GT Tour: Victory for Sainteloc Racing Audi in Val de Vienne race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

The second French GT Tour race at Val de Vienne gave the Audi Sport customer racing squad great satisfaction..

Sainteloc Racing took a sensational victory after a thrilling 1-hour sprint race. The winning #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra was shared by David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert. They took the win the last lap ahead of the second placed #1 Ferrari 458 GT3 from Team Sofrev ASP. David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert are now the new leaders in the drivers's standing with 110 points each.

Another Audi performing well was the #51 R8 LMS ultra from Sébastien Loeb Racing taking a strong fourth place with drivers Henry Hassid and Mike Parisy. Sébastien Loeb Racing is now leading the team's standing with 122 points.

The #44 entry from Sainteloc Racing finished in eleventh place with Gilles Lallement and Jean-Paul Buffin, they were third within the Coupe de France class open to gentlemen drivers.

Unfortunately two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars did not finish the race, the #50 car from Sébastien Loeb Racing and the #36 car from Team Speed.

Race 2 results can be seen here.

The French GT Tour will have its annual summer break and will resume at Magny-Cours, September 6th and 7th.

Photo credit: GT Tour

GT Tour: André Lotterer and Belgian Audi Club Team WRT win Spa-Francorchamps race 2

By Tarek Ramchani

The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT won a thrilling second race in the French GT Tour at Spa-Francorchamps. After an unlucky race 1 yesterday André Lotterer and Enzo Ide scored a fine victory beating the full season regulars.

André Lotterer crashed yesterday with the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra at the very fast Raidillon corner, the three-time Le Mans winner finished the race in twelfth place. Today along with team-mate Enzo Ide it was a very different story. The WRT run Audi dominated the race and took the checkered flag victorious ahead of the second placed #76 Porsche 997 GT3-R from IMSA Performance Matmut.

Third place for the #51 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sébastien Loeb Racing. The car is shared by Mike Parisy and Henry Hassid and they finished 3.122s behind the winning Audi.

David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert ended in a strong fourth place with their #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing.

Two other Audis made it into the Top 10. The #50 R8 LMS ultra from Sébastien Loeb Racing was ninth and the #43 car from Sainteloc Racing was tenth.

Bad luck hit the second Belgian Audi Club Team WRT car. The #6 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the hands of Benoit Tréluyer and Yves Weerts was a lap down in fifteenth place.

Photo credit: GT Tour

GT Tour: Second and third for Audi teams in Spa-Francorchamps race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

A very positive day 1 for the Audi teams at Spa-Francorchamps, round 3 of the French GT Tour series. Pole postion and three cars within the Top 4 in Race 1

The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT took a great pole position earlier today. The car is shared by last weekend Le Mans 24 Hours winner André Lotterer joined by Enzo Ide.

Next, the Audi Sport customer racing squad performed very well in the 1-hour sprint event in the Ardennes. The #51 from team Sébastien Loeb Racing finished in a strong second with drivers Mike Parisy and Henri Hassid. The twi drivers ended right behind the winning #1 Ferrai 458 GT3 from Team Sofrev ASP.

The #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing was third overall, the car in the hands of David Halliday and Gregory Gulivert.

The #36 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Team Speed Car had a strong race and narrowly missed the podium ending in a positive fourth place with Vincent Abril and Jérôme Demay.

Both Audis from the Belgian Audi Club Team WRT were outside the Top 10. The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra of André Lotterer and Enzo Ide was twelfth. The sister #6 machine driven by Benoit Tréluyer and Yves Weerts was thirteenth.

Photo credit: Sebastien Loeb Racing / V-Images

GT Tour: Victory for Sebastien Loeb Racing Audi at Lédenon

By Tarek Ramchani

It was good weekend for the Audi teams at the Lédenon circuit in the second round of the French FFSA GT Tour. Pole position and a race win for the Audi R8 LMS ultra.

After dominating all the practice session and taking a pole position Freiday, the Audi squad had a hard and unlucky Race 1. Best ranked R8 LMS ultra was only fifth with #42 Sainteloc Racing of David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert. The two Sébastien Loeb Racing Audis were very unlucky, the #50 Audi ended in eighth place while the sister #51 car was forced to retire. Team Speed Car's Audis were unlucky too, with tenth (#30 Audi) and eleventh (#36 Audi) places in the end.

Things were much better for the Audi camp in the second race of the day. Sébastien Loeb Racing won the 1-hour sprint race ahead of Sainteloc Racing for a fine 1-2 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Race victory went to the #50 Audi driven by Anthony Beltoise and Romain Berville. The #42 Audi from Sainteloc Racing driven by David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert finished in third place but the car was promoted to second after the exclusion of #9 Ferrari 458. The #51 Audi from Sébastien Loeb Racing ended in seventh place with drivers Mike Parisy and Henry Hassid. Team Speed Car two Audis made it into the Top 10, the #30 car was ninth and the #36 car was tenth.

Overall it was a very strong weekend for the French Audi Sport customer racing teams at the Lédenon. The Audi R8 LMS ultra proving again to be one of the strongest and most successful cars in GT3 racing.

Photo credit: GT Tour

GT Tour: Pole position for Sebastien Loeb Racing Audi at Lédenon

By Tarek Ramchani

The Lédenon is hosting the second round of the FFSA GT Tour series this weekend
. A record number of eight Audi R8 LMS ultra cars entering the event.

The cars are coming from three Audi Sport customer racing teams. Sainteloc Racing is fielding no less than four Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. Both Sébastien Loeb Racing and Team Speed Car with two Audis each.

The Audi squad performed very well today in all free practice sessions and did the same in the two qualifying sessions.

In the first qualifying session the #42 Audi from Team Sainteloc qualifing in a very strong place with drivers David Hallyday and Gregory Guilvert. The #51 Audi from Sébastien Loeb Racing made it into the Top 5 with a fifth place in the end for Henry Hassid.

Even better results came from the second qualifying session. Sébastien Loeb Racing scored a sensational 1-2 in the session after an emotional in house battle for pole. Anthony Beltoise with the #50 Audi took a great pole position ahead of his team-mate Mike Parisy with the sister #51 R8 LMS ultra.

The two races are set for tomorrow at the Lédenon circuit. Race 1 at 13:00 and Race 2 at 18:35 local time.

Photo credit: GT Tour

ELMS: No Audi R8 LMS ultra for Sébastien Loeb Racing at Imola

There will be no Audi effort in the second round of the Europan Le Mans Series. Sébastien Loeb Racing will not enter their Audi R8 LMS ultra at Imola this upcoming weekend.


The French Audi Sport customer racing team will field only their Oreca 03/Nissan LMP2 class in the four-hour endurance race.

Last time out at Silverstone, the only Audi in the field finished sixth within the GTC class (26th overall). The #51 R8 LMS ultra was driven by Oliver Lombard, Henry Hassid and Mike Parisy

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing / V-Images.com

GT Tour: Sensational 1-2 Audi R8 LMS ultra victory in the Le Mans race 1

By Tarek Ramchani

A perfect start for the Audi Sport customer racing squad in the 2014 French GT Tour Series. The Audi teams performed very well today at Le Mans in race 1 with a sensational 1-2 victory.

The short permanant Bugatti circuit hosted a great GT race today. New comers to Audi from Sebastien Loeb Racing took a great race win ahead of another Audi team, Sainteloc Racing.

Both teams battled very well for race win. After an amazing 1-hour sprint event, the #50 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sebastien Loeb Racing won the race. The car in the hands of Mike Parisy and Heni Hassid took the race lead only five mintues before the checkered flag.

In a very strong second the #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra from Sainteloc Racing. David Hallyday and his team-mate Gregory Guilvert were impressive. Both drivers are familiars with the Audi R8 LMS ultra.

Race 2 is set for tomorrow. We wish the best of luck to all Audi teams and their drivers.

Photo credit: GT Tour

GT Tour: Audi teams aiming high at Le Mans opener

By Tarek Ramchani

The 2014 FFSA French GT Tour series kicks off this weekend at Le Mans. The Audi Sport customer racing squad is very well represented with no less than seven R8 LMS ultra cars.

The seven Audis came from three diffrent teams. Sainteloc Racing a regular in the French GT will field three cars. One in the main "Championnat de France" with a very strong driver line-up made. fans' favourite David Hallyday is sharing the #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra  Gregory Guilvert . The other two Audis are competing in the lower "Coupe de France" open for old spec GT3 cars and Gentlemen drivers. The #43 Audi will have Jean-Paul Buffin and Jacques Wolf as drivers. The #44 Audi will be shared by Gilles Lallement and Fabrice Rossello.

Team Speed Car is back with Audi and a two-car effort. The #30 Audi with drivers Pascal Destembert and Rémy Deguffroy. The #36 car will be driven by Mathieu Lecuyer and Vincent Abril. Last year Team Speed Car scored three race wins all of them with Vincent Abril.

But the main story this year in GT Tour is all about Sebastien Loeb Racing. The team managed by the WRC legend switched to Audi and is fielding two very strong Audi R8 LMS ultra cars. The #50 Audi shared by  Anthony Beltoise and Roland Berville. The sister #51 Audi is driven by Mike Parisy and Heni Hassid.

19 cars will enter the Le Mans opener. The Audi teams will have to fight against a field of six Ferrari 458 GT3s, three Porsche 997 GT3 Rs, a McLaren MP4-12C, a BMW Z4 GT3 and a Mercedes-Benz SLS AMG GT3.

GT Tour teams will have two races at the short Bugati circuit. Race 1 will be on Saturday at 18:20, Race 2 will be on Sunday at 14:10. We wish the best of luck to all three Audi teams and their drivers.

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing

ELMS: Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra Top 6 at Silverstone

By Johan Laubscher

The opening round of the European Le Mans Series was also held at Silverstone this weekend, alongside the FIA World Endurance Championship. The four hour race on Saturday saw the participation of one Audi Sport customer racing team.

Sébastien Loeb Racing entered their #51 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the GTC class with drivers Henry Hassid, Mike Parisy and Olivier Lombard.

They qualified seventh in class and finished the race in twenty-sixth overall, sixth in class.

Round two of the ELMS will be heading to Imola, 17-18 May.

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing testing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Nogaro

By Johan Laubscher

Sébastien Loeb Racing was out testing at Nogaro on Wednesday.

The teams was testing their Audi R8 LMS ultra at the French circuit. They are currently preparing for a two-car assault on the French GT Tour and a single car entry in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).

Photo credit: Mike Parisy

ELMS: Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Paul Ricard test days

By Johan Laubscher

The European Le Mans Series hosted two days of official testing at Paul Ricard this week, Tuesday to Wednesday.

One Audi Sport customer racing team entered the event and are also entered for the 2014 ELMS season.

Sébastien Loeb Racing is running a single Audi R8 LMS ultra in the GTC class, alongside an Oreca 03 Nissan in LMP2.

For the testing, the #51 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven by Henry Hassid, Mike Parisy, Anthony Beltoise and Roland Bervillé.

Five test sessions were spread across the two days at Paul Ricard, morning and afternoon sessions on both days, including a night session on Tuesday.

The #51 Audi R8 LMS ultra was driven to a 1:59.546 lap time on Tuesday morning, the fastest set by the Sébastien Loeb Racing R8 LMS ultra during the two days of testing. They were classified thirty-seventh fastest in the combined classification, last in GTC.

The results from the two-day test can be seen HERE.

Silverstone will be hosting the opening round of the ELMS, from 18-19 April.

Photo credit: v-images.com via Sébastien Loeb Racing

GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra livery revealed + more drivers

By Johan Laubscher

Sébastien Loeb Racing revealed their 2014 Audi R8 LMS ultra livery in full on Friday.

The French team acquired two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars for the 2014 season and they are currently preparing for a two-car assault on the French GT Tour and a single car entry for the European Le Mans Series GTC class.

Mike Parisy was announced as one of the team's drivers earlier this week and two further drivers were announced on Friday. Roland Berville and Anthony Beltoise will be piloting the #50 Audi R8 LMS ultra in the GT Tour. Parisy will be one of the drivers behind the wheel of the team's other R8 LMS ultra in the GT Tour and also their single car entry in the ELMS.

The European Le Mans Series will be getting under way at Silverstone from 18-19 April, followed by the opening round of the French GT Tour round at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans from 26-27 April.

Photo credit: GaazMaster Motorsport / Sébastien Loeb Racing

GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing tease Audi R8 LMS ultra livery and first driver announced

By Johan Laubscher

On Monday Sébastien Loeb Racing revealed a teaser of their Audi R8 LMS ultra livery and also announced their first confirmed driver. 

The team is currently preparing for a two-car Audi R8 LMS ultra entry in the French GT-Tour and also a single car entry in the European Le Mans Series.

The first confirmed driver for Sébastien Loeb Racing is Mike Parisy. He will be behind the wheel of one of the team’s two R8 LMS ultra entries in the French GT Tour and also in the ELMS.

The European Le Mans Series will be getting under way at Silverstone from 18-19 April, followed by the opening round of the French GT Tour round at the Bugatti Circuit in Le Mans from 26-27 April.

Photo credit: 

Sébastien Loeb Racing

Mike Parisy

GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing testing Audi R8 LMS ultra at Magny-Cours

By Johan Laubscher

Sébastien Loeb Racing Team was out testing at Magny-Cours on Monday.

The teams was testing their two white Audi R8 LMS ultra cars at the French circuit. They are currently preparing for a two-car assault on the French GT Tour and a single car entry in the European Le Mans Series (ELMS).

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing

GT Tour: Sebastien Loeb Racing testing the Audi R8 LMS ultra at Estoril

By Tarek Ramchani

New comer to the big Audi Sport customer racing family, Sebastien Loeb Racing is in Portugal testing their brand new Audi R8 LMS ultra.

The team co-owned by World Rally Championship legend Sebastien Loeb and by Dominique Heintz recently received the Audi GT3 racer and had a successful shakedown. At Estoril the French team is testing the car ahead of a very busy season.

Sebastien Loeb Racing will enter two Audi R8 LMS ultra in the French GT Tour with the drivers line-ups expected to be announced very soon. The team will also compete in the European Le Mans Series with a single car effort within the GTC class.

Photo credit: Sebastien Loeb Racing

Sébastien Loeb Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra shakedown

By Johan Laubscher

Sébastien Loeb Racing held their first shakedown with their new Audi R8 LMS ultra cars today. 

The team has began their on track preparation for the 2014 season. Sébastien Loeb Racing will be entering a two-car team in the French GT-Tour and a single car entry in the European Le Mans Series GTC class.

The ELMS gets underway at Silverstone from 18-19 April, followed by the first French GT-Tour round from 26-27 April.

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing

Audi R8 LMS ultra cars arrive at Sébastien Loeb Racing

By Johan Laubscher

Sébastien Loeb Racing received their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars on Tuesday this week.

They are one of the newest Audi Sport customer racing teams for 2014 and will be competing with a two-car team in the French GT Tour and a single car entry in the European Le Mans Series.

Photo credit: Sébastien Loeb Racing Team 

FIA WEC, Le Mans 24 Hours and ELMS entry lists revealed by the ACO

By Johan Laubscher

The annual ACO press conference was held in Paris on Thursday. The entry lists for the 2014 FIA World Endurance Championship, the Le Mans 24 Hours and the European Le Mans Series were all revealed on the day.

Audi cars will again be seen in both the FIA WEC and ELMS this year.

FIA WEC and Le Mans 24 Hours:

Audi Sport had already announced its 2014 entry last week, but now it has officially been confirmed for the 2014 season, with the release of the entry lists today. Two Audi R18 e-tron quattro cars will be contesting the entire FIA World Endurance Championship season and a third car will be entered for the 6 Hours of Spa and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

Audi #1: Lucas di Grassi, Loïc Duval and Tom Kristensen

Audi #2: Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer

Audi #3: Filipe Albuquerque, Marco Bonanomi and Oliver Jarvis*

The Audi squad joins a field of thirty-one FIA WEC entries, nine of which are LMP1 competitors. The full season LMP1 runners include six factory cars in LMP1-H and three privateer cars in LMP1-L.

LMP1-H:

#1 Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro

#2 Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro

#3 Audi Sport Team Joest – Audi R18 e-tron quattro*

#7 ToyotaRacing – ToyotaTS040 Hybrid

#8 ToyotaRacing – ToyotaTS040 Hybrid

#14 Porsche Team – Porsche 919 Hybrid

#20 Porsche Team – Porsche 919 Hybrid

LMP1-L:

#9 Lotus – Lotus T129 AER

#12 Rebellion Racing – Rebellion R-One Toyota

#13 Rebellion Racing – Rebellion R-One Toyota

*Audi #3 is only entered for the 6 Hours of Spa and the Le Mans 24 Hours.

The 2014 FIA WEC entry list can be seen HERE.

The 2014 Le Mans 24 Hours entry list can be seen HERE.

ELMS:

A few weeks ago Sébastien Loeb Racing announced that they will be running Audi R8 LMS ultra cars this year and last week they confirmed a two-car entry in the French GT Tour. They will be running two cars in the 2014 ELMS, which includes one of their Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, alongside an Oreca 03 – Nissan in LMP2.

A total of forty-two entries will be taking part in the 2014 ELMS, sixteen of which are entered in GTC.  

The 2014 ELMS entry list can be seen HERE. 

Photo credit: Audi Communications - Motorsport

GT Tour: Sébastien Loeb Racing confirms two Audi R8 LMS ultra in GT Tour!

Sébastien Loeb Racing Press Release

The Sébastien Loeb Racing team will carry out a double programme in GT this season and has now confirmed its first part. The Alsatian team will take part in the FFSA French GT Championship with two Audi R8 LMS ultra. The drivers line-up, to be revealed later on, will be made up so as to battle for victory.

Third place in 2012 with six podiums on its first year of existence, second in 2013 with three wins and two podiums… For the third year in a row, Sébastien Loeb Racing will be on the French GT Championship’s starting line with one aim in mind : trying to climb on to the last step toward the title ! In order to do so, the team co-founded by Sébastien Loeb and Dominique Heintz will rely on the Audi R8 LMS ultra, over fifty times a winner last year !

The team is currently finalising its two tandems. They will consist of leading drivers, with a great experience of the GT and particularly of the French Championship. Sébastien Loeb Racing wishes to create two pairs of drivers able to rival for the win and the national crown.

« In 2013 we fought for the title up to the last race. Our ambition today is obviously to do better.» confides Dominique Heintz, team manager. «Historically, the French Championship is among the hardest GT championships. Therefore we are approaching this programme with humility, all the more as we have to get familiar with our new car. We are convinced that we will have all the pieces of the puzzle in order to shine : a very competitive car and drivers, professionals or gentleman drivers, who absolutely know both the GT and the management of a championship. 
« We have been enjoying the GT Tour since 2012 and it has not been limited to the competitive aspect. The atmosphere is friendly and that programme is also important for the events projects directed by Loeb Events. We have seen it during the final at the Castellet. It was a great success. »

Apart from the French GT Championship, Sébastien Loeb Racing will also take part in the Porsche Carrera Cup France. A second GT programme is currently being finalised, while the team is looking into a possible participation in one or several endurance races with the Audi R8 LMS ultra.

Photo credit: 
Audi Communications - Motorsport
Sébastien Loeb Racing