GT Sprint: MTM Motorsport 2013 season review

By Johan Laubscher

MTM Motorsport fielded an Audi R8 LMS in the 2013 Superstars GT Sprint Series. Thomas Schöffler was their regular driver and he was joined by multiple different co-drivers during the year. By the end of the season Thomas Schöffler was crowned as the GT Sprint drivers’ champion.

The season review has been compiled from the 2013 Audi Motorsport Blog Weekend Round Up posts. Each round has been added as was seen in the individual Weekend Round Up posts during 2013, which can be accessed via the links throughout the review below:

Round 1: Monza

Monza also hosted the first GT Sprint round this weekend. One Audi R8 LMS was entered by MTM and driven by Oliver Mayer and Thomas Schöffler. They had good pace all weekend and placed within the top eight for most of the proceedings.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (6-7/04/2013)

Round 2: Brno

The Superstars GT Sprint also took place at Brno this weekend, alongside the Superstars Series. MTM entered their Audi R8 LMS for Johan Kristoffersson and Thomas Schöffler. The car was seen with a new red and black livery. The team showed good pace and qualified well within the top ten, highlighted with a fourth for race one. Their highest finish was seventh in race two.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (18-20/05/2013)

Round 3: Slovakia Ring

The Superstars GT Sprint also held its third round alongside the Superstars at the Slovakia Ring. The MTM Audi R8 LMS was present, fitted with 2012 spec R8 LMS ultra rear-wing mounts for the first time. The driving was shared by Thomas Schöffler who was joined by Antti Buri this weekend. They qualified third and fourth respectively for the two races. Race one saw a great drive from the team as they won for the first time in the GT Sprint Series. After the success of the first race the MTM R8 LMS unfortunately retired during the second race.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (8-9/06/2013)

Round 4: Zolder

The Superstars GT Sprint was also held alongside the Superstars at Zolder. The MTM Audi R8 LMS was at the event, driven by Thomas Schöffler and Laurens Vanthoor. They showed great pace and qualified on pole for race one and second for race two. They finished second in both of the races.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (22-23/06/2013)

Round 5: Portimão

The Superstars GT Sprint was also in Portugal this weekend, with some Portuguese flavour being added to the Audi line-up. The MTM Audi R8 LMS team has fielded an Audi all season long, driven by Thomas Schöffler. He has shared the car with a number of drivers during the season, and this weekend he was partnered by Portuguese Audi Sport factory driver, Filipe Albuquerque. They qualified second and third for the two races. In the end they finished second in both of the races.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (20-21/07/2013)

Round 6: Donington

Donington hosted the Superstars GT  Sprint and Superstars Series this weekend. The MTM Audi R8 LMS with championship points leader Thomas Schöffler was entered. Schöffler was joined by factory Audi driver, Oliver Jarvis, as his co-driver. They qualified on pole for race one and third for race two. The first race saw the pairing finish third, followed by another third in race two.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (31/08-1/09/2013)

Round 7: Imola

The Superstars GT Sprint Series headed to Imola for its penultimate round of the season. MTM Motorsport continued their good form with the Audi R8 LMS. Thomas Schöffler, MTM’s lead driver, arrived at Imola as the GT Sprint championship points leader. The team’s aim was to defend his championship lead this weekend, ahead of the finale in October. He was joined by Johan Kristoffersson this weekend, sharing the controls of the #45 Audi R8 LMS. This was the second time that Kristoffersson had joined Schöffler and MTM this season, as he had also raced with the team during round two at Brno in May. They qualified on pole for race one, followed by second on the grid for race two. The two races were held on Sunday, with the first race seeing the Audi MTM pairing finishing in first place. They backed up that result with another victory in race two. It has been another very good weekend for MTM and Thomas Schöffler remains the championship points leader as the team heads to the finale at Vallelunga in October.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (28-29/09/2013)

Round 8: Vallelunga

The Superstars GT Sprint finale was at Vallelunga this weekend. MTM Motorsport topped off a great season with a tremendous result with their Audi R8 LMS in Italy. MTM’s lead driver, Thomas Schöffler, arrived at Vallelunga as the driver’s championship points leader. He was again joined by Johan Kristoffersson, after their double victory at Imola last time out. The MTM pairing qualified third for race one and sixth for race two. Race one saw them finishing in eighth place. This result was enough to ensure that Thomas Schöffler was crowned as the 2013 GT Sprint champion, with one race to spare. The second and final race of the day yielded a ninth place classification, closing off the 2013 GT Sprint season. It has been a great season for MTM Motorsport and their Audi R8 LMS with Thomas Schöffler as champion.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (12-13/10/2013)

Photo credit: Superstars

GT Sprint: Mission accomplished! MTM Team and Thomas Schöffler win the title for Audi

MTM Press Release

Vallelunga: 8th and last race of the GT Sprint Series 2013

“It was no walk in the park but a championship is not decided in a single race.” Roland Mayer, Managing Director of MTM GmbH, is satisfied with the way the season has gone, although the team was unfortunately unable to clinch a happy conclusion before the gates of the Eternal City. “We had two pit stops because of flat tyres and had to look on our competitors fighting for the top”, was how press officer Karla Kanz explained the unaccustomed sight of the black and red mtm Audi R8 LMS at the back of the field. And yet the first qualifying round had looked like presaging an exciting contest with the Ukraine team’s Ferrari 458s. Thomas Schöffler qualified for the third place on the starting grid but had to settle for a lower ranking in the race. But his joy at the first title in his still young career predominates: “the performance curve has become ever steeper, we raised our game from one race to the next, were never defenceless against the Ferraris’ numerical superiority and often enough won or at at least scored regularly and that is also why we deserved to win the title.”

Schöffler, who once again shared his cockpit with the Swede Johan Kristoffersson, notched up a total of 226 points, second-placed Glauco Solieri in his Porsche 911, managed a tally of 198, just two more than the Ukrainian Andrii Kruglyk in a Ferrari 458. The MTM Audi R8 LMS and Thomas Schöffler clearly dominated this year’s series. Since this championship started in 2010, there has only ever been one previous occasion when the Audi R8 drew attention to itself: last year in Pergusa the Italian team Merendino/Di Benedetto took 6th place.

The period after a race is the prelude to the next. But whether MTM confronts the pack again next year is as yet undecided. We do however have this utterance by boss Roland Mayer to go by: “there is no better advertising than racing successes over miles, metres and seconds.”

Photo credit: MTM

GT Sprint: Thomas Schöffler crowned champion with MTM Audi R8 LMS

By Johan Laubscher

The Superstars GT Sprint finale was at Vallelunga this weekend. MTM Motorsport topped off a great season with a tremendous result with their Audi R8 LMS in Italy.

MTM’s lead driver, Thomas Schöffler, arrived at Vallelunga as the driver’s championship points leader. He was again joined by Johan Kristoffersson, after their double victory at Imola last time out.

The MTM pairing qualified third for race one and sixth for race two.

Race one saw them finishing in eighth place. This result was enough to ensure that Thomas Schöffler was crowned as the 2013 GT Sprint champion, with one race to spare. The second and final race of the day yielded a ninth place classification, closing off the 2013 GT Sprint season.

It has been a great season for MTM Motorsport and their Audi R8 LMS with Thomas Schöffler as champion.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Communication / Media

GT Sprint: Double victory for MTM Audi R8 LMS and championship lead extended

By Johan Laubscher

The Superstars GT Sprint Series headed to Imola for its penultimate round of the season. MTM Motorsport continued their good form with the Audi R8 LMS.

Thomas Schöffler, MTM’s lead driver, arrived at Imola as the GT Sprint championship points leader. The team’s aim was to defend his championship lead this weekend, ahead of the finale in October. He was joined by Johan Kristoffersson this weekend, sharing the controls of the #45 Audi R8 LMS. This was the second time that Kristoffersson had joined Schöffler and MTM this season, as he had also raced with the team during round two at Brno in May.  

They qualified on pole for race one, followed by second on the grid for race two.

The two races were held on Sunday, with the first race seeing the Audi MTM pairing finishing in first place. They backed up that result with another victory in race two.

It has been another very good weekend for MTM and Thomas Schöffler remains the championship points leader as the team heads to the finale.

The final round of the Superstars GT Sprint Series will take place at Vallelunga from 12-13 October.

Photo credit: Superstars

GT Sprint: Another double podium for MTM Audi R8 LMS at Donington Park

By Johan Laubscher

The Superstars GT Sprint championship was in Britain this weekend, hosting round six at Donington Park.

Thomas Schöffler has been behind the wheel of the #45 MTM Audi R8 LMS at all of the GT Sprint events this season. He arrived at Donington as the championship points leader. Oliver Jarvis, a factory Audi Sport driver, was Schöffler’s teammate this weekend.

They qualified on pole for race one, followed by a third spot for the race two grid. Race one saw the pair battling at the front and ultimately finishing in third. The second race yielded another third place result. Races one and two were dominated by the Team Ukraine Ferrari 458 Italias, finishing 1-2 in both races.

It was another good weekend for MTM and their Audi R8 LMS, gathering more vital championship points for Thomas Schöffler and his bid for the title.

Round seven of the Superstars GT Sprint will be returning to Italy, being hosted at Imola at the end of September.  

Photo credit: Superstars

GT Sprint: Pole position for MTM Audi R8 LMS at Donington Park

By Tarek Ramchani

The Superstars GT Sprint is at Donington Park this weekend. A single Audi R8 LMS from MTM is at the British track and has already achieved very strong performances.

The #45 Audi R8 LMS is shared by the team's regular Thomas Schöffler, who is joined by Audi factory driver Oliver Jarvis this weekend. Thomas Schöffler is leading the overall driver's points standings. In the first qualifying session they took pole position with a fastest time of 1:28.834. The Audi car was followed by two Ferrari 458 GT3 cars in second and third.

In the second qualifying session the MTM Audi performed well again. A fine third for Jarvis and Schöffler. Up ahead it was a Ferrari 458 GT3 1-2, the two cars from Team Ukraine.

The two races are set for tomorrow. Best of luck to MTM and their two drivers.

Photo credit: Superstars Series

GT Sprint: Double podium for MTM Audi R8 LMS in Portugal

By Johan Laubscher 

The Superstars GT Sprint Series was in Portugal this weekend, hosting round five at Portimao. MTM Motorsport achieved good and consistent results with their Audi R8 LMS.

The MTM Motorsport entry was headlined by the addition of some Portuguese flavour being added to the Audi line-up. The MTM Audi R8 LMS team has fielded an Audi all season long, driven by Thomas Schöffler. He has shared the car with a number of drivers during the year, and this weekend he was partnered by Portuguese Audi Sport factory driver, Filipe Albuquerque. 

During quaulifying they achieved a second and third place on the gird for the two races respectively. The first race saw the duo maintaining second position to the finish-line, for the first of two podium results. Race two saw the Audi dropping back, but Albuquerque drove very well and recovered up to second place, a position which he held to the finish.

A good weekend for MTM Motorsport, scoring yet more podium results in the GT Sprint Series.

The next GT Sprint event will take place at Donington in September.

Photo credit: Superstars

GT Sprint: MTM team puts down marker against established competition

MTM Press Release

Surrounded by Ferrari 458s, Porsche 997s and Chevy Corvette Z06 Rs accustomed to victory. MTM drivers Thomas Schöffler and Antti Buri in their MTM Audi R8 LMS assured themselves of a place in the sun in training for the third qualifying run.

They managed to start the first of the two qualifying runs in third position and put in an impressive showing in the further course of the race against the fastest two Ferrari teams in training of Studenic/Tkac and Vorba/Jakubik. After one hour, the Audi R8 LMS prepared and fielded by mtm was the first through the finishing tape with a lead of a shade under ten seconds. For technical reasons the previously victorious team was then unable to take any further part in deciding the second run of the race.

Roland Mayer, MTM GmbH's Managing Director commented: "Because of a minor fault with the Electronic Control Unit, the engine only run in emergency mode. This may have been caused by an inspection of the r estrictors after the first run - we are currently looking into that." Apart from that Roland Mayer was satisfied with the dynamic development of his team: "Racing is not just about the speed on the track. All the different disciplines have to work together quickly and accurately, get the job done with split second precision so that we can challenge and beat the established competition."

The direction is clear - the next meeting of the GT-Sprint International Series will take place in Zolder on 23.06.2013.

Our new goal: overall victory at the end of the season.

Photo credit: MTM

MTM Audi R8 LMS - chased in the GT sprint series‏

MTM Press Release

The MTM team was obliged to contest the first race of this series, run at the beginning of April in Monza, with all its talent for improvisation and a thick wadge of experience garnered on the world's fastest tracks, since the decision to take part in this competition having been made at very short notice. "Top performance is best demonstrated in sports. That is part of our company philosophy" was how MTM boss Roland Mayer explained his recent involvement in an international competition. Olivier Mayer, an old stager of the Ingolstadt "pedal to the metal" guild and no relation of the MTM founder, whether by blood or marriage, fought his corner creditably, impressively demonstrating the potential performance of an MTM Audi R8 LMS in the face of the overmighty Ferrari 458 and Porsche 997.

The Wettstetten team has hit its competitive stride before the second race of the series, to be held next weekend in Brünn in the Czech Republic, and will be taking on its competitors with fresh drivers, new livery and a large racing car transporter. Thomas Schöffler, last year the stand-out rookie of the Superstar Series, and old hand Johan Kristofferson will each be driving an R8 LMS fielded by MTM. The phalanx of competitors should take the two Audi racing cars with their 10 cylinder naturally aspirated engines seriously. They have demonstrated their enormous performance in numerous races in every corner of the globe. With Schöffler's and Kristofferson's intervention in the GT Sprint Series action we have two drivers who are always in contention for podium places.

After the second race in Brünn there are another six races in the programme before the title is awarded. Slovakiaring, Zolder, Portimao, Donington, Imola and Vallelunga.

Photo credit: MTM

GT Sprint: MTM Audi R8 LMS performed well at Monza

By Johan Laubscher

The Superstars GT Sprint championship saw a new Audi entry this weekend. MTM Motorsport entered a single Audi R8 LMS driven by Oliver Mayer and Thomas Schöffler

The team’s red and silver car performed very well this weekend, round one of the championship. The duo placed well during practice and qualifying, each time placing within the top eight.

Race one saw the #45 MTM R8 LMS finish in seventh. The good result from race one was improved even further with a brilliant showing during race two. Thomas Schöffler was running near the front and as high as third at one point. He was running in fourth when he came in for the driver change. Oliver Mayer re-emerged onto the track in fourth after the pitstop. He eventually dropped to fifth and maintained the position to the finish.

The next GT Sprint round takes place alongside the Superstars Championship at Brno in May.  

Photo credit: Superstars Series