Britcar: Simpson Motorsport overall and class podium at Donington

By Johan Laubscher

The Britcar Endurance Championship held its second round at Donington. Simpson Motorsport and their newly upgraded Audi R8 LMS ultra was out on track for the first time this year.

Simpson Motorsport acquired and raced an ex-WRT Audi R8 LMS in Britcar last year. During the winter they upgraded the car with Audi R8 LMS ultra parts which they bought from M-Sport, who fielded an Audi R8 LMS ultra in the bulk of the 2013 British GT Championship last year.

The #21 Audi was entered in Class 2 and driven by Peter Cook and Frank Pelle. Their Audi itself, is an older Audi R8 LMS which has been upgraded with a mixture of 2012 and 2013 Audi R8 LMS ultra parts. The car is running Audi R8 LMS ultra bodywork and front splitter, along with a 2012 rear-wing, a 2013 aggressive pre-homologation rear diffuser, 2013 exhaust layout, non-carbonfibre R8 LMS doors and double front dive-planes similar to those seen on the older 2011 specification Audi R8 LMS cars.

Simpson Motorsport qualified tenth overall, taking third spot on the grid in Class 2.

The first of two ninety minute endurance races was held on Saturday. Simpson Motorsport moved forward to finish fifth overall, maintaining their third place in class to take a Class 2 podium finish.

The second race was held on Sunday and saw three Class 2 cars running at the front towards the end of the race. Simpson Motorsport came home to take second overall and in class, a good weekend for the team.

Spa-Francorchamps will be hosting round three of the Britcar Endurance Championship, with two two-hour endurance races, 6-8 June.

Photo credit: Phil Laughton Photography

Britcar: Simpson Motorsport 2013 season review

By Johan Laubscher

Simspon Motorsport joined the Audi Sport customer racing family during mid-2013. The team acquired the ex-WRT and GT3 Racing Audi R8 LMS for Britcar, the MSA British Endurance Championship.

They used their Audi R8 LMS at two of the Britcar events and took two class podium finishes, including a class victory on their debut with the car.

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 4: Brands Hatch

The Britcar Endurance Championship was at Brands Hatch for the fourth round. A new Audi R8 LMS team competed at the event. Simpson Motorsport is now running the ex-GT3 Racing team’s R8 LMS, and they have entered it in Britcar, replacing their Porsche 911. They qualified eighth overall and first in class. Mott and Cook performed very well during the race and progressed within the overall top ten. They were as high as third overall during the event. By the end of the three hour race they finished fifth overall, and first in class.

Taken from: Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (27-28/07/2013)

Round 6: Silverstone - Britcar 1000

Silverstone hosted the Britcar 1000 this weekend. This was round six of the MSA British Endurance Championship. The Simpson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS team, one of the newest Audi Sport customer racing teams, took part in the event. They again performed very well this weekend, after taking a class victory on their debut with the car at Brand Hatch last time out. Qualifying yielded eleventh place place overall, third in class. They competed well during the 1000 km event, running within the overall top ten and at the front of Class 2. By the end of the long endurance race the #46 Audi R8 LMS crossed the line in sixth place overall, a well deserved second in class.

Taken from Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (21-22/09/2013)

Photo credit: Marty Media

Britcar: Class podium for Simpson Motorsport Audi at the Silverstone 1000K

By Johan Laubscher

The Britcar MSA British Endurance Championship held their premiere event of the season this weekend, the Silverstone 1000K. Simpson Motorsport performed very well with their Audi R8 LMS.

Simpson Motorsport debuted their #46 Audi R8 LMS during the previous Britcar round at Brands Hatch, where they took a class victory. They acquired the car from the GT3 Racing team who had campaigned the vehicle in the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series, it is also an ex-2011 WRT R8 LMS.

The driver line-up for the #46 Audi this weekend included: Peter Cook, Jacopo Sebastiani and Philip Hopkins behind the wheel. They qualified in eleventh place overall, taking third in class.

They performed well during the 1000 km event, running within the overall top ten and at the front of Class 2. By the end of the long endurance race the #46 Audi R8 LMS crossed the line in sixth place overall, a well deserved second in class. 

The next Britcar event will be held at Donington in November. It will consist of two night races of ninety minutes each. 

Photo credit: Marty Media

Britcar: Class victory for Simpson Motorsport Audi R8 LMS debut at Brands Hatch

By Johan Laubscher

A new Audi R8 LMS team debuted their Audi in Britain this weekend. Simpson Motorsport, regular Britcar competitors, competed with their newly acquired Audi R8 LMS for the first time at Brands Hatch. 

The Britcar Endurance Championship was at Brands Hatch for the fourth round. A number of Audi R8 LMS cars have competed in this championship in recent years, and a new permanent Britcar entry has added an Audi this weekend. Simpson Motorsport regularly ran their #46 Porsche 911 in the series for drivers Anthony Mott and Peter Cook. The team has now acquired the black Audi R8 LMS which had been used by the GT3 Racing team in the 2012 Blancplain Endurance Series. The car is also an ex-WRT car from the 2011 season.

Simpson Motorsport has tested their new car, as they were seen testing at Silverstone at the beginning of July. The images included in this post are from the July 3 Silverstone test day.  

They arrived at Brands Hatch for Britcar and immediately showed good pace. Qualifying yielded eighth overall and first in class. Mott and Cook performed very well during the race and progressed within the overall top ten. They were as high as third overall during the event. By the end of the three hour race they finished fifth overall, and first in class.

A good Audi R8 LMS debut weekend for Simpson Motorsport at Brands Hatch.

The Brands Hatch Britcar results can be seen HERE.

The Britcar Endurance Championship will host round five of the series at Snetterton in August. 

Photo credit: Marty Media