In less than four weeks, from 12-14 January, the Hankook 24H series gets underway with Creventic’s flagship event, the Hankook 24H Dubai. Audi Sport customer racing team WRT is determined to defend their title at the 12th edition of the Gulf’s endurance race. Spectators can expect 5 Audi R8 LMS, one Audi TT RS and the all-new Audi RS 3 LMS, which is making its world premiere in Audi Sport customer racing.
No less than 100 cars and more than 45 different nationalities among teams and drivers are expected on the grid.
Audi Sport customer racing will be represented by 4 teams fielding 6 cars with some well-known names in endurance racing: Christopher Mies (GER), Robin Frijns (NED) and Marcel Fässler (SUI) will race for defending champion Belgian Audi Club WRT together with Mohammed Bin Saud Al Saud (KSA), Mohammed Bin Faisal Al Saud (KSA), Stuart Leonard (ENG), Enzo Ide (BEL), Ruben Maes (BEL) and Michael Vergers (ENG). They will be joined by Joe Osborne (ENG) behind the wheel of Optimum Motorsport’s R8 LMS together with Flick Haigh (ENG) and Ryan Ratcliffe (WAL). Car Collection Motorsport is competing with the Germans Peter Schmidt, Dr. Johannes Kirchoff, Gustav Edelhoff, Max Edelhoff, Elmar Grimm and Ingo Vogler. And for the first time in Audi Sport customer racing hands, spectators can see the all-new Audi RS 3 LMS with Spanish Speed Factory Racing and Michael Soong (HKG) in the TCR category. Furthermore the Audi fans can cheer for Besaplast Racing entering class SP2 with Cora Schumacher (GER), Franjo Kovac (CRO), Philip Geipel (GER) and Milenko Vukovic (SUI) piloting an Audi TT RS.
Vincent Vosse, head of Belgian Audi Club WRT comments: “We entered the Dubai 24H for the first time in 2016 and we won it! So it will be
impossible to do better. For this reason, we can only aim for the same result: the victory. With a second Audi WRT in the entry list the chances are of course better but the regulation in Dubai is also specific: we need the best possible mix between pro and am drivers. Let’s see if our 2017 shopping has been as good as the 2016 one.”
The 24H Dubai weekend begins on Thursday 12th January with three free practice sessions, followed by two qualifying sessions and a night practice through the evening. The race itself gets underway on Friday 14th January at 2 pm, before the flag falls on Saturday afternoon.
As usual, the race will feature significant live TV coverage on European channel, Motors TV, while the entire event is also streamed live on the series’ website, including commentary by Radiolemans.com.
World premiere Audi RS 3 LMS
Audi Sport GmbH delivered the first two Audi RS 3 LMS cars in Neuburg last week. Stephan Winkelmann, Managing Director of Audi Sport GmbH, and Chris Reinke, Head of Audi Sport customer racing, handed over the new TCR touring cars to Cadspeed-Racing and Speed Factory Racing Team, whose season will start in the 24-hour race in Dubai. “Following successful development and testing, production of the RS 3 LMS was launched at the end of November,” says Chris Reinke. “The delivery of the first cars to customer teams is a special moment for this project that is still young. We are delighted about the great demand and already very excited about the first races of the RS 3 LMS in the customer’s hand.” The Audi RS 3 LMS has been developed by Audi Sport GmbH for the burgeoning TCR touring car category for which more and more fielding opportunities exist around the globe. By now they include the new TCR Middle East debuting as part of the 24H race in Dubai. For the 24H race at the Nürburgring and the VLN Endurance Championship dedicated classes for TCR touring cars have just been established as well.
Audi in GT racing 2016
2016 can most certainly be described as a record year for Audi Sport customer racing, with customers competing in more than 270 races and winning 85 of them. At the end of the year the record books boast 8 drivers’ championships, victory in the FIA GT World Cup and innumerable other titles. Since 2009, more than 200 GT3 cars have been built and, within just one year, 67 second generation Audi R8 LMS were delivered. Audi has ended the 2016 season with two big trophies.
In the Sepang 12 Hours in Malaysia, Audi celebrated over all victory with Laurens Vanthoor, Christopher Haase and Robin Frijns from Audi Sport Team Phoenix. Vanthoor additionally secured the drivers’ title in the inaugural Intercontinental GT Challenge and Audi won the manufacturers title. Other outstanding successes this season include victory in the FIA GT World Cup, which Audi achieved for the first time. The prestigious sprint race in Macau was won by the Belgian Laurens Vanthoor with Belgian Audi Club Team WRT in November. Vincent Vosse’s Belgian squad clinched another important international trophy, with Enzo Ide from Belgium having won the Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup. On a national level, ten Audi drivers also achived victory.. In addition, the tally includes 14 other class trophies in team classifications or GT categories of major sports car series, such as the IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship in North America.
2016 track record
FIA titles
- FIA GT World Cup Drivers: Laurens Vanthoor (B)
- FIA GT World Cup Manufacturers: Audi
- Drivers’ overall championship wins
- ADAC GT Masters: Christopher Mies/Connor De Phillippi (D/USA)
- Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup: Enzo Ide (B)
- DMV GTC: Fabian Plentz (D)
- DMV GTC Dunlop 60: Fabian Plentz/Tommy Tulpe (D/D)
- Dunlop Endurance Championship: Phil Hanson/Nigel Moore (GB/GB)
- Intercontinental GT Challenge: Laurens Vanthoor (B)
- North Island Endurance Series Three Hour: Neil Foster/Jonny Reid (NZ/NZ)
- Victorian State Circuit Racing Championships Sports Cars: Steven McLaughlan (AUS)
Other titles
- ADAC GT Masters Junior: Connor De Phillippi (USA)
- ADAC GT Masters Teams: Montaplast by Land-Motorsport
- Australian GT Trophy Series: Rob Smith (AUS)
- Blancpain GT Series Sprint Cup Teams : Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
- British GT3 Silver Drivers: Will Moore/Ryan Ratcliffe (GB/GB)
- GT Asia Series Pro-Am-Cup: Shaun Thong (HK)
- IMSA WeatherTech SportsCar Championship GT Daytona Car Manufacturers: Audi
- Intercontinental GT Challenge Manufacturers: Audi
- International Endurance Series Rookies: Max Edelhoff (D)
- Pan Delta Circuit Hero One GT: Huang Hsi-Chan (RC)
- SprintX Pro Drivers: Dion von Moltke (USA)
- Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Teams: Magnus Racing
- Tequila Patrón North American Endurance Cup Manufacturers: Audi
- VLN Speed Trophy: Montaplast by Land-Motorsport
Audi R8 LMS Cup
- Alex Yoong (MAL)
Overall victories in endurance races
- Dubai 24 Hours: Alain Ferté/Stuart Leonard/Michael Meadows/Laurens Vanthoor (F/GB/GB/B)
- Thunderhill 25 Hours: Mike Hedlund/Darren Law/Dion von Moltke/Johannes van Overbeek (USA/USA/USA/USA)
- Sepang 12 Hours: Laurens Vanthoor/Christopher Haase/Robin Frijns (B/D/NL)
Class victories and trophies in endurance races
- Daytona 24 Hours GTD: Andy Lally/John Potter/René Rast/Marco Seefried (USA/USA/D/D)
- Spa 24 Hours Coupe du Roi: Audi