MTM Press Release A 606 hp, road legal super sports car with MICHELIN tyres takes almost two seconds off the existing lap record. The time was officially clocked at 1:29.89 as Bild Sporstscars test driver Guido Naumann sped across the finishing line at the Sachsenring. “Two laps to warm up the tyres, then go for broke”, Naumann commented coolly after his record lap. “The R8 LMS’s 606 hp certainly helped but the MICHELIN Sport Cup’s qualities - size 295/30 ZR 18s on the front, 345/30 ZR 19s at the rear” - also stood me in good stead.
The new record is almost two seconds faster then the previous time, clocked by a 730 hp Corvette ZR1. The experienced tester delivered a clear testimony for the mtm R8: “The combination of power and grip resulted in a comparatively smooth record run. The record lap was a doddle.”
mtm took care of the power and MICHELIN took care of the grip. The record breaking car boasts a V10 engine delivering power at 8,000 rpm. The power unit develops its maximum torque of 560 Nm at 6,500 rpm. The extra driving fun will set you back less than 4,000 euros at mtm; if you make an appointment the tyres can be fitted while you wait.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.”
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
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
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.
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.
Motoren Technik Mayer (MTM) is a well renowned German tuning company, specialising in various cars, including Audi. During 2013 they revealed a very interesting and equally potent new MTM Audi road car…an Audi R8 LMS for the streets.
9tro.com has recently reviewed the MTM R8 RS. That review along with the beautiful on-road R8 photos can be seen HERE.
MTM has followed an interesting route with the MTM R8 RS, their R8 LMS road car. Instead of engineering the maximum performance out of an Audi R8 road car, they have engineered an Audi race car to be road legal. From the track to the road quite literally. They have configured their R8 LMS into a setup which has been registered as a road legal vehicle, which can be converted back into GT3 specification for racing. The road legal configuration was registered with the name “MTM R8 RS”.
9tro.com has recently reviewed the MTM R8 RS. That review along with the beautiful on-road R8 photos can be seen HERE.
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.
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.
Once again, sport-auto had invited an illustrious selection of members of the pedal to the metal industry to the Tuner Grand Prix 2013 and almost all came to the Motordrome Short Course to show what's what when it comes down to metres and tenths of a second. The selected track measures not quite 2.6 kilometres, which is demanding for test drivers and machines alike.
Driving the Audi R8, Florian Gruber, MTM's chief racer and test driver, emphatically answered every question about who was the day's fastest with a lap time of 1:06.695 minutes. Nobody in the field of 66 starters was able to better it. In addition to its dominant role on the track, the 606 hp ten cylinder engine has also received the blessing of the TÜV (German Technical Inspection Authority) for use on the public highway; equipped with a height-adjustable chassis with three-part BBS wheel rims with central locking and tyres to match (Michelin Pilot Sport Cup - VA 295/30 - 18, HA 345/30-19) and a passenger seat.
All the same, Florian Gruber recorded a best time of 1:14.0 at the wheel of the MTM A1 quattro, enabling him to break into the ranks of the next higher class dominated by hot VW Golfs.
Roland Mayer, MTM's Managing Director and petrol head in one and the same person, voiced his satisfaction with the performance: "Armed with a stopwatch and under comparable conditions it's always good to show what a car prepared by MTM is capable of. On some another occasion, we will then demonstrate that our success is built not just on peak performance but on our reliability as well.
This year a racing edition of the MTM R8 is putting in an appearance at the international GT Sprint Series but with 40 hp less than the road version because of restrictions imposed by the rules. Up-and-coming racer Thomas Schöffler is available to the MTM team, as he was last year. Who will be driving the second MTM R8 at the next race meeting at the Slovakia Ring (8 - 9 June 2013) near the capital Bratislava will be decided shortly. The 10-cylinder naturally aspirated engines with their 560 hp will then have to prove themselves against international competition with illustrious names such as Porsche, Maserati and Ferrari. Noblesse oblige.
By Johan Laubscher The annual TunerGP was held at Hockenheim this past weekend, the sport auto High Performance Days 2013. It is a very popular European event for Tuning companies. MTM (Moteren Technik Mayer) has taken part in this event for many years, and this year they added a special car to their entry.
The MTM team has been competing in the Italian Superstars GT Sprint Series this season, using an Audi R8 LMS race car. They have shown good pace and results so far this year. The team decided to enter their Audi R8 LMS at the TunerGP. The event requires modified streetcars, thus MTM modified the specification of their R8 LMS to make it eligible for the TunerGP. The modifications allowed the car to be registered for street legislation and it was entered in the C15-A class for "supersportler" cars. The changes to the car included: raised ride-height, added passenger seat and new BBS three piece rims with Michelin Pilot Sport Cup tires. Florian Gruber drove the Audi at the event. The car was named the MTM R8 RS, after its modifications for the TunerGP. Gruber was able to post very fast lap times, which ultimately won the event overall. The overall average winning lap time was 1:06.695. The results from the TunerGP can be seen HERE. It was a great result for MTM, and the car looked and sounded great circling the short version of Hockenheim. An onboard video and photos from the MTM website have been included below. Photo credit and more information: MTM website MTM on Facebook
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.
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.
The International Superstars Series 2013 will start at Monza this weekend . It's the tenth edition of the Italian based touring car series open for production based big V8 coupes and sedans. Audi, the 2012 series champions, will have three Audi RS 5 quattro cars.
A major change at Audi this year is the departure of the 2012 driver champion Johan Kristoffersson. The Swedish ace will drive for Petri Corse with a Porsche Panamera.
The Audi teams for this season's competition are Audi Sport Italia and Audi Sport MTM. Audi Sport Italia will field a pair of RS 5 quattros for the team's star Gianni Morbidelli and Ferdinando Geri. MTM's car will be in the hands of the returning Thomas Schoffler. Last year the RS 5 was the best of the field, forcing the series organizers to give it major handicaps with extra weight and smaller restrictors yet Audi won the title in a dramatic finale at Pergusa.
Three old B7 Audi RS 4 were announced to enter the 2013 Superstars Series but they are not on Monza's round 1 entry list. The cars are from PRS NOS Racing.
A two-day format with both free and qualifying sessions set for Saturday, while the two races will take place on Sunday.
The stage was set for the finals of the Superstar Series 2012 at the seasoned Pergusa race track, which surrounds the same-named volcanic lake on the island of Sicily. Many race pilots, regardless of what car they were driving, would have rather stepped on the gas at a more modern venue. Here, the deck was stacked against them - especially to the disappointment of the Audi drivers - while it brought safety risks for all participants.
The handicaps for the three RS 5s were mainly a result of the extra weight ruling for winning brands. This affects acceleration as well as braking, at top speed, and has an especially adverse effect when hitting the curb. The additional weight pulls on the suspension, which is subjected to the most extreme endurance tests, particularly on two chicanes in Pegusa. In this respect, the 14th position of the candidate for the title, Johan Kristofferson, was not the result of a sudden loss of competence b ut rather the sum of all things - which easily tipped the scales. Thomas Schöffler, in the MTM RS 5, and Gianni Morbidelli were also not able to conjure up any magic against the laws of physics. The only thing that the Audi trio could count on, were position improvements due to failures by the competition. And the race brought it on: Kristofferson came in at fifth place in the first race, former Formula 1 pilot Gianni Morbidelli took sixth position and Thomas Schöffler fought his way into the top ten. Good prospects for a cockpit career can be expected for this 19-year-old newcomer, whose race alongside the experienced international players saw him come in at ninth place, which translated into eighth place when all chips were down.
Kristoffersson had to sweat to keep his narrow lead in the second run of the championship, especially since he was "torpedoed" from behind in the Pineta chicane, which ultimately totaled his RS 5. For safety reasons, Audi team manager Radaelli called the two remaining RS 5s, from Morbidelli and Schöffler, into the pit. When the day was over, Kristoffersson took the title, with a four-point lead.
Audi RS5s dominate the seventh round of the International Superstars Series in Vallelunga
"That was a groundbreaking weekend's racing - for Thomas and for MTM". So speaks Roland Mayer, waving happily to his 18-year-old protégé Thomas Schöffler, who - beaten only by his Swedish team colleague Johan Kristoffersson - is enjoying the fans' ovations from the second step of the podium.
The first race of the Superstars Series seventh meeting at the gates of the Eternal City followed on directly from the results of the qualifying race, which was clearly dominated by the three Audi RS5s. Thomas Schöffler benefited from the slipstream of his experienced team colleague Johan Kristoffersson and ex Formula 1 pilot Gianni Morbidelli to gain third starting position for his MTM- RS5.
Thomas Schöffler first podium this season
The starting line-up for the second race allocates positions one to eight based on the finishing times from the first race - but in reverse order. Schöffler succeeded in advancing from eighth to fourth place, which meant overtaking hard-bitten competitors such as Thomas Biagi and Giancarlo Fisichella. Following his triumph, Schöffler - the youngster in the international field - was full of praise for car and team: "This is the perfect introduction to international racing for me. It enables me to work as part of a team, learn from the old hands and appreciate the value of technical precision in MTM's conversion of my RS 5." What more could you ask?
For more information regarding the hightech performance of the car manufacturer MTM have a look at www.MTM-online.de, on Facebook or call +49 841 9818824.
This was a great weekend for Audi at Vallelunga. The German brand totally dominated the entire weekend. Pole position and double race wins.
Johan Kristoffersson was the true hero at the seventh round of the International Superstars Series. A great pole positon yesterday and two outstanding and undisputed race wins today. Most importantly Kristoffersson took the lead of the series point standings from rival Vitantonio Liuzzi in his Mercedes-Benz with two round to go.
Thomas Schöffler - Audi Sport MTM
Kristoffersson may have dominated the weekend but young Thomas Schöffler from Germany also did well today. A strong second place finish in race 1 and a fine fourth in race for the MTM driver. It was an unlucky weekend for Gianni Morbidelli as the double Superstars Series champion had a DNF in the first race. In race two the Audi Sport Italia came home in sixth place, not bad starting from far behind in a very competitive field.
Overall it was another dream weekend for the Audi squad. After the domination of Spa-Francorchamps, at Vallelunga the Audi RS5 quattro again proved to be one of the best in the field, if not the best.
