchani

The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is heading to Watkins Glen this upcoming weekend. The beautiful New York circuit will play host to the famous 6 Hours of the Glen.

A total of four Audi R8 LMS cars from three different teams will enter the event within the GT Daytona (GTD) class including the #46 car from Fall Line Motorsports.

At Watkins Glen the American Audi Sport customer racing team will be joined by Audi factory driver Marco Bonanomi. The Italian driver competed recently with Audi Sport Team Joest at the Le Mans 24 Hours with the #3 Audi R18 e-tron quattro.

Marco Bonanomi will share the all blue #46 R8 LMS with Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman. The three drivers will try to perform well in a very healthy and demanding GT Daytona field.

Marco Bonanomi has a great experience with the Audi R8 LMS. In 2011 he won the Italian GT Championship with Audi Sport Italia and won the Zolder 24 Hours overall in 2012 with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT.

Photo credit: Audi Media

TUSC: Paul Miller Racing podium and heartbreak for Flying Lizard Motorsports at Laguna Seca

By Johan Laubscher

Round four of the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship was at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca this weekend. Four Audi R8 LMS cars competed in the GT Daytona class, entered by three different Audi Sport customer racing teams.

This was the first time since round two at Sebring that the GT Daytona (GTD) class was back on track. Flying Lizard Motorsports were back and entrusted their two cars to Seth Neimann and Dion von Moltke (#35) and Nelson Canache Jr and Spencer Pumpelly (#45). The #48 Paul Miller Racing R8 LMS had Christopher Haase and Bryce Miller behind the wheel. The #46 Fall-Line Motorsports R8 LMS saw the car driven by the two “Charlies” - Charles Espenlaub and Charlie Putman.

The GTD pole position went to the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS of Canache and Pumpelly. Paul Miller Racing qualified third in class, followed by the #35 Lizards R8 LMS in fifth and the Fall-Line Motorsports R8 LMS in twentieth.

The exciting two hour race concluded with a fuel conservation race and tragedy for Flying Lizard Motorsports. The #45 Audi R8 LMS was leading on the final lap, after stretching its fuel, but they sadly ran out of fuel in the closing meters of the race. They were passed by the leading #94 BMW Z4 of Turner Motorsport, closely followed by the #48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS, the top two finishers in the GTD class.

The #35 Lizards R8 LMS finished fifth within GTD. The race leading #45 Lizards R8 LMS was unofficially classed in sixth. Fall-Line Motorsports unfortunately joined the list of retirements.

Round five of the TUSC will be heading to Detroit Belle Isle, 30-31 May.

Photo credit: IMSA.com

TUSC: Fall-Line Motorsports heads to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with 'the Charlies' in GTD

Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release

Buffalo Grove, IL (May 1, 2014) - Following a successful 12-hour race at Sebring in March, the Fall-Line Motorsports TUDOR United SportsCar Championship team heads to the beautiful coast of Northern California at Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca with the two "Charlies" of (Charlie) Putman and (Charles) Espenlaub.

Putman and Espenlaub will pilot the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS for the third race of the season at the 11-turn, 2.238-mile road course. The pair currently sit 21st in overall GTD driver standings after a heartbreaking race at the season-opening Daytona race, but bounced back at Sebring and nearly came up with a podium. They had to settle  for 6th after a late race incident with a Prototype.

The Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix will take place Sunday at 1:15p ET and will be the first non-endurance event of the 2014 season and will feature two, two-hour races. The (GT Daytona) GTD class will race with the Prototype Challenge (PC) class in the first race followed by the Prototypes (P) and GT Le Mans (GTLM) later in the afternoon.

With only two classes on-track at once, traffic will be manageable but still factor into overall strategy. A much shorter format than the first two races of the season will force a different approach for the GTD team but they are as prepared as ever.

Charlie Putman: "Mazda Raceway at Laguna will be our first short race of the year and thus we only have two drivers.  Back to just '"the Charlies" in the Audi R8 LMS will be fun, but yet challenging for us. The layoff between races presents more challenges for the team than you might imagine. We were just getting into our groove at Sebring, and the entire team will have to concentrate in order to pick up where we left off. Charles (Espenlaub) and I have been busy testing and racing to stay ready and the crew has had time to go through the #46 and get ready for the tough schedule ahead.  We are chomping at the bit. Let the fun begin!"

Charles Espenlaub: "After a very long wait, we are ready to get back to racing. I couldn't be happier! It's just Charlie and I again and I couldn't be more pleased to get back behind the wheel of our Audi R8 LMS!"

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: "It's great to get back to racing again, this break has been quite long but has enabled us to do much work in preparation for the hectic schedule coming up. It's always great to race at Mazda Raceway and this event represents the first track of 2014 that we raced in 2013 with our Audi. Charlie and Charles are ready after just coming back from some running at the Nurburgring. As always the GTD field is the most competitive in the TUDOR series and this weekend is the first time all teams will be running just their regular two driver pairings, so we are excited to get going."

Tune into IMSA.com to watch the IMSA Continental Tire Monterey Grand Prix Powered by Mazda Qualifying at 7:55p ET on Saturday, May 3rd. The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race (GTD/ PC) will be televised LIVE on Fox Sports 1 on Sunday May 4th at 1:00p ET.

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS 
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.

Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Photo credit: Wes Duenkel Motorsport Photography / Fall-Line Motorsports

TUSC: Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS has strong showing at Sebring 12 Hour

Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release

Buffalo Grove, IL (March 18, 2014) - Following a heartbreaking season-opener at Daytona in late January, #46 Fall-Line Audi R8 LMS crew rebuilt and came close to redemption at Sebring International Raceway for the 2014 Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. The trio of Charlie Putman, Charles Espenlaub, and Christopher Mies finished the race on the leap lap, just 17 seconds behind the leader in the GT Daytona (GTD) class in what was a crash-plagued race with 11 full-course cautions.

 Mies qualified the #46 car in 20th after catching traffic on his flying lap. He started the race and drove a double stint to make it all the way to P1 in just over two hours. Espenlaub was second in the car and drove for one hour before pitting and handing over the reigns to Putman who drove three hours straight. Putman got hit by a DP car that sent him spinning but he was able to make an impressive save and kept the car from any major damage.

At the halfway mark the #46 was running P11 under full-course caution and Espenlaub was back in. After more lengthy yellows, there was green flag running and Espenlaub drove a notable run climbing all the way to 3rd. Mies got in to drive the closing laps and was running P4 with two hours to go when he was also the victim of another on-track incident that cut the left front tire and he had to pit under green. Although the pit stop was executed very efficiently the time lost driving with a flat meant the #46 lost a lap. The lap was gained back as the leaders pitted and the #46 was back in the lead pack for the last hour. An emergency stop for fuel under the next yellow as the pits were closed cost the opportunity to run for the win as they went to the back of the line. The green then flew with just 20 minutes to go. Mies drove an impressive final few laps at ten-tenths but just wasn't able to make the podium and settled for 6th.

Charlie Putman:"You have to be pretty spoiled not to be happy with a 6th place finish at the Sebring 12 Hour as the teams and drivers in this race are the "Who's Who" of sports car racing.  We certainly had the potential for the win or a podium finish but it just didn't come to fruition as we had hoped.  A small traffic incident causing Chris (Mies) to brush a concrete wall and flatten a tire, cost valuable track position that we could not recover that late in the race.  Chris did a great job saving the car from what could have been a disastrous crash and bringing it home for a new tire.  Nathan's (McBride, lead engineer) strategy was inspirational and cool-headed and actually kept us in the battle right up to the checkered flag.  It was a hard fought 12 hours as the number of crashes and resulting caution periods demonstrated.  We did manage to run in the top-5 for the largest part of the race and Charles (Espenlaub) actually led the field for the majority of his first stint.  I was proud of the crew as they picked up a position for us on almost every pit stop.  We may not have taken first, but I was extremely proud of the entire team."
  
Christopher Mies: "I am quite happy with the result we achieved. We came all the way from P20 and finished P6. With a little bit more luck we could have finished on the podium and we were for sure one of the teams who could have won this race. But in the end you always need a little bit of luck.A huge thanks to Fall line Motorsports and my teammates Charles (Espenlaub) and Charlie (Putman) for their brilliant job.We worked very well together and improved the car each session. In the end the car was just phenomenal to drive during the race and I enjoyed every single lap.
The team and my teammates did a great job without mistakes and I hope I can come back with them next year. Sebring was one of the toughest races I have ever done, and finishing just 17 seconds behind the class winner is more than awesome! I would love to join them at a later date and I wish them good luck for the rest of the races." 

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: "I am so proud of everyone at Fall-Line Motorsports and although a tinge frustrated with 6th place overall very happy. The guys on the both sides of the wall competed flawlessly and with 2 hours remaining we had a strong shot at the win. Unfortunately we got attacked by a DP and although not a killer blow, it was enough to dampen our day. It was great to rebound after the disappointment of Daytona and to run at the front in this historic event. A huge thanks to Audi Sport customer racing for all their support and encouragement, without Brad (Kettler) and his team the post Daytona rebuild would definitely have been much more difficult."

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS 
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.

Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Photo credit: Wes Duenkel Motorsport Photography / Fall-Line Motorsports

TUSC: Top 10 results for the Audi teams at Sebring

By Johan Laubscher

The 12 Hours of Sebring was held this weekend, round two of the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. Five Audi R8 LMS cars took part fielded by four different teams, the same entries which took part in the 24 hours of Daytona.

The Audi Sport customer racing contingent was represented by five Audi R8 LMS cars from four different teams in the GT Daytona (GTD) class. Flying Lizard Motorsports returned with their two-car Audi R8 LMS team. Their #35 R8 LMS was piloted by Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke and Filipe Albuquerque and their second #45 R8 LMS by Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Alessandro Latif and Markus Winkelhock. Tim Pappas unfortunately suffered food poisoning earlier this week and did not compete in the #45 machine, thus Alessandro Latif was moved from the #35 driving crew to aid the #45 entry.

One-car each was entered by GMG Racing, Fall-Line Motorsports and Paul Miller Racing. GMG Racing’s #32 Audi R8 LMS was driven by James Sofronas, Alex Welch and Marc Basseng. Fall-Line Motorsports’ R8 LMS had Christopher Mies, Charlie Putman and Charles Espenlaub behind the wheel and Paul Miller Racing had Bryce Miller, Christopher Haase and Matthew Bell.

The track action got under with three practice sessions on Thursday, followed by a fourth practice session and qualifying on Friday.

Qualifying concluded in a similar fashion for the Audi teams. The Audi R8 LMS cars were again relegated to the mid-field positions. GMG Racing’s Audi R8 LMS proved to be the fastest Audi by taking sixteenth place within the GT Daytona class. The #48 Paul Miller Racing Audi R8 LMS grabbed eighteenth. The remaining trio of Audis qualified together in positions twenty through twenty-two, with Fall-Line Motorsports ahead of the two Flying Lizard Motorsports R8 LMS cars (#45 and #35).

The race itself got underway at 10:15 local time on Saturday morning. The Audi R8 LMS cars were involved in the battles within the top ten during the incident filled race. By the end of the long and gruelling twelve hours, three Audi R8 LMS teams had made it into the top ten, one of them in the top five.

The #35 Flying Lizard Motorsports crew of Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke and Filipe Albuquerque brought their R8 LMS across the line in fifth place within GTD, less than ten seconds behind the GTD race winning #44 Magnus Racing Porsche. Fall-Line Motorsports finished sixth with the #46 R8 LMS, a further seconds back from the #35 car.

Flying Lizard Motorsports’ #45 R8 LMS rounded out the top ten Audi runners by taking eighth within the GTD class. GMG Racing and Paul Miller Racing finished just outside of the GTD top ten, with eleventh and twelfth places respectively.

The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship will now be heading to Mazda Raceway Laguna Seca for round three of the series, 3-4 May.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

TUSC: Positive day 1 for Audi teams at Sebring

By Tarek Ramchani

The action has started at Sebring International Raceway. The Florida circuit is hosting the 62nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring, round two of the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship. The Audi squad is represented by five Audi R8 LMS cars from four diffrent teams.

The Audi cars performed well in the three free practice sessions of the day. In the first session the best ranked Audi was the #45 from Flying Lizard Motorsports. The car in the hands of Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Markus Winkelhock and Alessandro Latif finished fifth within the GT Daytona class with a best time of 2:05.738. All the other Audi R8 LMS cars were outside the top 10. The #32 car from GMG Racing driven by James Sofronas, Alex Welch and Marc Basseng was fifteenth. The #35 Audi from Flying Lizards of Dion von Moltke, Seth Neiman and Filipe Albuquerque was sixteenth. The #46 Audi from Fall-Line Motorsports with drivers Christopher Mies, Charles Putman and Charles Espenlaub was twenty-third. The #48 Audi from Paul Miller Racing did not take part in the session.

First free practice session results can be seen HERE

In the second session, only a single Audi R8 LMS car made it into the top 10 within the GT Daytona class. The #45 entry from Flying Lizard Motorsport again the best ranked Audi car, finishing ninth. Nelson Canache Jr., Spencer Pumpelly, Markus Winkelhock and Alessandro Latif with a fastest lap time of 2:05.979. The #48 Audi R8 LMS from Paul Miller Racing was fourteenth. The #46 car from Fall-Line Motorsports was nineteenth. The #32 R8 LMS from GMG Racing was twentieth and the #35 entry from Fluing Lizard Motorsport was twenty-first.

Second free practice session results can be seen HERE.

The third and final free practice session of the day was a night session. As was the case in the first two sessions, only one Audi car was among the top 10 in GT Daytona. The #46 from Fall-Line Motorsports was ninth. The blue livered Audi R8 LMS driven by Christopher Mies, Charles Putman and Charles Espenlaub with a best time of 2:06.042. The #45 Audi from Flying Lizard Motorsports was eleventh. The #32 car from GMG Racing was sixteenth. The #35 R8 LMS from Flying Lizard Motorsports was eighteenth and the #48 effort from Paul Miller Racing was twenty-third.

Third free practice session results can be seen HERE.

Looking at the lap times and teams' performances in all three practice session, it was a positive day 1 for the Audi Sport customer racing squad at Sebring. GT Daytona is clearly the most demanding class in all four divisions in TUDOR United SportsCar Championship with extremly balanced field with very strong brands and teams.

The Audi teams will be back on track today for a final free practice session followed by qualifying this Friday.

Photo credit: IMSA

TUSC: Fall-Line Motorsports looking to bounce back after Daytona heartbreak in GTD

Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release

Sebring, FL (March 13, 2014) - After a heartbreaking start to the TUDOR United SportsCar season for the Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS during the Rolex 24 Hours at Daytona, the team is looking for redemption this weekend at Sebring international Raceway for the 62nd Annual Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh From Florida. 

Regulars Charlie Putman and Charles Espenlaub will be in the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS along with Audi factory driver Christopher Mies.

The event this weekend at the historic 3.74-mile circuit is the second of four stops on the Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup so as successful event is doubly important.

The long break between events was crucial for the team who had to completely re-build their car after the car made heavy contact with the wall at Daytona, destroying the tub. The team had ample time to repair and restore the Audi R8 LMS to perfect working order for another long event and a new circuit for the team and drivers.

Charlie Putman:
"The Audi R8 was repaired after our Daytona disaster and, based on the test session results, seems to be better than ever.  We'll probably never know what caused the crash at Daytona, but I was really touched by all the good wishes and notes of concern passed along by our friends and fans.  It made getting back in to the battle much easier for me personally and I think the whole team has stepped up in usual Fall-Line style to put it behind us and have us ready for Sebring.  This is a track with a lot of history and a lot of Audi history.  On the other hand much of that history was written before our teammate for this race, Audi driver Chris Mies, was born!  We welcome Chris (Mies) into the family and he is a great guy to be around.  He is young in years, but as they say "mature beyond his years," and his driving certainly shows maturity and expertise.  We have a beautiful car, and a great driver line up including Chris (Mies); and hopefully we can add some more that that Sebring Audi history book this weekend." 

Charles Espenlaub:
"Everyone at Fall-line has done all of the work and preparation....again. But this time it was for the Sebring 12 hour race. The team has worked so hard to give us the best Audi R8 LMS possible and Charlie (Putman), Christopher (Mies) and I look forward to giving them the result they deserve. We will get redemption for not showing what we were capable of at Daytona." 

Christopher Mies:
"I'm really looking forward to my first Sebring 12-hour race. When I was young I watched it every year and I guess it's one of those races you have to do in your career. I'm happy to be here with such an experienced team and drivers and can't wait to jump into the car."

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager:
"My guys have done an amazing job since Daytona, along with the unbelievably support from Brad and his group at Audi Sport customer racing we were able to test at Sebring in the IMSA test a few weeks ago. We have a strong and consistent Audi R8 LMS as we look to get our season kick-started this weekend. It is great to have Christopher (Mies) back with us and along with Charlie and Charles he complements a strong line up to go 12 hrs." 

The second race of 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is the 62nd Mobil 1 Twelve Hours of Sebring Fueled by Fresh from Florida on March 12-15. Qualifying for GTD takes place at 4:10p.m. ET on Friday, March 14. Green flag for the 12 Hours of Sebring is 10:15 a.m. ET on Saturday, March 15. FOX Sports 1 live coverage runs from 10 a.m. - 1 p.m. (ET).  The race will be streamed on www.IMSA.com from 1 p.m. until 10:30 p.m.

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS 
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.

Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Photo credit: Wes Duenkel Motorsport Photography / Fall-Line Motorsports

TUSC: Positive day 1 for Audi teams at the Sebring Test

By Tarek Ramchani

Sebring International Raceway is hosting an official two-day test for the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, ahead of the prestigious 12-hour race in March.


Five Audi R8 LMS cars are on site and have already taken part in two sessions yesterday, showing strong performances within the GT Daytona (GTD) class.

In the first session the best Audi entry was the #45 from Flying Lizard Motorsports. The car shared by Spencer Pumpelly, Nelson Canache Jr, Tim Pappas and Markus Winkelhock ended in a very strong second place, with a best time of 2:05.719. The remaining four Audi R8 LMS cars were outside of the top 10. The #35 Flying Lizard Motorsports car, with drivers Seth Neiman, Dion von Moltke, Alessandro Latif and Audi factory driver, Filipe Albuquerque, was eleventh. The #48 Audi of Paul Miller Racing was fourteenth fastest, in the hands of Bryce Miller, Christopher Haase and Matthew Bell. The #32 GMG Racing entry, driven by James Sofronas, Alex Welch and Marc Basseng, was fifteenth fastest. The #46 Fall-Line Motorsports car, with Christopher Mies, Charlie Putman and Charles Espenlaub, was sixteenth in GTD.

The first session results can be seen here.

The second session was a little bit harder for the Audi squad. None of the five Audi entries made it into the top 10. The best ranked R8 LMS was again the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports in twelfth position, with a best time of 2:06.619. The car was followed by three other Audis. The sister #35 entry was thirteenth, the #48 Paul Miller Racing was fourteenth and the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports was fifteenth. The #32 GMG Racing R8 LMS was eighteenth within the GTD class.

The second session results can be seen here.

The Audi teams will be back on track for two more sessions today. We wish the best of luck to all four Audi Sport customer racing teams and their drivers.

Photo credit: Motorsport.com

TUSC: Fall-Line Motorsports GTD has early end to Rolex 24

Fall-Line Motorsports Press Release

Daytona Beach, FL ((January 26, 2014) - The Fall-Line Motorsports' Rolex 24 Hours of Daytona came to an abrupt end yesterday just as it was getting started. Shortly after the green flag fell on the 52nd running of the historic race and the first under the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship banner, the Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS driven by Charlie Putman made heavy contact with the wall entering turn one. The contact was severe and left the car un-repairable.

The early exit was a devastating end to a promising race as the #46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS had been quick in practice and driver Oliver Jarvis qualified 3rd in the GTD category. The quartet of talented drivers Charles Espenlaub, James Walker, Jarvis and Putman had done their homework and were prepared for a long race in one of the most competitive classes in the field. The Audi R8 LMS was strong and the entire team had high hopes for a good finish.

The details of the crash are best told by the team's heart and soul Charlie Putman (one of the most likeable guys in the paddock) who was behind the wheel of the #46 when it suffered the fatal blow.

Charlie Putman: "I want to let our friends and fans know that the incident at Daytona today was sad and the impact was rough, but I am 100% okay.  The engineering of the Audi R8 LMS chassis is incredible and functioned as designed, sacrificing itself to protect me from the high-speed impact.  Of course we use the very best Safecraft seat belts and restraint nets with no compromises on any safety equipment and all of those safety systems paid for themselves today.
       I'm personally so sad because all of the crew have worked long days and nights with unbelievable heartfelt dedication to make our car the best of the best.  The hard physical impact to me and to the car was minor in comparison to the emotional blow to all of us.  We have received such an outreach of concern and support from all our fans and I am truly touched and blessed by the well wishes of everyone.  You will help us to be back stronger and faster than ever!
      The Fall-Line Audi R8 LMS showed signs of being the fastest R8 in the field for this race and was setup beautifully.  The setback to the rear of the grid on a technicality after qualifying in 3rd was not a concern to us, as we knew that in this long race with such a strong car we would easily work our way back into the thick of it. I was having a great opening stint and everything appears to have been normal according to the data systems, up until the moment the car unexplainably pitched to the inside of track just before entering turn one. This is the fasted place on the track, and not a place where cars are expected to spin, so the contact with the bare concrete wall there was disastrous.  It is too early to theorize exactly what happened, but as one of my teammates reminded me, this is racing and things happen.  We just keep striving forward and we will prevail.
    I want to thank my co-drivers Charles Espenlaub, and particularly Oliver Jarvis and James Walker for their support and contributions to the team.  While Charles (Espenlaub) and I have teamed up for many years, this was our first opportunity to work with Oliver (Jarvis) and James (Walker).  We hope to see more of them as they are not only exceptional drivers, but very nice people (if you can ignore their British accent!)  Nathan McBride is simply a genius on the car set-up and development.  Our relationship with Audi's support group really shows the signs of mutual respect and I know that as the year goes on we will only grow stronger together.
    Thanks again to all our friends for the concerns and well wishes."

Teammates Jarvis, Walker and Espenlaub also share Putman's sentiments:

Oliver Jarvis: "After a great buildup to the race, it's devastating to go out so early. The team did a fantastic job and I know we had a car capable of winning the race. But unfortunately that's motor sport. The most important thing is that Charlie (Putman) is okay. I would like to say a huge thanks to the team who worked their butts off to prepare the car for this race and it's a real shame they didn't get the reward they deserved."

James Walker: "It's obviously disappointing to go out early on in the race, but the main thing is that Charlie (Putman) is okay. It's very easy to forget just how quick these cars go, especially around the banking at Daytona. It was my first race with the Fall-Line crew and hopefully not my last. It's been great to work with everyone. They are such a professional outfit. A huge thank you to everyone there for all their hard work."

Charles Espenlaub: "We are so glad Charlie (Putman) is okay. We have to thank Fall-Line and Audi for building a very safe Audi R8 LMS. It did its job and kept Charlie out of harms way. It is so unfortunate that all the hard work and preparation over the last few months by everyone will not get the results they deserve. They did all the work and we were in position for a great result but that is racing and we will be ready for Sebring."

Michael Harvey, Fall-Line Motorsports Team Manager: "Very disappointing to go out so early and just glad Charlie is okay. The whole Fall-Line crew has worked so hard and we defiantly had a car to compete for the win. Huge thanks to Oliver (Jarvis) and James (Walker) who fit in seamlessly to our program and of course our friends at Audi Sport customer racing who have been incredible with their constant support and service."

Fall-Line Motorsports is a premiere builder and fabricator of racecars for all levels of competition. Fall-Line specializes in BMW, Porsche, Audi and other high-performance makes. Fall-Line Motorsports unveiled their Grand-Am team in 2006 and won the GRAND-AM Continental Tire Sports Car Challenge GS Championship title in 2010. In addition to fielding 3 GS BMW M3s in the IMSA Continental Tire SportsCar Challenge and an Audi R8 LMS in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship, Fall-Line also prepares and fabricates cars for other CTSC teams, SCCA and NASA drivers, track day prepared and high performance street vehicles. www.fall-linemotorsports.com @FallLineMotors www.facebook.com/Falllinemotorsports

ABOUT AUDI OF AMERICA AND THE AUDI R8 LMS 
Audi began a new chapter in 2009 with the introduction of the Audi Sport customer racing program. For the first time it was possible for motorsport customers to acquire a race car designed for customer racing events. Since its inception, the success of the R8 LMS has been significant throughout the GT3 racing format worldwide, including victory in the GT class in the 2013 edition of the Rolex 24 at Daytona. The Audi R8 LMS shares more than 50% of its parts with the Audi R8 street car including the naturally aspirated V10 5.2 Liter engine, the Audi Space Frame and a variety of other components.

Audi of America, Inc. and its U.S. dealers offer a full line of German-engineered luxury vehicles. AUDI AG is among the most successful luxury automotive brands globally. Audi was a top-performing luxury brand in Europe during 2012, and broke all-time company sales records in the U.S. Through 2016, AUDI AG will invest about $17 billion on new products and technologies.

Visit www.audiusa.com or www.audiusanews.com for more information regarding Audi vehicle and business issues.

Photo credit: Fall-Line Motorsports / Wes Duenkel Motorsport Photography

TUSC: Second consecutive victory for Audi at Daytona + IMSA later revises Daytona result

Audi Press Release (Before revised results)

Second consecutive victory for Audi at Daytona

•          New U.S. version of the Audi R8 LMS wins 24-hour race
•          Perfect debut for the new Audi customer team Flying Lizard
•          Spectators experienced dramatic finale in the GT Daytona class

Ingolstadt/Daytona, January 26, 2014 – For the second time in succession, Audi has won the class for production-based GT sports cars in the famous 24-hour race at Daytona (USA). And, like last year, the victorious Audi customer team kept spectators watching with bated breath in a dramatic finale. 

Perfect debut for the new U.S. version of the Audi R8 LMS and the new Audi customer team Flying Lizard Motorsports: Nelson Canache jr. (YV), Tim Pappas (USA), Spencer Pumpelly (USA) and Markus Winkelhock (D) decided the inaugural race of the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSC) in their favor in a photo finish.

With 29 GT sports cars running, the GT Daytona (GTD) category featured the largest number of entrants in the field and was the most fiercely fought class in the iconic U.S. endurance race. The positions at the front kept changing and the customer teams of Audi, Porsche and Ferrari had chances of taking class victory up to the very end. 

Following a late safety car period, the spectators experienced a final seven-minute sprint in which Markus Winkelhock, in a tough duel, prevailed against the Ferrari of Alessandro Pier Guidi, which had been leading up to that point. The Ferrari driver fiercely defended himself against the faster Audi R8 LMS and retroactively received a 75-second time penalty for his action.

“This was an incredible race, I’m absolutely speechless,” said Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing. “I can understand the disappointment of the Ferrari team. But I share the opinion of the race stewards that Alessandro Pier Guidi went a bit overboard in his defense on the last laps. Markus was simply faster. On the whole, it was a great entrance for the new U.S. version of the Audi R8 LMS. We put a fast and reliable car for the new GTD class into the hands of our customer teams. Flying Lizard and the four drivers of the winning car made the best of it. Many thanks to all who made this fantastic success possible.”

Following a restrained start and a few minor issues in the beginning, the new Californian Audi customer team launched an impressive recovery during the night that made the red-silver #45 R8 LMS advance position by position and rewarded the squad with its first lead on Sunday morning.

Filipe Albuquerque (P), Alessandro Latif (GB/I), Seth Neiman (USA) and Dion von Moltke (USA) showed a similarly strong performance as their team-mates and in the team’s sister car captured fifth place in class. After 24 hours, the quartet was trailing its victorious team-mates by only one lap.

The squad of Paul Miller Racing was beaten below its potential. Matt Bell (GB), Christopher Haase (D), Bryce Miller (USA) and René Rast (D) started the race from the pole position and set the pace for long periods during the first twelve hours. They lost their chances for victory during the night due to a water leak. After several longer pit stops, Paul Miller Racing had to settle for 16th place in class. A bit of consolation: Christopher Haase, after clinching the pole position on Thursday, also managed setting the fastest race lap of 1m 47.194s.

The two Audi R8 LMS cars of the Fall-Line Motorsports and GMG Racing teams did not make it to the finish. After just five laps, Charlie Putman (USA/Fall-Line Motorsports) on braking into Turn 1, lost control of his Audi in the fastest section of the track and spun backwards into a concrete wall. The rear-end section of the R8 LMS was irreparably damaged in the incident.

James Sofronas (USA/GMG Racing) was touched by an LMPC sports car in Turn 1 at the beginning of the seventh hour. The American spun off track and hit the wall of the pit lane exit head-on. Sofronas, like Putman, sustained no injuries but his R8 LMS was so heavily damaged that a trackside repair was impossible.

Quotes by the victorious Audi drivers

Nelson Canache jr.: “Flying Lizard Motorsports gave us four drivers a fantastic car. We weren’t the quickest in qualifying but all along we felt we had a fast and reliable car for a 24-hour race. We were really tight on fuel at the end. It was a magnificent team performance.”

Tim Pappas: “I was a late addition to the driver squad, so I’m literally stunned to have scored my first Daytona victory. It was a privilege for me to watch Markus (Winkelhock) and Spencer (Pumpelly) as team-mates. Nelson (Canache jr.) and I did what was required of us in keeping safe and bringing the Audi back in one piece in our stints.”

Spencer Pumpelly: “This will always be the most memorable of my three Daytona wins. Watching the final 20 minutes was nail-biting and Markus (Winkelhock) did a fantastic job. Daytona was an enormous challenge for the Flying Lizard team with the new car and they did a phenomenal job. We had a fantastic car which allowed us to score an important win.”

Markus Winkelhock: “It was an incredible last lap. I left plenty of space for him to turn in at the kink but on the exit he left me no space and pushed me into the grass. I think the officials made the correct decision. Last year, I fought for the GT class win but ran out of fuel on the last lap, so it’s great to come back twelve months later and win.”

Race results (GT Daytona class)

1 Canache jr./Pappas/(Pumpelly/Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS) 662 laps in 24h 01m 19.953s
2 Snow/Heylen/Seefried (Porsche) + 0.159s
3 Rotenberg/Zlobin/Mediani/Salo/Aleshin (Ferrari) + 13.919s
4 Tucker/Sweedler/Bell/Segal/Pier Guidi (Ferrari) + 1m 43.707s
5 Albuquerque/Latif/Neiman/von Moltke (Audi R8 LMS) - 1 lap
...
16 Bell/Haase/Miller/Rast (Audi R8 LMS) - 36 laps

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Audi Press Release (After revised results)

IMSA revises Daytona result

•          Audi R8 LMS #45 relegated to second place
•          Organizers ask to excuse confusion caused

Ingolstadt/Daytona, January 27, 2014 – About four hours after the end of the race, the organizers of the 24 Hours of Daytona (USA) have issued a revised result for the GT Daytona class.

The IMSA revised their original decision to impose a time-penalty on the #555 Ferrari. The #45 Audi R8 LMS of Audi customer team Flying Lizard Motorsports, which had originally been declared as the winner of the race, was moved back to second place. The organisers have pleged all participants to excuse the confusion they have caused.

The Team Flying Lizard Motorsports reserves further action against this decision and would like to comment not before Monday.

Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing: “It is unfortunate that the events after the race cast a shadow on a really great race in the Daytona GT class. Probably this race deserves two winners.”

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

TUSC: Strong fourth and final practice session at Daytona - and pole position reinstated

By Johan Laubscher

The 24 Hours of Daytona week is well and truly underway. Three practice sessions and qualifying took place yesterday and a fourth and final practice session took place today.

The big news yesterday was the pole position and subsequent disqualification of Paul Miller Racing's #48 Audi R8 LMS. Christopher Haase's GTD pole time was penalised following a technical infringement with the car's rear wing end plates. Since then the IMSA supervisory officials have reviewed the case. It was announced on Friday that Paul Miller Racing's pole position was reinstated and the penalty rescinded.

The fourth and final practice session was held on Friday morning.

Two Audi R8 LMS cars made it into the GTD class top ten. The #46 Fall-Line Motorsports Audi R8 LMS of Charles Espenlaub, Oliver Jarvis, Charlie Putman and James Walker placed sixth fastest in GTD. They were followed by the #35 Flying Lizard Motorsports R8 LMS of Filipe Albuquerque, Seth Neimann, Alessandro Latif and Dion von Moltke in tenth.

Marc Basseng, Frank Stippler, James Sofronas and Alex Welch in the #32 GMG Racing R8 LMS were nineteenth fastest. The newly reinstated GTD pole sitters, Matthew Bell, Christopher Haase, Bryce Miller and René Rast in the #48 Paul Miller Racing R8 LMS, were twenty-fourth fastest. The #45 Audi R8 LMS from Flying Lizard Motorsports rounded out the Audi runners in twenty-sixth, driven by Nelson Canache Jr, Tim Pappas, Spencer Pumpelly and Markus Winkelhock.

The fourth practice session results can be seen HERE.

With four practice sessions and qualifying behind the teams, it is now full steam ahead towards the green flag at 14:10 local time tomorrow afternoon. It will be the beginning of a new era in North America, as it is round one of the new TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

We wish the best of luck to all of the Audi teams and hoping for a repeat of the terrific 2013 GT victory at the Daytona 24.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport 

TUSC: First pole position for Audi at Daytona

Audi Press Release

• Audi R8 LMS on top spot of the grid in Daytona 24 Hours
• Christopher Haase fastest in GT Daytona class (GTD)
• Perfect start for new Audi customer team Paul Miller Racing

Ingolstadt/Daytona, January 23, 2014 – Premiere for the four rings: For the first time, an Audi will start from the pole position in the 24-hour race at Daytona (U.S. state of Florida). The German Christopher Haase posted the fastest time in the GT Daytona class for production-based sports cars in the Audi R8 LMS of the new Audi customer team Paul Miller Racing.

67 prototypes and GT sports cars will be tackling the 24-hour race at Daytona on Saturday at 14:10 local time (20:10 CET). For Audi, the iconic North American endurance race opens the 2014 GT season with the race debut of the new U.S. version of the Audi R8 LMS.

29 entrants and six brands make the GT Daytona category for production-based GT sports cars the class with the largest number of participants in the race. Four Audi customer teams, including Paul Miller as one of the largest Audi dealerships in the USA, are fielding a total of five Audi R8 LMS cars this weekend. The mid-engine sports car was further developed by Audi Sport customer racing for the new GT Daytona category and is immediately starting from the pole position in its first race.

In an extremely thrilling qualifying session, the fastest six GT Daytona sports cars were within 89 thousandths of a second of each other and the best 20 within one second. Haase, on his fifth lap, relegated the Ferrari of Toni Vilander, which had been leading up to that point, to position two by 0.055s. Oliver Jarvis in the Audi R8 LMS of Fall-Line Motorsports trailed him in third place by only another 0.022s.

Nelson Canache jr. and Dion von Moltke secured grid positions 21 and 23 for the Flying Lizard Motorsports team. Marc Basseng in the Audi R8 LMS of GMG Racing, after a spin in the chicane, took position 24 – with a gap of only 1.408s.

The 52nd running of the Daytona 24 Hours marks the beginning of a new era in U.S. sports car racing. It is the first race after the American Le Mans Series merged with the GRAND-AM to form the new Tudor United SportsCar Championship (TUSCC). In the United States, FOX Network airs live coverage from Daytona, in Europe MotorsTV. The website www.imsa.com offers live radio and live timing.

When the race starts, the production Audi R8 V10 will make an entrance as well: The mid-engine sports car is used as the safety car at Daytona and will be leading the impressive field into the new era of U.S. sports car racing. Last year, Audi celebrated a one-two victory in the GT class at Daytona.

Selected quotes

Romolo Liebchen (Head of Audi Sport customer racing): “Obviously, we’re extremely happy with this result – it’s the first pole position for Audi at Daytona. Being on grid positions one and three in such a large field with such close time gaps is simply brilliant. But we shouldn’t misjudge the other cars on some of the more rearward positions because they’re not that far away in terms of the times they set. It looks like a good solution has been found for rating the different cars. This promises a thrilling race.”

Christopher Haase (Audi R8 LMS #48/Paul Miller Racing): “It’s a great feeling to be on the pole position at Daytona. Of course that’s not what’s going to decide the race, but for the first hour it’ll definitely be helpful. The team did a superb job: Our car was good from the beginning and we further improved it in the right direction. We can be very pleased and I’m already looking forward to the race start.”

Qualifying results

1 Bell/Haase/Miller/Rast (Audi R8 LMS) 1m 46.973s
2 Balzan/Westphal/Vilander/Case (Ferrari) 1m 47.028s
3 Espenlaub/Jarvis/Putman/Walker (Audi R8 LMS) 1m 47.050s
4 Longo/Serra/Negrao/Gomes (Ferrari) 1m 47.052s
5 Block/Carter/Davis/Davison (Aston Martin) 1m 47.055s
6 Tucker/Sweedler/Bell/Segal/Pier Guidi (Ferrari) 1m 47.062s
...
21 Canache jr./Pappas/Pumpelly/Winkelhock (Audi R8 LMS) 1m 48.045s
23 Albuquerque/Latif/Neiman/von Moltke (Audi R8 LMS) 1m 48.140s
24 Basseng/Sofronas/Stippler/Welch (Audi R8 LMS) 1m 48.381s

Update (not part of press release):

The official 24 Hours of Daytona track action got underway on Thursday. Two practice sessions preceded the four individual class qualifying sessions and a third practice session later in the evening.

Qualifying was highlighted by Paul Miller Racing taking pole position in the GTD class and Fall-Line Motorsports taking third within GTD. The celebrations were however short lived, as both of the two front running Audi cars were disqualified for technical infringements and will have to start from the back of the grid.

Paul Miller Racing was disqualified due to a problem with their rear wing end plates and Fall-Line Motorsports' ride height was at fault.

Due to the disqualifications the highest Audi on the starting grid is the #45 Flying Lizard Motorsports R8 LMS in eighteenth.

Friday update (not part of press release):

The big news yesterday was the pole position and subsequent disqualification of Paul Miller Racing's #48 Audi R8 LMS. Christopher Haase's GTD pole time was penalised following a technical infringement with the car's rear wing end plates. Since then the IMSA supervisory officials have reviewed the case. It was announced on Friday that Paul Miller Racing's pole position was reinstated and the penalty rescinded.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport