TUSC: Hard qualifying for Audi teams at Road Atlanta

By Tarek Ramchani

The Audi teams faced a hard and unlucky qualifying session at Road Atlanta. None of the three Audi R8 LMS cars made it into the Top 10 for today's Petit Le Mans, the finale of the 2014 TUDOR United SportsCar Championship.

Best of the Audis was the #48 R8 LMS entry from Paul Miller Racing. The car in the hands of Christopher Haase, Bryce Miller and Matt Bell qualified in thirteenth place within the GT Daytona class with a best time of 1:23.592.

Best of the Audi's w/a P13 starting position tomorrow for the No.48 #Audi #welcomechallenges @mattbellracing @chhaase @bryceracer #PLM
— Paul Miller Racing (@paulmilleracing) October 3, 2014

The two Audi cars from Flying Lizard Motorsports were right behind. The #35 R8 LMS with drivers Nelson Canache, Spencer Pumpelly and Andrew Palmer qualified in fourteenth place with a best time of 1:23.595.

The sister #45 Audi R8 LMS was eighteenth, the car is driven by Dion von Moltke, Seth Neiman and Alessandro Lattif.

The 45 will start 14th, the 35 will start 18th. 10 hours to get to the front
— Flying Lizard (@FlyingLizard_MS) October 3, 2014

GT Daytona pole position went to the #007 Aston Martin Vantage GT3 from TRG-AMR. The #58 Porsche GT America from Dempsey Racing was second. The #73 Porsche GT America from Park Place Motorsport was third.

Petit Le Mans qualifying results can be seen here.

The race is a 10-hour endurance event with a live stream coverage available at www.imsa.com.

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Flying Lizard Motorsports

TUSC: Promising British GT youngster heads stateside again to race Flyning Lizard Audi

Alessandro Latif Press Release

Alessandro Latif will make his Petit Le Mans race debut on Saturday (4 Oct) when the talented British youngster makes a third appearance for the US-based Flying Lizard Motorsports team at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS.

Londoner Latif, who has already scored six Pro-Am Trophy wins in his maiden Blancpain Sprint Series season with Phoenix Racing in Europe, will tackle the prestigious annual 1,000-mile race at Road Atlanta with American duo Seth Neiman and Dion von Moltke.

It means 18-year-old Latif, who made his Le Mans 24 Hour race debut this year, will have raced in North America’s biggest three endurance sportscar races in his first season of GT racing – the Daytona 24 Hours, Sebring 12 Hours and now the Petit race which runs to either 1,000-miles or 10 hours whichever occurs first.

“I’m delighted to be back racing for the Flying Lizard Motorsports team and especially excited to be contesting the famous Petit Le Mans race,” confirmed Latif.

“I settled well into the team at Daytona and Sebring earlier this year and really worked well with them. It is a pleasure to be driving for such a professional team.

“I’ve already had an amazing introduction to the North American racing scene competing in two of the biggest sportscar races so to now get the opportunity to race an Audi at Petit Le Mans is fantastic.”

The undulating and sweeping 2.54-mile track is located near Braselton, 50-miles northeast of Atlanta, Georgia. Latif will take to the track for the first time on Thursday (2 Oct) with qualifying for the expected 50 plus car entry on Friday evening. The race is scheduled to start at 4.15pm (BST) on Saturday afternoon.

Alessandro added: “I have never been to the Road Atlanta track but having watched some videos of past races there, it looks spectacular with some sections absolutely breathtaking.

“Not having had the opportunity to test prior to the Petit weekend will make it a tough challenge but I will prepare myself as best as I can on the simulator.”

The Audi R8 LMS ultra that Latif races in Europe differs substantially from the GTD class Audi the British youngster will race at Petit due to the differing regulations in North American road racing.

“The two Audi sportscars are very different ‘animals’,” confirms Latif. “The GT3 Audi that I race in Europe has got electronic aids like traction control and anti-lock ABS braking which the GTD R8 is not allowed to have so it’s more physical to drive.

“There is also a lot more grip produced by the additional aerodynamics on the GT3 Audi. Overall you have to caress the GTD car more as it requires much smoother inputs from the driver.”

Latif placed fifth and eighth in class at Daytona (January) – his first 24 hour race and first race in an Audi – and Sebring (March) respectively and Alessandro has his sights set on another top-five result.

Latif concluded: “A top-five is my goal. I’m in a very strong driver line-up and, as importantly, with an experienced and good team. Monitoring the results while I’ve been racing in Europe it seems the regulations do not particular favour the Audi but we just have to get on and race with what we’re allowed. Our main opposition will come from Ferrari and Porsche. But we’ll put up a big fight.”

Alex was recently part of the world’s largest gathering of Jaguar D-Types when 30 examples were driven in a parade at the Goodwood Revival (14 Sep).

Photo credit: Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman

TUSC: Paul Miller Racing Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas Race Report

Paul Miller Racing Press Release

Continuing their consistent and competitive form they have demonstrated all season, Paul Miller Racing drivers Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase drove the No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS to a solid sixth-place finish in the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship Lone Star Le Mans at Circuit of The Americas (COTA) on Saturday.

The finish was the top result for an Audi R8 LMS in the GT Daytona (GTD) division but the team grappled with an overall lack of pace compared to the competition throughout the weekend. The hard-earned result also kept the team and drivers in contention for a top-three finish in the season-long IMSA TUDOR Championship with only next month’s Petit Le Mans at Road Atlanta remaining on the 2014 schedule.

“It’s really difficult,” Bryce Miller said. “The Balance of Performance (BoP) hasn’t been competitive for us since Daytona and it seems to be getting worse and worse. I think it showed in the lap times. However, I’m still really proud of the guys. We beat a lot of competitors who were faster than us, and that’s due to the impressive teamwork. We were able to leap frog some cars in the pits, and Chris did an awesome job.”

Starting from the seventh row, Bryce Miller took on race-opening duties and promptly moved into the top 10. A spin later in his stint dropped him down in the running order but he quickly recovered and stayed on the lead lap.

A timely yellow came out just before the one-hour mark and the team called the No. 48 to the pits with the rest of the GTD lead pack. Haase took over and gained as many positions as he could in the race’s final one hour and 45 minutes.

“I had a spin in the start that was really costly and Chris just did an awesome job to drive us back up and get us some great championship points,” Bryce Miller said.

Haase steadily improved throughout his double driving stint to the finish on the 3.4-mile Formula 1 circuit. He broke into the top 10 early in his shift and, after passing a few more competitors, found himself in seventh after a stellar final pit stop by the Paul Miller Racing crew. He slipped by one more competitor before the checkered flag for the sixth-place result.

“I think we should be proud of what we did today,” Haase said. “I know it was not possible for us to get more out of the car. We have a difficult Balance of Performance but the race showed that we do have race pace and the ability to be consistently quick. The pit stop was great and there were no mistakes from the team. I’m ready for Petit but we can only hope the BoP will favor us for the end of the season.”

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman

Pirelli World Challenge: Unbelievable bad luck hit Mike Skeen Audi in Utah race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi driver and Pirelli World Challenge title contender Mike Skeen faced an unbelievable bad luck in yesterday's race 1 in Miller Motorsport Park in Utah. Overall it was a very hard race for the Audi squad with a single R8 LMS ultra within the Top 10.

The Audi driver of the #2 CRP Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra finished down in twenty-third place after a technical issue on his CRP Racing machine. Mike Skeen lost big points in the title battle against Cadillac's Johnny O'Connel, who finished second.

The best ranked Audi R8 LMS ultra was the #21 car from GMG Racing driven by Andrew Palmer in seventh place. Alex Welsch ended in twelfth place driving the #95 Audi R8 LMS ultra from GMG Racing. Jeff Courtney was fifteenth driving the #99 Audi R8 LMS ultra from JCR Motorsport. Brent Holden was sixteenth driving the #44 Audi R8 LMS ultra from GMG Racing.

Overall race victory went to Guy Smith driving the #88 Bentley Continental GT3 from Dyson Racing Team Bentley. Johnny O'Connel was second with the works #3 Cadillac CTS-V.R from Cadillac Racing. Third place to Butch Leitzinger with the #08 Bentley Continental GT3 from Dyson Racing Team Bentley.

Utah race 1 results can be seen here.

Race 2 is set for today, Mike Skeen chances to clinch the title are very slim, the Audi squad will fight for the manufacturers' title against Cadillac, the two brands with 85 points each.

Photo credit: Pirelli World Challenge /  Melissa K. Smith

Pirelli World Challenge: Mike Skeen and Audi dominated Sonoma race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

It was a kind of complete domination for Mike Skeen and the CRP Racing team at Sonoma. The Hawk Performance driver and team took a flag to flag Pirelli World Challenge race 1 victory.

The day started very well for Mike Skeen, he took a great pole position with his #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Later in the race he never lost the race lead. He crossed the finish line victorious ahead of the Porsche 997 GT3-R of Ryan Dalziel (EFFORT Racing) and the Bentley Continental GT3 (Dyson Racong) of Butch Leitzinger.

Mike Skeen and Audi collected big point in the battles for Pirelli World Challenge drivers' and manufacturers' championship titles.

Another Audi driver who performed very well was Andrew Palmer. The GMG Racing driver finished in a strong fourth place with his #21 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Palmer challenged Butch Leitzinger for the third spot on the podium but the time was running out.

James Sofronas the team-onwer of GMG Racing finished in seventh place with the #14 Audi. Jeff Courtney was twelfth overall and second within the GT-A class with the #99 R8 LMS ultra from JCR Motorsports.

Brent Holden with the #44 Audi from GMG Racing was fourteenth overall and fourth in GT-A. Bill Ziegler was seventeenth with the #95 car from GMG Racing.

Sonoma race 1 results can be seen here.

Photo credit: Pirelli World Challenge /  Melissa K. Smith

TUSC: Oak Tree Grand Prix at Virginia International Raceway Next For Flying Lizard Motorsports

Flying Lizard Motorsports Press Release

It will be a very busy weekend for team driver Spencer Pumpelly (USA) as he will race in both Flying Lizard Motorsports Audi R8 LMS race cars during the two hour and forty five minute TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race, as well as trying his hand at announcing for the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo series at VIR. Spencer will join Dion von Moltke (South Africa) in the No. 35 PR Newswire / UBM Tech / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS, as Dion's normal co-driver and team principal Seth Neiman has not yet been cleared to return to the race car after a hip injury at the Brickyard Grand Prix at Indianapolis two races ago. Spencer will also race with his normal co-driver, Nelson Canache Jr. (Venezuela), in the No. 45 Yoddle / Venezuela / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS, starting the race in the No. 35 and finishing the race in the No. 45.

The 3.27-mile Virginia International Raceway circuit has been completely repaved and widened in spots, leading to a new challenge for all of the teams leading into the race weekend. Additionally, the race will be a GT-only affair, with the Flying Lizard's GT Daytona class being joined by GT Le Mans. This will make for much less traffic for all of the drivers as the Prototype Challenge class races separately and the Prototype class skips this stop on the TUDOR calendar.

Three total hours of practice will precede qualifying at 12:30pm ET on Saturday, August 23rd, with the race at 4:05pm ET on Sunday, August 24th. Live timing and scoring for the race and all practice sessions and qualifying can be found at www.imsa.com and on the IMSA mobile app. Qualifying will be broadcast live on IMSA.com and in the United States, the race will be televised live at 4:00pm ET on Fox Sports 1 and also on the Fox Sports Go mobile app. Outside of the United States, the full race broadcast will also be available live at www.imsa.com.

About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).

Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2012, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, sixth in 2011, and fourth in 2012.

Please visit the team website at www.lizardms.com and the team store atwww.flyinglizardstore.com.

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: Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman

Pirelli World Challenge: The Audi squad chasing victories and big points at Sonoma

By Tarek Ramchani

The Pirelli World Challenge is heading back to California this weekend with Sonoma Raceway hosting the penultimate round of the 2014 season. A total of six Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will enter the event.

The Audi teams and drivers are aiming high at Sonoma chasing both race wins and big points. Battle is raging between Audi and Cadillac for both drivers' and manufacturers' titles with only two meetings left.

In the upper GT class, three cars will fight for overall win. Mike Skeen who is second in the overall drivers' standing behind Cadillac's Johnny O'Connel will drive the Audi R8 LMS ultra from CRP Racing. GMG will have two cars for team owner James Sofronas and team-mate Andrew Palmer.

Three Audis will fight for GT-A class victory, the division open to gentlemen drivers. GMG Racing will have two cars for Brent Holden and Bill Ziegler. The third Audi is from JCR Motorsport, the car will be driven by Jeff Courtney.

Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at Sonoma:

#2 CRP Racing - Mike Skeen
#15 GMG Racing - James Sofronas
#21GMG Racing - Andrew Palmer
#44 GMG Racing - Brent Holden (GT-A)
#95 GMG Racing - Bill Ziegler (GT-A)
#99 JCR Motorsports - Jeff Courtney (GT-A)

Photo credit: Pirelli World Challenge

TUSC: Audi teams ready for the all GT battle of VIR

By Tarek Ramchani

The TUDOR United SportsCar Championship is moving to the very beautiful Virginia International Raceway this weekend. A very special round with no prototypes on track and an all GT field.

Only two classes will take part in the 2h45 endurance event: GT Le Mans and GT Daytona. The usual four Audi R8 LMS cars have been entered from the three regular teams. The target will be to give Audi  a first win this season in TUSC. The R8 LMS has been really close to GTD victory too many times this season, only denied by bad luck.

At VIR the Audi teams and drivers will once again battle the strong rivals from Ferrari, Porsche, BMW, Viper and Aston Martin teams.

Flying Lizard Motorsport will field its pair of Audis. The #35 car will be driven by Dion von Moltke and a returning Seth Neiman. The sister #45 car will be in the hands of Nelson Canache Jr and Spencer Pumpelly.

The drivers of the #46 Audi R8 LMS from Fall-Line Motorsports have not been announced yet. The final Audi effort is coming from Paul Miller Racing, their #48 car will have Christopher Haase and Bryce Miller as drivers.

Action will start Friday with two practice session. Practice 3 and qualifying are set for Saturday. The warm-up and the race on Sunday with a live stream coverage at www.imsa.com.

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman

TUSC: Paul Miller Racing, Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase Survive for 11th at Road America

Paul Miller Racing Press Release

Following a series of on-track incidents in a caution-plagued event, Paul Miller Racing No. 48 Castrol EDGE Audi R8 LMS drivers Bryce Miller and Christopher Haase endured a long day to finish 11th in the GT Daytona (GTD) division in Sunday’s Continental Tire Road Race Showcase at Road America.

The eighth round of the IMSA TUDOR United SportsCar Championship would be a tough one for the No. 48 team, and many other competitors, but Paul Miller Racing’s championship hopes remain alive despite finishing just outside of the top 10.

More than half of the timed 2-3/4 hour race was run under caution, with more than 90 minutes of yellow flags from six different incidents.

“I never saw a race like this, much less driven in one,” Bryce Miller said. “I think the amount of caution time compared to the overall race time was ridiculous. There were so many incidents and we somehow got caught up in all of them. It never seemed to be our weekend. We just had to try and make something out of it, and the guys did a really good job. We need to focus on the next race and get back to doing what we do.”

Gridding ninth, Miller made a strong start to his day, surviving a wild set of opening caution laps due to a spate of incidents around the track. The race-slowing cautions compounded the fact that the current rules BoP (Balance of Performance) clearly did not favor the Audi R8 LMS ranks on the four-mile Road America circuit.

A timely caution period just past the 30-minute mark gave the team a break they needed only to see Miller suffer a double contact incident. The first hit was in the door by a fellow Audi competitor, and moments later the No. 48 was struck again by a GTD-class Porsche that came together with Miller as he slowly drove his stricken Audi back to the pits.

Although the Audi driver later apologized, the incident cost the No. 48 team two laps and any realistic shot at the victory.

Haase took over and all attention turned to regaining the lost ground. The steady stream of cautions twice allowed the Paul Miller team to take advantage of yellow-flag wave-arounds to eventually claw back on to the lead lap in the final hour of the race.

With only minutes remaining, Haase charged to improve within the top-10 only to spin into the Turn 1 gravel trap. Safety crews eventually towed the No. 48 out but the team was back to being two laps down and locked into 11th place until the checkered flag.

“The weekend was very difficult for the Audi teams,” Haase said. “We saw it in the performance. We were running on the edge and just couldn’t go faster. By the end of the race we were running out of time. To improve the position I had to do something but it didn’t work in the first corner. I spun and was in the gravel. I held the position but I couldn’t improve it.”

With the busy summer season still under way, Paul Miller Racing and several classes of the IMSA TUDOR Championship will return to action in less than two weeks at Virginia International Raceway, August 22 – 24. The featured Oak Tree Grand Prix can be seen in live coverage on FOX Sports 1, Sunday, August 24, at 4 p.m. EDT/1 p.m. PDT.

Photo credit: Paul Miller Racing / Bob Chapman

Q&A: Interview with Mike Skeen - Audi driver in Pirelli World Challenge

By Tarek Ramchani

Team CRP Racing and their driver Mike Skeen have been regular competitors in the demanding Pirelli World Challenge since many years.

A big change this season with the team joining the Audi Sport customer racing family. It didn't took too long for CRP Racing and Mike Skeen to win with the R8 LMS ultra. He won two races and he is second overall in the drivers' championship points standing behind series leader Johnny O'Connel.

We were pleased to have an interview with Mike Skeen. A very interesting Q/A about his debut with the Audi brand in Pirelli World Challenge and his thoughts about the series and more.

Since the Grand of Long Beach your team CRP has made the switch to the Audi R8 LMS ultra, tell us more about that.

We knew coming to the 2014 season that the allowance of full GT3 cars would make that a requirement to be competitive in the series--essentially making the grandfathered World Challenge cars uncompetitive without a full factory effort like Cadillac. We had hoped to make the switch before St. Petersburg, but talks with all the manufacturer customer racing programs took a bit longer and we finally had a program together just in time for Long Beach.

Audi Sport customer racing North America is supporting a great number of cars in Pirelli World Challenge now; how does their interaction with the different customer team work?

The Audi Sport Customer Racing support program is really what made us choose to race an R8. The car is obviously a very formidable piece of equipment, but there are many great GT3 cars. The customer service and engineering support and involvement from the Audi program is really second to none in World Challenge. There is always a trailer at the races with a few staff members from technicians to engineers and an extensive spares package that allows us to have a smaller investment in such parts.

At Road America you dominated the entire weekend with the Audi R8 LMS ultra; what were the keys to success there?

The test day at Road America was really the first opportunity we had with the Hawk Performance Audi to get some significant testing time. Up to that point, most of the events were shorter schedules and we had very limited running. This was also a circuit that we knew would suit the GT3 cars because of the higher downforce levels being well-paired with the smoother surface as compared to the street circuits.

In the last two years the Pirelli World Challenge GT field has become very impressive, how demanding is the competition?

Yes, the competition is at a very high level now in the Pirelli World Challenge GT class. Qualifying sessions usually see many drivers with an opportunity at the pole and generally about ten cars are within a second of each other. There are many internationally-successful drivers, factory pilots, and some of the best that America has to offer. I am very excited to be a part of it and fighting for the championship lead.

Do you agree that the welcoming of full specification FIA GT3 race cars by the Pirelli World Challenge and SCCA has boosted the series?

No question the introduction of full specification FIA GT3 cars has brought a new energy to the series. The fans are very enthusiastic about the cars everywhere we go and the field sizes have grown tremendously. The shorter, sprint race format is very exciting, and the competition has never been closer.

Your Audi R8 LMS ultra is one of the American Grand-Am/TUSC versions that has been upgraded to the R8 LMS ultra specification. Are there any significant differences, other than the three window bars and the open window doors, between your car and the cars at GMG Racing which started off as the European R8 LMS / R8 LMS ultra specification models?

Our car has been updated to Ultra spec is nearly every way. We now have the door windows and of course the GT3-spec aero treatment. I believe a few of the GMG cars are also older cars that have been updated, but for all intents and purposes, the cars are currently the same.

Some rumours and speculation are circulating regarding endurance events in Pirelli World Challenge; what do you think about that?

I do not think the endurance events are something that Pirelli World Challenge needs to pursue. The excitement of the sprint racing format is what has really drawn me and many of the fans to the series. There are plenty of alternatives if endurance racing is what you're looking for (as a participant or fan). Now it looks like IMSA will be allowing the GT3 spec in 2016 anyways, so there's really no reason to go head-to-head with that series.

Separate races for GT and GTS classes in Pirelli World Challenge, good or bad idea?

I think we are at a point again where this should be considered. Although the mixed class racing can be very exciting and I enjoy the extra challenge, many of the street courses we go to are simply too crowded. In these cases, we end up getting a lot of full course cautions that really hurt our short races. I think we will see a mixed schedule in the next couple years with some separate races at these events.

What do you think about the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship and could we see you there in an Audi?

The IMSA organization has some great racing and I enjoy being a part of it when I can. Although I prefer the sprint races to the endurance events, you can't argue with the level of competition in every class at an IMSA event. I hope to make an appearance or two in TUDOR before the end of the year and will look forward to opportunities there in 2015.

Do you follow European based sportscar racing (FIA World Endurance Championship and Blancpain Endurance Series)?

Yes, absolutely. I have a lot of those races stacked up on the DVR at home and don't get enough time to view them! I love watching the in-car videos when I can find them and would really like to do some races there in the next few years. There are many European and international racetracks on my bucket list, so I need to get on it!

Which is your favourite race track?

Aside from the Nurburgring, my favorite track is probably Virginia International Raceway. I consider it my home track, and I think it has an excellent combination of high-speed and technical corners. It has recently had some major upgrades to the facility as well. It's unfortunate Pirelli World Challenge doesn't currently visit, but perhaps soon. My favorite track in the series currently is probably Mid-Ohio.

Photo credit: Pirelli World Challenge

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: Flying Lizard Motorsports Looks to Rebound at Continental Tire Road Race Showcase

Flying Lizard Motorsports Press Release

The Lizards have opened the second half of the season with a string of bad luck, including being on the receiving end of multiple instances of contact in the team's last race at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, but hope to turn things around at the 4.048-mile Road America race track during this weekend's two hour and forty five minute TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race. Nelson Canache Jr. (Venezuela) and Spencer Pumpelly (USA) will once again team up in the No. 45 Venezuela / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS and sit in 8th place in the GT Daytona class driver points, and look to move up in the standings with a strong showing this weekend. The team will also welcome a rising sportscar star to the No. 35 car, with Andrew Palmer (USA) subbing in for team principal and driver Seth Neiman, who is still on the mend from a hip injury which kept him out of the Indianapolis race. Andrew will join Dion von Moltke (USA) in the No. 35 Spyder / PR Newswire / UBM Tech / eSilicon Audi R8 LMS, and joins the team during a very successful Pirelli World Challenge campaign, in which he is currently tied for 3rd in the GT class standings. Andrew is the 2010 Rotax Jr National Karting Champion, the 2013 Blancpain Lamborghini Super Trofeo World Champion, and is racing an Audi R8 LMS ultra this season, all while studying full time at Pomona College in Claremont, California.

Driver Quote: Andrew Palmer, No. 35:
"I am very excited to be racing with the Flying Lizard Motorsports team this weekend at Road America in the TUDOR United SportsCar Championship race. I look forward to the transition to the GTD spec car, and coming from the Audi R8 LMS ultra, it will be very interesting to learn how to be quick with less aero and with no ABS or traction control. This is also my first ever endurance race! I grew up watching the Flying Lizard team race in the ALMS and in Grand Am and I can't wait to actually be a part of the effort. Hopefully Dion and I can put together a solid race and end up on the podium for FLM and for Audi Sport Customer Racing. It should be a great weekend!"

Flying Lizard is on track for practice on Friday and Saturday, with qualifying at 4:20pm CT on Saturday, August 9th. The race itself will start at 1:15pm on Sunday, August 10th. Live timing and scoring for the race and all practice sessions and qualifying can be found at www.imsa.com and on the IMSA mobile app. Qualifying will be broadcast live on IMSA.com and in the United States, the race will be televised tape-delayed starting at 6:30pm ET on Fox Sports 1 and also on the Fox Sports Go mobile app, and available live on IMSA.com. Outside of the United States, the full race broadcast will also be available live at www.imsa.com.

About Flying Lizard Motorsports
Flying Lizard is based on Sonoma, California, and has competed in the American Le Mans Series for ten consecutive seasons, from 2004 to 2012 in the GT class and in 2013 in GTC. The Lizards have won two ALMS GT team championships (2008 and 2009), one ALMS GTC team championship (2013), and have secured three ALMS GT Drivers' championships (2008, 2009, and 2010).

Flying Lizard has also competed in the 24 Heures du Mans from 2005 through 2012, finishing third in 2005, fourth in 2006, sixth in 2008, sixth in 2011, and fourth in 2012.

Please visit the team website at www.lizardms.com and the team store atwww.flyinglizardstore.com.

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: Flying Lizard Motorsports / Bob Chapman

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