By Johan Laubscher
1. The Weekend
Focussing this week on the weekend of 20 - 21 October 2012
2. The Events
- DTM
- BTCC
- Australian GT
- Italian GT
- STT
- Audi Endurance Experience
- Cup & Tourenwagen Trophy
- NJRRS
- RCN
- Mexican Super Turismos
2.1. DTM
Audi arrived at the DTM finale at Hockenheim leading the manufactures points standings. The weekend was headlined by the BMW vs Mercedez-Benz dual for the driver’s crown. Audi was aiming to secure the manufactures title, however the weekend did not turn out that way. Multiple retirements and issues sidelines Audi’s chances. Only one Audi made it into the top ten with Mortara as he placed highest in sixth. Mortara may have been the only Audi driver to score race wins during 2012 but Mike Rockenfeller was the highest placed Audi driver in the points, finishing in fourth place.
2.2. BTCC
The final BTCC round took place at Brands Hatch. Behind the headline title clash there was some exciting news from the private Rob Austin Racing team. Rob raced with a new sponsor and livery this weekend for the first time. There was a lot of build up surrounding the new RAR WixRacing.co.uk livery. Both Audis were competitive this weekend. Race one saw Bratt take a top ten finish followed by another RAR top ten in race two as Rob finished in tenth. Rob continued the good form claiming seventh in the last race of 2012 and Bratt moved up from the back to finish twelfth.
2.3. Australian GT
The penultimate round of the Australian GT was held on the Gold Coast at Surfers Paradice. Two Audi R8 LMS cars were entered by Melbourne Performance Centre. The Audis were on the pace this weekend. A podium result in race one was followed by both cars in the top ten for race two.
2.4. Italian GT
Monza played host to the Italian GT finale. Audi Sport Italia were well in the hunt for the drivers crown. The team pushed hard this weekend and ultimately the drivers championship title came down to a single point. Sonvico from Audi Sport Italia was runner up in the championship for the second season in succession as the BMW drivers won the title this weekend by just one point.
2.5. STT
The German Spezial Tourenwagen Trophy (STT) concluded the season at the Nürburgring. Three Audis took part, including the STT debut of the SP4T class Audi TT RS from the VLN. The Besaplast Racing Team entered their white and blue TT RS in this event.
2.6. Audi Endurance Experience
Paul Ricard was the scene for the second annual Audi Endurance Experience 24 hour race. The championship is run by Audi France and includes a grid of twenty-six Audi A1 race cars. The event also had live streaming available as these little Audi race cars drove through the night for the 24 hour race.
2.7. Cup & Tourenwagen Trophy
The German Cup & Tourenwagen Trophy held its final round at the Nürburgring. Two Audis were on the grid, a TT and an A3.
2.8. NJRRS
The Limitless Racing Audi R8 GRAND-AM again competed in a SCCA Regional event this weekend. Dr Jason Lee took part in the New Jersey Road Racing Series. It was the fourth and final NJRRS event for the year.
2.9. RCN
The eighth and final round of the German RCN series took place at the Nürburgring. Various Audi cars were entered for the event which included TTS, TT RS and S3 race cars.
2.10. Mexican Super Turismo
Various Audi and Audi bodied silhouette race cars compete in the Mexican Super Turismos championship. Round 9 of the series was held this weekend.
2.11. Other Audi News
Rob Austin Racing will be at the Top Gear Live event next weekend. The Audi A4 NGTC race car will be on display at the Dunlop stand.
South African Audi race driver, Gennaro Bonafede, took part in a PR event with Audi South Africa last week. It was part of the build up to the 2012 SANSUI Summer Cup horse racing event. He was armed with a red Audi RS5 coupe in the “Beast vs Machine” event.
Last week a documentary about the Audi R8 aired on the German n-tv channel. The documentary was part of the “Top Cars” series and also featured an insert of the Audi R8 LMS ultra and its production process. Broadcasting times on n-tv include: Thu, 18/10/12, 20:05; Fri, 19/10/12, 04:30; Sat, 20/10/12, 00:30; Sat, 20/10/12, 06:05; Sun, 21/10/12, 12:10. Source: Audi Sport on Facebook
The Arc Audi Racing Program and Don Istook were at the opening of the new Circuit of the Americas this weekend. The Audi TT RS team were invited by Pirelli to take part in a few laps around the new circuit. Istook describes the new circuit as: “Fabulous...best track in the country. I was amazed!!!”
A red liveried Team Audi France Audi R8 was on display at the Audi Endurance Experience 24 hour race at Paul Ricard. The car is entered for the final French GT Tour round to be driven by Adrien Tambay and Karim Doguet next weekend. An Audi R18 TDI in e-tron livery was also on display at the event.
Exciting news emerged this week as the DTM and the Japanese Super GT signed for a joint venture. As soon as 2014 DTM cars could run in the Japanese Super GT, thus the R17 Audi A5 DTM may soon be seen racing in the land of the rising sun. A new joint set of rules for both series is also planned for the future. Dr Ullrich was present at the signing.
3. Next Weekend’s events (2728/10/2012)
- FIA WEC
- Audi R8 LMS Cup
- Grand Am Test
- Continental Tire Challenge Test
- SA Production Cars
- French GT Tour
- VLN
- Dutch Supercar
- Japanese Super GT
- HSR
- VdeV
- Brazil GT (Cancelled)
- Portuguese GT
- Iberian Super Car Trophy
All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
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