Gallery: United Autosports Audi R8 LMS ultra at Oulton Park British GT round 1

By Tarek Ramchani

The British GT had its season opener at Oulton Park last weekend. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars entered the event. Fierce battles took place on track during the two races, in what is clearly one of the finest national GT series in Europe. In the end a fantastic second place finish for United Autosports with their #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Matt Bell and Mark Patterson.

Here is a selection of great photos from Oulton Park, featuring the Anglo-American R16.

Photo credit: United Autosports

Audi-powered Nigerian team sign-up to British GT campaign

British GT Press Release

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship welcomes a sixth new team to the series this year in Team Nigeria Racing Eagle, a new racing project from the African continent, fielding an Audi R8 LMS in the GT3 category.

The project is the mastermind of Ribi Adeshokan, who has a desire to engage African people into motorsport and develop motorsport into an industry for Africa. After initial plans to run a team in the A1GP single-seater championship were halted when the series folded, Adeshokan investigated alternative options for the Nigeria Racing Eagle project.

Based on a number of factors, including the popularity of super cars with Africa’s more affluent community, GT racing and in particular GT3 seemed an obvious choice. This year the team appointed Leeds-based United Autosports as their technical partner, but plan to eventually have a wholly African team engineering the R8 LMS, with a mid-season move to an R8 LMS ultra already in preparation.

Drivers for the season include 26 year-old South African, Adrian Zaugg, and 29 year-old Cameroonian, Christian Ebong. Both drivers are in preparation for the season start at Oulton Park in just over a month on the Easter Weekend (30 March – 1 April).

Zaugg is the more experienced of the pair and comes to British GT following a successful single-seater career that has seen him race in Formula BMW, Formula Renault Cup, Renault World Series 3.5, GP2 and A1GP where he clinched three wins for Team RSA. The South African former Red Bull Junior Team driver is familiar with sports cars having contested five races of the 2012 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship with team Bonaldi Motorsport, taking three pole positions and a win at the last round at the Navarra circuit in Spain.

Ebong has had a number of outings in a Peugeot Spider 207 supporting the Le Mans Series, and regular outings in a Seat Leon in the DTM supporting German Seat Supercopa Championship. Prior to this, Ebong was successful in the French Rallycross Championship, becoming Vice Champion in his first season in 2001, and lifting the Championship title the following year. After a short break from racing to secure finances, Ebong returns to motorsport as a key part of the Nigeria Racing Eagle team.

Quotes

Ribi Adeshokan, Team Owner:

"Our vision is to use the British GT platform to engage with people of an African origin who are emotionally attached to Africa and have a sense of belonging and pride in their country. We want to introduce these people to motorsport and show those them that there is more to the sport than Formula 1. Ultimately we want them to take pride in our team and support us like they would an African sportsperson at the Olympics.  We’re also working on bringing British GT to African television as week seek to attract corporate sponsors, including international brands with interest in Africa or those wanting to establish themselves further in Africa, helping them to promote and market their brands. We are hugely excited at the prospect of racing in British GT and are focusing all of our energy on making this year a success for Nigeria Racing Eagle and for the African people

Benjamin Franassovici, Championship Manager:

“The arrival of Ribi and the Nigeria Racing Eagle team to British GT has been in discussion for some time now. They’re a serious team with an interesting proposition and a lot of energy and desire to succeed. The Audi will allow the team to establish themselves and understand how the series works, and in Adrian and Christian they have a promising driver line-up. Having teams from overseas such as AF Corse, Vita4one Team Italy and rhinos Leipert is a compliment to what we are trying to achieve here in the UK with British GT and Nigeria Racing Eagle brings interest from one of the most diverse continents in the world, something which can only benefit us as we strive to expand awareness of the series.”

Photo credit: Racing Eagle

M-Sport Racing sign-up to British GT with Audi power

British GT Press Release

Leading WRC squad, M-Sport Racing will race in the 2013 Avon Tyres British GT Championship as it prepares itself to engineer the return of famous British brand, Bentley the following year.

The Cumbria-based team will run a single Audi R8 LMS ultra in the 2013 season with reigning British GT GT4 Champion, Warren Hughes and Dutch driver, Rembert Berg taking on driving duties. With vast experience of off-track motorsport and a solid engineering background, the M-Sport team will compete in British GT to gain real world experience of the GT racing scene.

Developed by Audi in 2008, the R8 LMS is a worthy competitor and, since launching in 2009, has taken no fewer than 157 victories from 579 races. The vehicle used by M-Sport Racing will be a 2013 'ultra' evolution boasting upgrades to the engine, brakes, chassis and aerodynamics for the new season.

According to an article in Autosport magazine today, the team are due to receive the car this week ahead of a first test next week at Oulton Park. Reportedly the team has another day of testing planned at Oulton Park before the season opener at the same circuit over the Easter weekend (30/3 - 1/4).

Quotes
Warren Hughes, Driver: "I'm delighted to be joining M-Sport Racing and I am more excited about this programme than I have been for a long time. The people and facilities at M-Sport give this project fantastic potential and my aim will be to impress as I look forward to what may hopefully lead to a successful partnership. I'm also really looking forward to working with my new team mate, Rembert Berg, and hoping that we will make a very good team."

Malcolm Wilson OBE, M-Sport Managing Director: "Since the announcement at the end of last year that M-Sport will make a new venture into circuit racing, the team has been working tirelessly to ensure that we are as fully prepared as possible for this new project. Running the Audi R8 LMS in the British GT Championship will allow the team to gain a wealth of knowledge and experience and be as fully equipped as possible for the exciting challenges ahead."

Photo credit: Audi Media

Revised calendar and rules create exciting 2013 British GT Series

British GT Press Release

Following the success of the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT season, series promoter Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO) has today announced a revised calendar for the upcoming season, an exciting overseas event, changes to driver grading adjustments and the introduction of live TV coverage at a minimum of two race weekends, in a bid to further develop the exciting Pro-Am national GT series.

Following the tradition of a British GT ‘away race’ where the series visits a top European circuit, in 2013 British GT will travel to the Netherlands for the Trophy of the Dunes at the Circuit Park Zandvoort. The Trophy of the Dunes is a highly coveted event held by the Zandvoort organisers for over forty years, and British GT will feature top billing over the weekend with Dutch GT. The Sunday action will receive live coverage on Motors TV, bringing the popular British series to the increasing audience back home.

The 2.7 mile Dutch track is steeped in motorsport history and is home to the exciting Tarzan hairpin which is often the scene of spectacular overtaking manoeuvres. Set on the North Sea coastline of the Netherlands, the circuit will play host to two 60-minute sprint races at round six in September. In an additional bonus for the British GT teams, they will be located in the garages at the Trophy of the Dunes, making the event somewhat of a home from home.

In addition to Zandvoort, the 2013 Championship will also travel to six of the top circuits in the UK. As is now customary, the season will begin at Oulton Park (Little Budworth, Cheshire) over the Easter Weekend for two 60 minute sprint races, before moving to the super fast Rockingham circuit (Corby, Northamptonshire) in early May for an endurance race; Silverstone’s (Towcester, Northamptonshire) now annual jewel in the crown event will take place on the final weekend in May. Snetterton (Norfolk) plays host to another sprint double header weekend in Mid-June, before the series moves to the drivers favourite Brands Hatch GP Circuit (Fawkham, Kent) for the third endurance race of the year. Donington Park will once more close the season with an endurance battle over the first weekend of October.

After the introduction of several Silver/Silver driver pairings in 2012, SRO has switched to a weight adjustment to balance the pairing, bringing it in line with the other adjustments in the Championship. The series organiser has also decided to increase the severity of the adjustment applied to such pairings in 2013 in a bid to further underline the Pro-Am roots of the series in GT3.

As the series seeks to further bolster its ever-increasing fan base, the addition of live television coverage is a critical addition to British GT in 2013. Two race weekends during the new season will feature live broadcasts on Motors TV across the UK, with more details on which rounds set to follow in the approach to the season.

Revised 2013 Calendar:
Media Day - TBC March – Silverstone (GB)
1 Oulton Park (GB) - 30 March (Sat) 1 April (Mon) - Sprint Races
2 Rockingham (GB) - 5 & 6 May – Refuelling Race
3 Silverstone GP (GB) – 25 & 26-May - Refuelling Race
4 Snetterton 300 (GB) – 15 & 16-Jun - Sprint Races
5 Brands Hatch GP (GB) – 10 & 11-Aug - Refuelling Race
6 Zandvoort (NL) – 6, 7, 8-Sep - Sprint Races
7 Donington Park (GB) - 56-Oct - Refuelling Race

Photo credit: United Autorsports

United Autosports add Audi R8 LMS ultra to 2013 Avon Tyres British GT campaign

United Autosports Press Release

• Third car for the team in 2013
• Superb driver pairing with Matt Bell and Mark Patterson
• Early investment part of the team’s long term plans

United Autosports is set to stamp its intent on the 2013 British GT Championship with the announcement that they will run a third race car, the highly competitive Audi R8 Ultra LMS GT3 alongside a pair of McLaren MP4 12C GT3’s.

Matt Bell and Mark Patterson, regulars with the team and no strangers inside the Audi cockpit, will join forces next year with the sole intent: to mount a challenge for the overall title.

Earlier this year United Autosports invested in a new Audi R8 Ultra LMS GT3 which along with its aerodynamic enhancements, gives the car greater speed and stability.

The move is a natural progression for United Autosports which have amassed a wealth of experience in GT and sports car racing having competed in the last two years in the Dunlop 24 hours of Dubai, the Abu Dhabi 12 Hour race, the Bathurst 12 Hour race, Daytona 24 hours, Petit Le Mans, FIA GT3 Championship, Blancpain Endurance Series and the British GT Championship.

Matt Bell

“I’m very excited about the announcement. I’ve been with United Autosports for three years now, and I’m very pleased to be making it a fourth. I’ve driven with Mark several times, in the 24 Hours of Spa and Dubai. We get on really well. He is an extremely quick driver, and I am happy to be alongside him and I’m looking forward to the year. We will be back in the Audi, and it will be a bit like being  “back home” for us. It’s where I’ve spent most of my career so far. The Audi has huge potential so we are in a good position. The competition is very strong, and I expect next year to be even more so. I’m over the moon to have the deal secured and can now focus on the challenges that 2013 will bring.”

Mark Patterson

“Matt and I will be teamed up for an entire season for the first time, which is exciting. We raced at the Spa 24 Hours earlier this year in the Audi Ultra and were both very impressed with the upgraded package. I know we share the same level of focus and commitment to performing at the limit. With Audi’s factory support we are comfortable that we can challenge for podiums and be in a position to fight for the title. Despite travelling from the United States of America to compete I'm very comfortable with Silverstone, Snetterton and Oulton Park.  Most importantly, we believe the balance of driver competition is right in our sweet spot, so we're looking forward to some tough and competitive racing with reliable results on a repetitive basis.

United Autosports will feature both Audis and McLarens in the British GT championship, so we'll be having our own little duels in-house and out on the track.  I can't wait.”

Richard Dean - United Autosports Team Owner and Managing Director

“We have effectively been running two GT teams for the last two years with our BGT and FIA campaigns running independently of each other. The Audi has been the car to beat in the major races during 2012 and we have three years experience and a great relationship with Audi Sport. We are also in our third year with Mark and Matt and I believe they will prove to be one of the strongest driver pairings in the BGT. It is a really exciting time for us, and everybody involved in the team.”

Benjamin Franassovici - British GT Championship Manager

‘We are delighted that United Autosports have made the commitment to the British GT championship once more and with such a high profile, multi car entry. United Autosports always bring a high standard to the championship through its preparation and presentation. This early announcement shows the strength and popularity of the British GT continues to grow, more exciting announcements will follow before the New Year…’

In 2012 United Autosports competed in the Blancpain Endurance Series, the Avon Tyres British GT Championship, Legends of Motorsports in the USA and selected Historic Motor Racing events.