By Johan Laubscher
1. The Weekend
Focussing this week on the weekend of 8 - 9 December 2012
2. The Events
- 25 Hours Thunderhill
- Zhuhai 500 Km
- Bologna Motor Show
- Killarney Festival of Speed
2.1. 25 Hours of Thunderhill
Thunderhill has become famous for its annual 25 Hours of Thunderhill endurance race. This weekend was the tenth running of this event. 034Motorsport entered an Audi TT RS VLN car, which is normally seen in the SP4T class of the German VLN series. The entry received a large amount of coverage and build up heading towards the event. The car was fast from the word go and placed well during all the practice sessions. A top five overall qualifying spot was achieved and many expected the TT RS to fight for overall victory. The race started well with the car running at the front. As the afternoon progressed the TT RS made its way into the overall lead. Whilst in the lead the car suffered a mechanical failure which was related to its gearbox. The TT RS retired from the race on lap 126 due to the failure whilst it was the overall leader.
2.2. Zhuhai 500 Km
Zhuhai hosted its annual 500 Km race this weekend, officially named the Circuit Hero 500 Km Endurance Race. One Audi R8 LMS ultra was entered in the event from the R8 LMS Cup team. Three of the top drivers from the R8 LMS Cup were chosen to drive the car this weekend: Marchy Lee, Adderly Fong and Jeffrey Lee. They qualified well in third place overall. The team lead the majority of the race and held a five lap lead. In the last twenty minutes a drive shaft failure costs the team a lot of time. Ultimately they finished third in the Open Class.
2.3. Bologna Motor Show
The Italian Bologna Motorshow hosts a motorsport arena where various demonstration laps and timed competitions are held. Unlike previous years, no Audis were entered in the competition events (GT or Superstars). However during the Red Bull Speed Day, an event at the Motorsport Arena featuring various Red Bull sponsored machinery, the Phoenix Racing Race-Taxi was present. The car was an Audi R8 LMS ultra wearing a Red Bull livery which entertained the fans along with the other Red Bull cars.
The Midas Festival of Speed took place at Killarney this weekend. It was a non-championship event and both of the regular Midas Clubmans Audi A4s were at the event. Modack was back in his A4 with the new Green/Blue livery after missing the final two rounds of the Midas Clubmans, as well as Johnson returning in his turbocharged A4. An Audi TT racer was also present on the day.
2.5. Other Audi News
United Autosports is continuing with its latest competition. The team will be entering their Audi R8 LMS ultra in the 2013 British GT Championship. They have a livery design competition where fans can submit their own livery designs for the R8 LMS ultra. The winning livery will be used on the car during the 2013 season.
The Don Istook TT RS was spotted at the Car and Coffee event in Texas this weekend. The car was on display alongside an original Audi Sport quattro road car and the team's Golf V GTI.
Exciting news emerged from Australia this week. Melbourne Performance Centre announced that another new team will be running an Audi R8 LMS in the Australian GT Championship next year. Minda Motorsport is the new team which has acquired the ex-Rod Salmon R8 LMS. Salmon will be racing the Audi R8 LMS which won the 2012 Bathurst 12 Hours, the car is currently being upgraded to ultra specification. A second ultra will also be seen in the series, Mark Eddy is receiving a new 2012 ultra which competed in Asia this year. With this influx of new cars, MPC has hinted that there could be up to seven Audi R8 LMS cars at the 2013 Bathurst 12 Hours.
3. Next Weekend’s events (15-16/12/2012)
- ROC
- Brazilian GT
- Gulf 12 Hours
All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up
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