Audi Press Release Filipe Albuquerque to compete for Audi in the Le Mans 24 Hours. While Nico Müller is switching to the DTM, Filipe Albuquerque, after three years in touring cars, is following the call of endurance racing. The 28-year-old Audi factory driver from Portugal will be competing for the four rings in the LMP program as well as in GT sport. His season will start on January 25/26 with a commitment in the Daytona 24 Hours in an Audi R8 LMS of the Flying Lizard Motorsport team. Last year, Albuquerque won the GT class there.
In the new Audi R18 e-tron quattro hybrid sports car, the Portuguese, as part of the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), will contest the 6-hour race at Spa-Francorchamps (May 3) and the Le Mans 24 Hours (June 14/15). Albuquerque has already successfully performed track tests in the LMP1 sports car for Audi Sport and looks forward to the new challenge: “I can hardly wait: I’m going to compete at Le Mans in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro, in other words in the best car in the biggest race of the world. Hybrid, quattro, traction control – I’m getting to know many exciting technologies that are new to me. It’s good that I’ll be able to draw on the know-how of experienced team-mates. That’ll accelerate my familiarization.”
The DTM is at the Nürburgring this weekend for the seventh round of the 2013 season. The free practice session, held this morning, was dominated by Audi with their Audi RS 5 DTM cars.
Seven Audi drivers were within the top 8, a remarkable achievement given the world class level in the German Touring Car Masters. Filipe Albuquerque was the fastest in the field, the Team Rosberg driver set a time of 1:23.491, enough to secure the first place. The Portuguese driver was followed by the series points leader Mike Rockenfeller. Rocky was only 0.003 seconds behind, the Phoenix Racing driver proving his very strong pace.
Adrien Tambay was fourth fastest and the best driver at Abt Sportsline. Miguel Molina, Rockenfeller's teammate at Phoenix Racing, was fifth. Timo Scheider (Abt Sportsline) was sixth, Edoardo Mortara (Team Rosberg) was seventh and Mattias Ekström (Abt Sportsline) was eighth. Jamie Green was outside of the top 10, the new comer at Audi Sport was only seventeenth.
The free practice session results can be seen here.
The qualifying session is next at the Nürburgring. Fingers crossed for the three Audi teams and the eight factory drivers.
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.
