Participa en VLN Nurburgring- Gran paquete promocional completo.

Una gran oportunidad de conquistar el gran Infierno Verde en Nurburgring.

Participa en el mejor y mas grande campeonato mundial endurance en la pista mas linda del mundo,
VLN en Nurburgring-Nordschleife.
10 carreras por temporada, siendo 8 de ellas de 4 horas con 3 pilotos y 2 carreras de 6 horas con 3 o 4 pilotos.
Estas competiciones son transmitidas a 105 paises en el orbe.
Con coaching profesional y autos para pelear cada categoria te ofrecemos un paquete especial en los siguientes autos Opel Astra, Ford Focus Turbo y BMW.

El Paquete incluye: ( Precios muy especiales)
1- Practicas viernes, practicas y clasificacion sabado y 4 horas de competencias el mismo sabado.
2- Hotel X 2 dias con desayuno.
3- Seguro de choque incluido.
4- catering service en circuito.
tips y coaching profesional en circuito Nordschleife.
5- After party en Nurburgring.

Ademas podras participar en las mas grandes 24 Horas del mundo, Las 24 H. ADAC Nurburgring.

Interesados por favor contactarnos lo antes posible, los cupos se agotan.

Calendario VLN en Nurburgring.

26.03.2011	VLN Probe- und EInstellfahrt
02.04.2011	58. ADAC Westfalenfahrt
30.04.2011	36. DMV 4-Stunden-Rennen
14.05.2011	42. Adenauer ADAC Rundstrecken-Trophy
28.05.2011	53. ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup
11.06.2011	51. ADAC Reinoldus-Langstreckenrennen
30.07.2011	34. RCM DMV Grenzlandrennen
27.08.2011	6h ADAC Ruhr-Pokal-Rennen
24.09.2011	43. ADAC Barbarossapreis
15.10.2011	35. DMV 250-Meilen-Rennen
29.10.2011	36. DMV Münsterlandpokal

Three newcomers for Audi in the DTM

Three newcomers for Audi in the DTM

Albuquerque, Frey and Mortara strengthen Audi driver squad Le Mans winner Rockenfeller in current A4 cockpit for first time DTM Champions Ekström and Scheider again spearhead campaign

Ingolstadt, February 22, 2011 - Audi will start the 2011 DTM season with a newly formed driver squad including three newcomers with the goal of bringing back the title of the most popular international touring car series to Ingolstadt and Neckarsulm.

New to the Audi DTM team are Swiss Rahel Frey (25), Portuguese Filipe Albuquerque (25) and Italian Edoardo Mortara (24). "All three made an excellent impression during our driver sighting tests in December," explains Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "I’m convinced that they will be a genuine reinforcement to our driver squad and that we are in a good position for the 2011 season."

Albuquerque, whose full first name is Filipe Miguel Delgadinho, comes from single-seater racing and was Formula 1 test driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso. In 2010 he drove an Audi R8 LMS for Audi Sport Italia in the Italian GT Championship and was runner-up after scoring two victories and ten podium finishes. The Portuguese made international headlines following his sensational "Race of Champions" triumph in Düsseldorf in November 2010 where he beat Formula 1 World Champion Sebastian Vettel and World Rally Champion Sébastien Loeb.

Rahel Frey was also mainly active in single-seater racing until now. The young Swiss girl recorded her greatest success to date at the Nürburgring in 2009 when she became the first lady driver in German Formula 3 Cup history to win a race. In 2010, she contested the 24 Hours of Le Mans with a GT1 car in an "all women" team. Her motto: "Go fast and never ever give up."

Geneva born Edoardo Mortara, who has both French and Italian citizenship but races under the Italian flag, is the reigning Formula 3 Euro Series champion. The former Volkswagen factory driver became, in addition, the first driver in history to win the famous Formula 3 race in Macau twice. His promotion to the DTM ranks within the Volkswagen Group was therefore destined.

Mortara and Albuquerque contest the DTM for Audi Sport Team Rosberg. Rahel Frey is team-mate to Martin Tomczyk at Audi Sport Team Phoenix.

After four years at the wheel of a year old car, Le Mans winner Mike Rockenfeller (D/27) finally gets a chance to race for championship honors with an Audi A4 DTM of the latest generation. For this purpose he moves to Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline, for which both two-time DTM Champions Mattias Ekström (S/32) and Timo Scheider (D/32), plus Oliver Jarvis (GB/27) and Miguel Molina (E/22), again compete. Molina continues with a 2008-spec A4.

"The last DTM season did not run according to plan for Audi," says Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "Which is why we tried over the winter to improve in every area - this also includes the driving squad. I see it as a chance for Martin Tomczyk that he races in an older car and in a team other than Abt Sportsline for the first time. British race drivers Jamie Green and Gary Paffett are examples of the fact that you can certainly win races with a last year’s car and give his career new impetus."

The sports prototype driving squad is also reinforced: The 25-year old Italian Marco Bonanomi, who contested the Italian GT Championship together with Filipe Albuquerque last year in an Audi R8 LMS, has been signed as test and reserve driver and is integrated in the development program for the new Audi R18.

Profile: Audi factory driver Filipe Albuquerque (P)

Date of birth: June 13, 1985
Place of birth: Coimbra (P)
Domicile: Lissabon (P)
Marital status: single
Height / weight: 1.74 m / 64 kg
Motorsport since: 1994 (Audi driver since 2011)

Sporting career
1994-2004 Kart
1998 1st in Iniciados class in Portugal Cup, 2nd in Iniciados Class in National Kart Championship
2000 3rd in Portugal Cup, 3rd in National Kart Junior Championship
2002 2nd in European ICA Kart Championship, 2nd in Italian
ICA Kart Championship
2003 10th in Formula A Kart World Championship
2005 3rd in German Formula Renault, best rookie; 5th in Formula
Renault Eurocup, best rookie; 6th in Spanish Formula 3 Championship, best rookie
2006 1st in Formula Renault NEC, 1st in Formula Renault Eurocup
2007 4th in World Series by Renault 3.5, best rookie; two races in GP2, Formula 1 test driver for Red Bull and Toro Rosso
2008 Four races in A1GP Series
2009 3rd in A1GP Series, 1st in Race of Champions Iberia, two races in
Italian GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS)
2010 1st in Race of Champions, 2nd in Italian GT Championship
(Audi R8 LMS)

www.filipealbuquerque.com

Profile: Audi factory driver Marco Bonanomi (I)

Date of birth: 12 March 1985
Place of birth: Lecco (I)
Domicile: Colle Brianza (I)
Marital status: single
Height / Weight: 1.76 m / 69 kg
Motorsport since: 1998 (Audi driver since 2011)

Sporting career
1998-2000 Kart
1998 4th in 60 ccm class in Italian Kart Championship
1999 4th in 100 ccm class in Italian Junior Kart Championship
2000 1st in 100 ccm class in Italian Allstars Kart Championship
2001 4th in Formula Renault 2000 Winter Series
2002 Formula Renault 2000 Championship
2003 4th in Italian Formula 3 Championship
2004 Formula 3 Euro Series
2005 11th in Formula 3 Euro Series
2006 2nd in Formula 3000 Euro Series
2007 World Series by Renault 3.5
2008 GP2 Asia, World Series by Renault 3.5
2009 GP2 Asia, 2nd in Formula 3000 Euro Series
2010 2nd in Italian GT Championship (Audi R8 LMS)

www.marcobonanomi.com

Profile: Audi factory driver Rahel Frey (CH)

Date of birth: February 23, 1986
Place of birth: Niederbipp (CH)
Domicile: Aedermannsdorf (CH)
Marital status: single
Height / weight: 1.63 m / 50 kg
Motorsport since: 1998 (Audi driver since 2011)

Sporting career
1998-2003 Kart
1998 10th in Swiss Kart Mini Championship
1999 3rd in Swiss Kart Mini Championship
2000 10th in Swiss Kart Junior Championship
2001 4th in Swiss Kart Junior Championship
2002 8th in Swiss Kart ICA Junior Championship
2003 6th in Swiss Kart ICA Junior Championship
2004 4th in Swiss Formula Renault 2.0
2005 3rd in Swiss Formula Renault 2.0
2006 18th in Italian Formula Renault, 21st in Formula
Renault Eurocup
2007 International Formula Masters Series
2007/2008 Friday driver A1GP Series
2008 14th in Formula 3 Cup
2009 7th in Formula 3 Cup
2010 Le Mans 24 Hours, guest race in Volkswagen Scirocco R-Cup

www.rahelfrey.ch

Profile: Audi factory driver Edoardo Mortara (I/F)

Date of birth: January 12, 1987
Place of birth: Geneva (CH)
Domicile: Geneva (CH)
Marital status: single
Height / weight: 1.82 m / 75 kg
Motorsport since: 1999 (Audi driver since 2011)

Sporting career
1999-2005 Kart
1999 3rd in 100 ccm class in Italian Junior Kart Championship
2000 2nd in 100 ccm class in Italian Junior Kart Championship, 2nd in Kart Masters Paris-Bercy, 5th in European Kart Championship
2001 2nd in 100 ccm class Italian Junior Kart Championship, 5th in Monaco Kart Cup
2002 3rd in 100 ccm class in Italian Kart ICA Championship, 7th in European Kart Championship
2003 7th in 100 ccm class in Italian Kart Formula A Championship
2004 7th in 100 ccm class in Italian Kart Formula A Championship
2005 2nd in 100 ccm class in Italian Kart Formula A Championship, 1st in Trofeo Margutti, 9th in European Kart Championship
2006 4th in Italian Formula Renault, best rookie
2007 8th in Formula 3 Euro Series, best rookie; 10th in Formula 3 Macau
2008 2nd in Formula 3 Euro Series, 2nd in Formula 3 Macau
2009 1st in Formula 3 Macau, 14th in GP2, 11th in GP2 Asia
2010 1st in Formula 3 Euro Series, 1st in Formula 3 Macau

www.edoardomortara.com

Info and fotos/ Audi Sport.

Mattias Ekström injured in sports accident

Mattias Ekström injured in sports accident

Left-hand wrist broken Participation in “Vasaloppet” cross country skiing event cancelled

Ingolstadt, February 18, 2011 - Audi factory driver Mattias Ekström (32) has broken his left-hand wrist in a sports accident. The Swede must therefore cancel his participation at the beginning of March in the famous "Vasaloppet." His rehabilitation program should be concluded in time to start the 2011 DTM season on May 1.

Déjà vu: A year ago Le Mans record winner Tom Kristensen tore the Achilles tendon on his left foot while playing tennis with his son. Now Mattias Ekström: In the training camp the Audi driver fell so awkwardly while playing volleyball with his team mates that he broke his left-hand wrist.

As a consequence Ekström, whose partner Heidi is expecting a child in April, now faces a race against time. The Swede aims to be fully fit again in time for the start of the season on May 1. "Mattias must wear a cast for about four weeks, afterwards he can start training again to build up the muscles," explains Audi team physician Dr. Christian John who provided medical care immediately after the accident. "We all hope that he recovers well and Mattias can line-up on the grid at Hockenheim."

"We wish Mattias all the best and a rapid recovery," says Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. "I’m convinced that he will do everything possible to be absolutely ready to go for Hockenheim. We’ll give all the support he requires in the process."

Nissan has some star names in its driver line-up for the 2011 season.

Nissan has some star names in its driver line-up for the 2011 season.

The squad includes Brazilian former Formula One drivers Ricardo Zonta and Enrique Bernoldi, plus sportscar stars Lucas Luhr and Richard Westbrook.

James Rumsey Motorsport Group will campaign four Nissan GT-Rs, two as Sumo Power GT and two managed by a sister operation under the JRM banner.

Westbrook, Zonta, Bernoldi were all GT1 frontrunners in 2010 with Matech Ford, Reiter Lamborghini and Vitaphone Maserati respectively.

Former Audi factory driver and multiple American Le Mans Series class champion Luhr will be making his World GT1 debut.

Existing Sumo Power drivers Peter Dumbreck and Michael Krumm both stay on as JR team members. Krumm will be paired with fellow-German Luhr in one car, with British duo Dumbreck and Westbrook taking the other.

Bernoldi and Zonta will share one of the Sumo Power entries, with the rest of the driver line-up to be announced shortly.

Info and Foto/Fia GT1 Championship.

Calendarios de la FIA GT1 - FIA GT3 - Blancpain Endurances Races.

Eighteen Entries Submitted for 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship

Press Release 11th February 2011

Eighteen Entries Submitted for 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship

Eighteen entries, from nine teams, have been received by the FIA for the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship. Four brands – Aston Martin, Ford, Lamborghini and Nissan - will each be represented by two 2-car teams. The FIA GT Commission has also given extra time to allow a tenth team time to finalise plans to fill up a fifth brand. The regulations state that single team entries for a brand are not permitted and each manufacturer must be represented by at least four cars. Stephane Ratel said: “We have been working extremely hard to ensure we have a good quality grid for the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship and I’d like to thank the teams who have submitted their entries to the FIA. GT1 remains firm on the two car team entries and two teams per brand that have made the Championship unique in the world of sports car racing. It should also be noted that of the entries received, all of the cars that were built specifically for the 2010 GT1 regulations, namely Nissan, Ford and Lamborghini, will be on the grid in Abu Dhabi, alongside the Aston Martin DB9. I am confident that we will find a solution in the next few weeks that will add a fifth brand to the grid and bring the number of cars up to 20.” The applications will now be examined by the FIA, before an official entry list is released in the next few weeks. About the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship After a highly successful first season the 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship will begin, as it did in 2010, in Abu Dhabi at the end of March. As well as the event in the United Arab Emirates, the events in Algarve, Silverstone, Navarra, Paul Ricard and San Luis are all carried over from the inaugural season. The four new tracks on the 2011 calendar include Zolder (Belgium), Sachsenring (Germany) and Curitiba (Brazil), with the GT1 World Championship heading into new territory in September with a race in China, at the Ordos International Circuit. 2011 FIA GT1 World Championship Calendar 26th March UAE Abu Dhabi 10th April Belgium Zolder 8th May Portugal Algarve 15th May Germany Sachsenring 5th June Great Britain Silverstone 3rd July Spain Navarra 17th July France Paul Ricard 4th September China Ordos 23rd October Brazil Curitiba 6th November Argentina San Luis ENDS SRO Press Media/ Autorized and Acreditated Media.

AmigosRacingForLatinAmerica: The Porsche Museum displays a unique exhibit.

AmigosRacingForLatinAmerica: The Porsche Museum displays a unique exhibit.: "From 11 to 20 February 2011 The Porsche Museum displays a unique exhibit Stuttgart. The Porsche fan community on Facebook reached a magi..."

The Porsche Museum displays a unique exhibit.

From 11 to 20 February 2011

The Porsche Museum displays a unique exhibit

Stuttgart. The Porsche fan community on Facebook reached a magical milestone at the turn of the year when Porsche added its one-millionth fan on Facebook, one of the largest and most popular social networks on the Internet. Reason enough for Porsche to thank its fans with a special exhibition showcasing a unique custom-made vehicle: starting today, February 11, 2011, the Porsche museum will be presenting a Porsche 911 GT3 R Hybrid adorned with the signatures of more than 27,000
Porsche fans.

The 911 GT3 R Hybrid was chosen for this extraordinary signature-gathering campaign because it impressively embodies the future of motorsport - with Porsche Intelligent Performance. The all-new hybrid system developed specially for use in a racing car has little in common with conventional hybrid systems as far as its design and componentry go. The 480 HP four-litre six-cylinder flat-twin engine in the back is complemented by an electric front axle drive with two electric drive motors each pumping out 60 kW. Instead of batteries, the electric motors are powered by an electric flywheel accumulator which is charged during braking. The 911 GT3 R Hybrid has already provided convincing proof of its race-worthiness in a 24-hour race at the Nürburgring.

The Porsche Museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. Admission for adults is Euro 8,-, with a special reduction available to Euro 4,-. Admission is free for children up to the age of 14 years provided they are accompanied by an adult. For further information, please visit www.porsche.com/museum or www.facebook.com/porsche.

Public Relations and Media Porsche-Museum Astrid Lübke.

Mühlner Porsche was running like a clockwork Top ten finish despite accident in the team’s Grand-Am debut

Francorchamps – Cape Coral – Daytona: The Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium based Mühlner Motorsport Team had already been looking since several years to participate in the Rolex 24 at Daytona but this is not as easy to manage. Finally in October 2010 the lights were switched on green: Muehlner Motorsports America, LLC was founded in November and a brand new Porsche MY2011 was bought at Porsche Motorsport of North America (PMNA). Already in early December the team participated in a Continental tire test at the Homestead Miami Racetrack.

It was Jörg Bergmeister who did the shake down, and everybody could easily see that the car was directly up to speed. Mark J. Thomas, a regular in Mühlner Motorsport programmes since 2008, was involved in the project right from the beginning. After the successful Homestead shake down Peter Ludwig signed immediately and two weeks later also Dion von Moltke became part of the driver line up. In early January the team participated in the official test the so called "Roar before the 24" and worked hard to be prepared for this new challenge: the Rolex 24 at Daytona. It is the 35th 24h race in the long history of Mühlner Motorsport, but it was the first race ever in the USA for the successful team that participated already in races in 17 countries around the world. One week before the event Cory Friedman joined the team and so the driver line up was finalized with very reliable and -in Daytona- experienced amateur drivers.

Because the team has been able to finalize the complete test program during the test days in early January, team manager Bernhard Mühlner decided that during the practice and qualifying sessions only the absolute minimum laps to fulfil the regulations had to be done. Thursday and Friday were very quiet and Ludwig was the driver who qualified the car on position 21. This was ok because the starting position in a 24h race, will never affect the result. According to the regulations, the driver who qualified the car has to take the start.

The team decided that the drivers should do double stints to save time in the pits. During the first stint this strategic plan didn't pay off because Ludwig was a little bit too careful, when he meant that during a caution period, the car felt a little bit different for him. So he decided to come into the pit, because he was afraid of a slow puncture. But this was not the case, the tire pressure only came down because of the slow driving behind the safety car and so the team lost a lot of positions, already early in the race. The following stints worked perfect, all drivers did double stints and half way the race the team was already 7th out of 32 GT cars. Not by doing the fastest lap times but by taking advantage of the reliability of the car and cool strategy from the pits.

But then Thomas, in his second time in the car, hit the wall in turn one and the complete front and both right wheels and the axles behind were destroyed but the mayor difficulty was the broken radiator. The only good thing was that he was able to bring the car back to the pits. Although the Mühlner Motorsport mechanics did a great job to fix everything, it took 42 minutes and all chances for a possible podium finish were gone half way the race.

When the car rejoined the track, a very long caution period (2h 47min), because of fog early in the morning, was not really helpful to regain positions by the reliability of the car and the strategy of the team. At the end of the race car #18 finished 9th of all the GT's because during the whole race no technical problem caused an additional pit stop.

Renate-Carola Mühlner quotes after the race: "It makes me very proud that in our 35th 24h race again no technical problem happened to our car. With the exception of the accident we only refuelled the car, changed the tires and only once the brake pads thanks to the high quality of the Pagid brake pads. Our Bilstein suspension worked perfect throughout the race, and our mechanics did again a great job to prepare the car in a way that no technical problem stopped us during the race. They also did perfect and fast pit stops even though the way to do this was totally new for us because of the regulations in Daytona, which are totally different than in all the other 34 24h races we did before. Although you can't think like this everybody can easily calculate on what position we could have finished the race if the accident wouldn't have happened. But we will come back…"

Audi R8 LMS locks out first row at Bathurst

Audi R8 LMS locks out first row at Bathurst

Ingolstadt/Bathurst, 5 February 2011 – Audi starts on pole position into the
2011 motorsport season: Audi race experience Team Joest qualified its brace of
Audi R8 LMS cars on the first row of the grid at the Bathurst 12 Hour race in
Australia. The Australian driver trio Warren Luff/Craig Lowndes/Mark Eddy
clinched first place ahead of the sister car of Marc Basseng/Christopher
Mies/Darryl O’Young (D/D/CN).
In spite of a very short period of preparation, Audi race experience Team Joest had a
dream start to the Bathurst weekend. After two free practice sessions of only 50
minutes each, the outfit achieved the best possible result on the demanding track
with the Audi R8 LMS claiming first row in qualifying. An evenly-balanced
performance of the line-ups paid off as the individual best time of each driver was
taken into account for an aggregate result that determined the starting grid. In the
field of 26 entries, it was not the car with the individual best time of one driver that
eventually led the standings.
Inside the Audi camp, the chase for the best time turned into a “Luff affair”: Warren
Luff claimed the best time of an Audi driver, setting a lap time of 2m 09.6s. The
aggregate time of all Audi R8 LMS #7 drivers added up to 6m 35.3s. A balanced
team result was completed by the Audi R8 LMS #8 car: Its sum of the three drivers’
times on the undulating 6.213 kilometre Australian circuit was only three tenths
slower. Marc Basseng was fastest of the three Bathurst rookie drivers and drove a
2m 10.8s lap.

Audi race experience Team Joest focused only in first qualifying on the battle for
pole position. The team based in Wald-Michelbach (Germany) used the second
qualifying session predominantly as a chance for the drivers to familiarise
themselves with the car and the circuit as they did in free practice, and to simulate
race conditions with full fuel loads in preparation for Sunday’s race.
The fastest drivers were awarded a prize money of 5,000 Australian dollars by the
organizers. Audi race experience Team Joest and its drivers decided to donate the
money to the people of their host country who have been affected by natural
disasters recently. Audi Australia supported this move so that a total sum of 10,000
dollars was donated. The sum will be directed towards the Premier’s Disaster Relief
Appeal that supports the victims of floodings and cyclone Yasi.

Quotes after qualifying

Romolo Liebchen (Head of customer sport, quattro GmbH): “We can be happy with
our positions on the grid as it is the first time that we took to the track at Bathurst.
We focused on first qualifying because we then expected the best results – this was
precisely what happened. We’ve used second qualifying to prepare perfectly for the
race. Each driver gave us a positive feedback on the set-up of the Audi R8 LMS.”
Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi race experience Team Joest): “We came to
Bathurst without even a shakedown test, plus the free practice sessions were very
short. Our drivers either didn’t know the car or they didn’t know the track. Now we
have ticked every box of a full program we had to go through. In second qualifying,
we did our homework for Sunday and no longer fought for positions. Our six drivers
did their best laps in the morning. That worked really well with every driver. We are
well-prepared for the 12 hour race.”

Mark Eddy (Audi Australia R8 LMS #7)
“Working with Audi race experience Team Joest is great fun. After qualifying, we are
starting to have a handle on what the car does at Mount Panorama. I’m sure that we
should have a really good race car. Of course we want to turn this into a winning
result on Sunday.”

Craig Lowndes (Audi Australia R8 LMS #7)
“It’s a great opportunity to have a new exposure to a new team. Audi came to
Australia and are providing a first-class outfit – not only the garages but also the
cars. And it’s good to see the support that Audi Australia has given to Audi race
experience Team Joest. The circuit we love, but the car is not so familiar to me. Each
time I get in the car, I get more comfortable. The 12 hour race will be a long day.
It’ll be no different to any normal endurance race: look after the car, look after the
fuel consumption and hopefully be on the lead lap at the end of the last hour.”


Warren Luff (Audi Australia R8 LMS #7)
“It’s been an amazing opportunity. The car has been so good to drive. In qualifying, I
was very happy with the car and the time that we did. I’m very much looking forward
to the race and hopefully we can have a good result for both Audi and Audi race
experience Team Joest.”
Marc Basseng (Audi Top Service R8 LMS #8)
“We have used the first qualifying to achieve good times. In the second session it
was all about longer distances. So we could see how the car’s temperatures progress
and how the tires worked. So we have concentrated on race preparation as it is
crucial to have a good car for that. I think that’s precisely what we’ve achieved. It is
all the better that the qualifying result is that good.”

Christopher Mies (Audi Top Service R8 LMS #8)
“This is a nice result as Marc, Darryl and myself didn’t know the track at all. I’m very
positive about it. We are an evenly-matched driver pairing. Hence we have a chance
for a podium result. At the end, we’ve tried a harder tire compound under a full fuel
load to generate reference data. Even then, I could drive consistent times which was
a surprise. So we are well-prepared for the race.”

Darryl O’Young (Audi Top Service R8 LMS #8)
“I’m quite pleased with the way the weekend has evolved so far. It’s tough to learn
the circuit with just two free practice sessions. Before qualifying, both Christopher
and me each drove seven laps. Still, we were able to get decent times. What matters
the most is the 12 hour race not the position on the grid. We want to drive a clean
race and keep out of troubles in traffic. The team has been working really well and
set the car up perfectly.”

Qualifying results
1 Eddy/Lowndes/Luff (Audi R8 LMS) 6m 35.3s
2 Basseng/Mies/O’Young (Audi R8 LMS) 6m 35.6s
3 Owen/Koundouris/Koundouris (Porsche) 6m 36.6s
4 Baird/Quinn/Quinn (Porsche) 6m 37.9s
5 Reynolds/Fiore/Cini (Porsche) 6m 41.9s
6 Wall/Mawer/Crick (Porsche) 6m 43.5s
7 Russell/Kingsley/Lago (Porsche) 6m 48.6s
8 Bowe/Leahy/Edwards (Ferrari) 6m 50.2s
9 Simonsen/Searle/Lester (Ferrari) 6m 52.0s
10 Emery/Twigg/Grant (Mosler) 6m 52.3s

INFO and Fotos: Jurgen Pippig/Audi Comunications Sport.

PRESS RELEASE 04 February 2011 Success Ballast Out, Compensation Times in for FIA GT3

Success Ballast, which has been a feature of the FIA GT3 European Championship since 2009, has been replaced with Compensation Times for the 2011 season. Instead of the top three cars and drivers being awarded +20kg, +15kg and +10kg in each race, they will receive a time of +15 seconds for 1st place, +10 seconds for second place and +5 seconds for 3rd, which will be added to the minimum pit stop duration set for the following race in the Championship. The move away from success ballast was made after it was felt that success ballast, coupled with ballast weight used to balance the performance of the various cars in the championship, was adversely affecting the performance and competitiveness of some cars. This led to the decision to remove success ballast from the equation, but keeping ballast weights as part of the Balance of Performance tests for each homologated model. The Compensation Time will be added to the pitstop time of the top three cars and drivers at the next race. The top three in the first race of the weekend will have the Compensation Times applied for the second race of the same weekend and not at the next event as was the case with success ballast, the top three of the second race weekend will have the Compensation Times added to the pitstop time of the first race at the next event. Success ballast was introduced in 2009 to stop one team / driver pairing dominating the championship and, while this has proved to be successful, the application of Compensation Times during the pitstops will be equally effective while not being reliant on adding ballast to a car. SRO CEO Stephane Ratel said: “This move away from Success Ballast in GT3 should help the teams to be more consistent throughout the season while keeping a check on the top three cars and drivers at each event so we don’t have one dominant team/driver combination. This change will help keep the FIA GT3 European Championship in its position as the leading GT series in Europe.” About the FIA GT3 European Championship The 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship will take place over six double header events across Europe starting in Portugal on the 7/8 May at the Autodromo do Algarve. The first four events will be with the FIA GT1 World Championship before finishing the season as the headline series with two events at the Smolenskring in Russia and finishing at Zandvoort in The Netherlands in October. As well as competing against some of the best up and coming sportscar drivers in the world, the overall champions will join a very elite group of European title holders. 2011 FIA GT3 European Championship 7/8 May Portugal Algarve 4/5 June Great Britain Silverstone 2/3 July Spain Navarra 16/17 July France Paul Ricard 20/21 August Russia Smolensk Ring 15/16 October Netherlands Zandvoort Info :Jeff Carter/Media Delegate.

Double victory for Porsche at long distance classic in Florida

Daytona 24 Hours, USA

Double victory for Porsche at long distance classic in Florida

Stuttgart. Porsche’s success story at the Daytona 24 hour race continues. At the 49th running of the long distance classic in Florida, the sports cars from Zuffenhausen celebrated an impressive double victory. Porsche works driver Wolf Henzler (Germany) won the strongly-supported GT class with his American teammates Andy Lally, Spencer Pumpelly, Steven Bertheau and Brendan Gaughan at the wheel of TRG Racing’s Porsche 911 GT3 Cup. Despite starting from the back of the grid, they finished the race one lap clear of the Paul Miller Racing squad with Bryce Miller, Tim Sugden, Bryan Sellers and Rob Bell. For Porsche as the most successful manufacturer in the history of this race, this marked the 73rd class win.

“I’m thrilled to have won such a fabulous race for the second time since 2005,” said Wolf Henzler. “It was very tough fighting our way through the field. But our car was perfectly prepared and we were able to maintain our quick pace from start to finish.” For the Porsche factory pilot, this was his third straight win at a 24 hour race after Le Mans and Spa.

Porsche works drivers Richard Lietz (Austria) and Marco Holzer (Germany), sharing driving duties with Americans Craig Stanton and John Potter in the 911 GT3 Cup of Magnus Racing, made the start of the 2011 motorsport season perfect for Porsche with fourth place. After leading the field with the Brumos-Porsche, works driver Marc Lieb and his American teammates Hurley Haywood, Leh Keen and Andrew Davis lost positions during the night after an off-excursion damaged the radiator. After a dramatic start and a gripping race, thick fog brought out the safety car for a good two and half hours in the early morning. The pilots put in an impressive charge and profited from the speed and reliability of the 911 GT3 Cup to clinch fifth.

“Our Porsche 911 GT3 Cup ran perfectly,” said Marc Lieb. “We had a good chance to win. But in such a top-class field you simply can’t afford any lengthy repairs in the pits,” Richard Lietz: “As the old saying goes: A miss is as good as a mile. Still, we can be happy with fourth.” His teammate Marco Holzer agreed: “My second Daytona race went much better than my first last year. So my aim for 2012 is clear: I’m after the podium.”

Porsche works driver Joerg Bergmeister (Germany) provided the first highlight on the Daytona International Speedway. After claiming pole position with his strong performance and a new lap record, he pulled clear of his rivals at the start of the race. With the Porsche-Riley, the overall Daytona winner from 2003 built up his advantage to 16 seconds by lap 27 before the first pit stop, and in the meantime turned the fastest lap of the race. His works driver teammate Patrick Long (USA) was running in second place when he handed the Flying Lizard Motorsports’ Daytona prototype powered by the Porsche six-cylinder engine over to Seth Neiman (USA). After just a few laps, in an attempt to avoid a spinning competitor in front of him, Neiman left the track and damaged the underbody and radiator. The team lost 19 laps through essential repairs. Ninety minutes before the flag, an oil cap on the left side of the engine came loose and the leaking oil caught fire. Repairs at this late stage made little sense.

“We were completely satisfied with the performance of our car over the entire weekend,” said Joerg Bergmeister. “We clinched pole position and turned the fastest race lap. Unfortunately, we lost a great deal of time early on in the race. At the end a fire caused by leaking oil signalled an early retirement for us.” Patrick Long said: “To now, Flying Lizard has had no experience with the Daytona prototype. Still, everyone became familiar with it very quickly. It’s just a shame that they couldn’t reap the rewards for all their hard work at the end.”

In the overall classification, the best placed Porsche-Riley finished third with Joao Barbosa (Portugal), Christian Fittipaldi (Brazil), Max Papis (Italy) as well as Americans Terry Borcheller and JC France. The power-unit of the Daytona prototype fielded by Action Express Racing was a privately-developed eight-cylinder engine based on the Porsche Cayenne. The sister car, which had led on and off over the distance, saw the chequered flag in ninth place.

“Again this year, Porsche teams have made an indelible mark on the Daytona 24 hour race,” summarised Porsche’s Head of Motorsport, Hartmut Kristen. “The double victory in the GT class was well earned. My big compliments for the professional preparation. Flying Lizard Motorsports also gave a sensational performance at their Daytona campaign.”


Race result

Overall classification
1. Pruett/Rojas/Rahal/Hand (USA/MEX/USA/USA), BMW-Riley (DP), 720 laps
2. Dixon/Franchitti/Montoya/MacMurray (NZ/GB/COL/USA), BMW-Riley (DP), 720
3. Barbosa/Borcheller/France/Papis/Fittipaldi (P/USA/USA/I/BRA), Porsche-Riley (DP), 720

GT class
1. Henzler/Lally/Pumpelly/Gaughan/Bertheau (D/USA/USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 685 laps
2. Miller/Sellers/Bell/Sugden (USA/USA/USA/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 684
3. Espenlaub/Foster/Dempsey/Long (USA/USA/USA/USA), Mazda, 681
4. Lietz/Holzer/Stanton/Potter (A/D/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 675
5. Lieb/Haywood/Keen/Davis (D/USA/USA/USA), Porsche 911 GT3 Cup, 673
6. Tremblay/Edwards/Christodoulou/Bomarito (USA/USA/GB/USA), Mazda, 670

Public Relations and Media
Motor and Sports Press
Oliver Hilger

Successful test for the Audi R18

Successful test for the Audi R18
• Two new Audi R18 cars used in tests at Sebring (USA)
• Preparation for the 2011 Le Mans 24 Hours
• All nine “factory” drivers shared the test tasks
Ingolstadt, January 31 – Four and a half months before the Le Mans 24 Hours,
preparations for the endurance classic are in full swing at Audi. Two new Audi R18
cars and one Audi R15 TDI were used in tests at Sebring (U.S. state of Florida).
The program planned for the tradition-steeped American circuit specified endurance
runs for one of the completely re-developed LMP1 sports cars while the second Audi
R18 was primarily used for development work. The Audi R15 “plus plus” that will be
fielded at the 12-hour race at Sebring – the season opener of the Intercontinental Le
Mans Cup (ILMC) – completed a long run as well. In addition, the basic setup for the
race in March was worked out on the vehicle.
During the tests, which ended on Saturday, the nine Audi “factory” drivers took turns
at the wheel so that all of them had the opportunity to drive each of the three sports
cars.
“We’re very pleased with the performance of the Audi R18 at our first outing at
Sebring,” said Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich. “We opted for this
race track because it makes high demands on the mechanical systems of our
vehicles. The temperatures are better than in Europe right now, plus the dry weather
provides us with assurance that we’re able to conduct the endurance runs as
planned. On a wet track the loads would be lower and the test results therefore less
conclusive.”
Communications Motorsport

Comunicado Oficial Audi Motorsport/bajo autorizacion legal de Audi Sport.