Audi travels to DTM finale as leader of the manufacturers’ standings ·         31-point advantage over Mercedes-Benz, 41 over BMW ·         Audi A5 DTM returns to the venue of its race debut ·         Winning the manufacturers’ championship is the aim Ingolstadt/Hockenheim, October 12, 2012 - World Champion in the sports prototype category, winner of the 24-hour classics at Le Mans, at the Nürburgring and at Spa: In endurance racing, Audi was the number one in the 2012 season. In the DTM, the brand with the four rings still has the chance of winning the manufacturers’ title at the Hockenheimring finale on October 21. The Audi A5 DTM is returning to the venue of its debut. At the Hockenheimring in Baden-Württemberg, the new Audi race touring car started into its first race at the end of April - from the top spot on the grid. At the premiere, Mattias Ekström clinched the first pole position and the first podium for the A5 DTM. In the meantime, the tally reflects three fastest times in qualifying, two victories, nine podium results and 327 points. With that, Audi is leading the manufacturers’ standings before the last race of the season - 31 points ahead of Mercedes-Benz and 41 ahead of BMW. A manufacturer can still achieve a maximum of 88 points at Hockenheim. Audi has scored the majority of the points in the second half of the season. This underscores the fact that following a first half of the season that was less than perfect, the 1990, 1991, 2002, 2004, 2007, 2008, 2009 and 2011 champion has regained its traditional strength after the summer break - not least thanks to the continuous further development of the A5 DTM. Consequently, the engineers and technicians of Audi Sport are particularly eager to see how the lap times and relative strengths have changed compared with the season opener. Winning the manufacturer’s championship is the primary aim of the automobile manufacturer from Ingolstadt at Hockenheim. Among the Audi squads there are a few more stakes involved: Who will finish the season as the best Audi driver? Which squad will be the best Audi team? All Audi drivers have scored points this year. This has never been the case before ever since the brand returned to the DTM with a manufacturer’s commitment in the 2004 season. And the three Audi Sport Teams Rosberg, Abt Sportsline and Phoenix are separated by only seven points in the teams’ classification. So far, Mike Rockenfeller (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) has scored the largest number of points for Audi this year. The 2010 Le Mans winner was on podium twice and at Zandvoort barely missed his first victory of the season. The second-best Audi driver in the overall classification is Mattias Ekström (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline), who won the DTM show race at the Munich Olympic Stadium in July. Trailing him by a narrow margin is Edoardo Mortara (Audi Sport Team Rosberg), winner of the races at Spielberg and Zandvoort. 42 laps have to be completed in the DTM finale at the Hockenheimring. Tickets are available on the internet at www.audi.de/dtm. ARD will broadcast the qualifying session (Saturday, October 20 starting at 13:25, local time) and the race (Sunday, October 21, starting at 13:45) live as usual on "Das Erste." In addition, the ARD motorsport program "Benzin im Blut" will celebrate its debut on race day. From 13:15, "Das Erste" will get fans in the mood for the eagerly awaited DTM finale with its new motorsport format. Quotes by the officials Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "At Valencia, we achieved our stage-win and took over the leadership in the manufacturers’ championship. Our aim for Hockenheim is to extend this lead with a similarly positive team performance. We’re going to give everything to make this happen." Hans-Jürgen Abt (Team Director Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline): "Hockenheim is the grand finale of the DTM, which promises suspense galore. After the great result at Valencia, there’s just one aim for our team: we want to clinch the last victory of the year." Ernst Moser (Team Director Audi Sport Team Phoenix): "It’s incredible how fast the season has passed. So now we’re returning to Hockenheim. When the season started we weren’t perfectly sorted there yet. We’ll leave no stone unturned to clinch a victory at the end of the season and to secure the manufacturers’ championship for Audi." Arno Zensen (Team Director Audi Sport Team Rosberg): "Hockenheim is our home race and naturally we’re looking forward to it with particularly eager anticipation. We’ve already had a very good season but now we’d like to put a dot on another ‘i’. If at all possible, we want to shake off the misfortune we often suffered at Hockenheim and forcefully strike once more." Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers Filipe Albuquerque (27/P), TV Movie Audi A5 DTM #22 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) - Has scored points at seven of the nine races in 2012 - Advanced into the top ten of the overall standings at Valencia "My performance at Valencia was strong even though the race didn’t go perfectly. I’m totally motivated for the finale. At Hockenheim, we’ve now got to demonstrate continuity. My maxim is all-out attack!" Mattias Ekström (34/S), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #3 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) - Clinched the first pole position for the new Audi A5 DTM at the season opener - Has celebrated as many as two DTM wins at the Hockenheimring "Hockenheim has always been one of my favorite tracks. Now the finale is around the corner. So we’ve got another season behind us and it would be nice to end the year with a highlight. In the past two races, in terms of balance, we leveled the car at ten out of ten possible points. For Hockenheim, our aim is to achieve these ten points as early as in qualifying." Rahel Frey (26/CH), E-POSTBRIEF Audi A5 DTM #17 (Audi Sport Team Abt) - Finished in seventh place at Valencia and scored her first points in the DTM - Celebrated her DTM debut at the Hockenheimring at the beginning of 2011 "I’m looking forward to Hockenheim and want to go flat-out again there once more. We’ve already been to Hockenheim this season, so we know what we’ve got to do better this time. Since the race at the Nürburgring my crew and I’ve experienced an upswing. Obviously, I want to take that with me to Hockenheim again and am hoping to be able to continue the performance we showed at Valencia." Miguel Molina (23/E), Red Bull Audi A5 DTM #10 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) - Started from the pole position at the Hockenheim finale last year - Has clinched his only podium result in the DTM to date at Hockenheim "The last round of the season at Hockenheim is coming up and I’m hoping for a good result for Audi and for myself. Last year, I drove a good race here and of course I’d like to repeat that now." Edoardo Mortara (25/I/F), Playboy Audi A5 DTM #21 (Audi Sport Team Rosberg) - Has clinched the only two victories with the Audi A5 DTM to date - Has never scored points at the Hockenheimring before "I’m really hoping for us to be competitive again at Hockenheim and that we won’t have any technical problems with the car. And of course I’m also hoping that the car will be as fast again there as it was last was at Valencia." Mike Rockenfeller (28/D), Schaeffler Audi A5 DTM #9 (Audi Sport Team Phoenix) - Is starting into the DTM finale as the Audi driver with the highest points score - In third place, achieved his so far best result at Hockenheim in 2010 "At the last race of the season, my maxim is: all-out attack. We’re highly motivated after the good performance at Valencia. I’ll be giving all I can to score as many points as possible for the championship and to be in contention for victory too." Timo Scheider (33/D), AUTO TEST Audi A5 DTM #4 (Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline) - Is the only Audi driver to have won the DTM finale at Hockenheim to date - Secured his two DTM titles (2008 and 2009) at the Hockenheimring "Even though, obviously, everyone is focused on the decision for the drivers’ title, the main focus for us at Audi is the title in the manufacturers’ championship. At Valencia, we delivered a very strong team result. It would simply be nice to finish the season finale with another good result and, if at all possible, to win the manufacturers’ title for Audi. If we manage to do that, then we’ll have managed to close the season on a positive note. In any event, I’m looking forward to the finale at Hockenheim. It’ll probably be a real thriller. Besides that, it’s always a special thing to drive there in front of a great audience." Adrien Tambay (F/21), Audi ultra A5 DTM #18 (Audi Sport Team Abt) - Clinched his first podium result in the DTM at Valencia - Is driving his tenth DTM race at the Hockenheimring "After the brilliant result at Valencia, I’m obviously now looking forward to the finale of my fantastic first DTM season with particularly eager anticipation. Hockenheim is a nice track; I’ve won races there before. I want to take the momentum from Valencia with me and am convinced that we’ll again be able to achieve a good result if we manage to do all the right things straight from the start." The Audi drivers in the 2012 DTM Filipe Albuquerque (P): * Jun 13, 1985 in Coimbra (P); residence: Coimbra (P); single; height: 1.74 m; weight: 64 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 0; victories: 0 (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 0; points: 35; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 10 Mattias Ekström (S): * Jul 14, 1978 in Falun (S); residence: Salenstein (CH); single (partner Heidi), one son (Mats); height: 1.83 m; weight: 77 kg; Audi driver since 1999; DTM races: 123; pole positions: 19; victories: 17; fastest laps: 12; points: 615; DTM titles: 2 (2004, 2007); best result, DTM Hockenheim: 1 Rahel Frey (CH): * Feb 23, 1986 in Niederbipp (CH); residence: Aedermannsdorf (CH); single; height: 1.63 m; weight: 50 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 0; victories: 0 (best result: 7th place); fastest laps: 0; points: 6; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 15 Miguel Molina (E): * Feb 17, 1989 in Girona (E); residence: Lloret de Mar (E); single; height: 1.75 m; weight: 62 kg; Audi driver since 2010; DTM races: 30; pole positions: 2; victories: 0 (best result: 3rd place); fastest laps: 1; points: 34; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 3 Edoardo Mortara (I/F): * Jan 12, 1987 in Geneva (CH); residence: Geneva (CH); single; height: 1.82 m; weight: 75 kg; Audi driver since 2011; DTM races: 19; pole positions: 1; victories: 2; fastest laps: 0; points: 95; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 11 Mike Rockenfeller (D): * Oct 31, 1983 in Neuwied (D); residence: Altnau (CH); single (partner Susanne); height: 1.75 m; weight: 67 kg; Audi driver since 2007; DTM races: 60; pole positions: 1; victories: 1; fastest laps: 2; points: 159; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: 3 Timo Scheider (D): * Nov 10, 1978 in Lahnstein (D); residence: Lochau (A); single (partner Jessica), one son (Loris); height: 1.78 m; weight: 74 kg; Audi driver since 2006; DTM races: 128; pole positions: 10; victories: 6; fastest laps: 9; points: 373; DTM titles: 2 (2008, 2009); best result, DTM Hockenheim: 1 Adrien Tambay (F): * Feb 25, 1991 in Paris (F); residence: Lochau (A); single; height: 1.81 m; weight: 69 kg; Audi driver since 2012; DTM races: 9; pole positions: 0; victories: 0; (best result: 2nd place); fastest laps: 0; points: 28; DTM titles: 0; best result, DTM Hockenheim: - DTM drivers’ standings after 9 of 10 rounds 1 Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) 127 points 2 Bruno Spengler (BMW) 124 points 3 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) 109 points 4 Mike Rockenfeller (Audi) 85 points 5 Mattias Ekström (Audi) 81 points 6 Edoardo Mortara (Audi) 74 points 7 Martin Tomczyk (BMW) 69 points 8 August Farfus (BMW) 54 points 9 Adrien Tambay (Audi) 28 points 10 Filipe Albuquerque (Audi) 26 points 11 Christian Vietoris (Mercedes-Benz) 24 points 12 Dirk Werner (BMW) 19 points 13 Timo Scheider (Audi) 19 points 14 Andy Priaulx (BMW) 18 points 15 David Coulthard (Mercedes-Benz) 14 points 16 Robert Wickens (Mercedes-Benz) 14 points 17 Miguel Molina (Audi) 8 points 18 Ralf Schumacher (Mercedes-Benz) 8 points 19 Rahel Frey (Audi) 6 points 20 Joey Hand (BMW) 2 points DTM manufacturers’ standings 1 Audi 327 points 2 Mercedes-Benz 296 points 3 BMW 286 points DTM team standings 1 THOMAS SABO/Mercedes-Benz Bank AMG 151 points 2 BMW Team Schnitzer 143 points 3 Mercedes AMG 117 points 4 Audi Sport Team Rosberg 100 points 5 Audi Sport Team Abt Sportsline 100 points 6 Audi Sport Team Phoenix 93 points 7 BMW Team RBM 72 points 8 BMW Team RMG 71 points 9 Audi Sport Team Abt 34 points 10 DHL Paket/stern Mercedes AMG 28 points Audi DTM statistics Champion’s titles: 8 (in 15 years) Victories: 63 (in 203 races) Pole positions: 67 (in 168 qualifying sessions) Fastest laps: 54 (in 203 races) All Hockenheim winners (finale) 2000 Uwe Alzen (Opel)/Uwe Alzen (Opel) 2001 Bernd Mayländer (Mercedes-Benz) 2002 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz) 2003 Jean Alesi (Mercedes-Benz) 2004 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz) 2005 Bernd Schneider (Mercedes-Benz) 2006 Bruno Spengler (Mercedes-Benz) 2007 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) 2008 Timo Scheider (Audi) 2009 Gary Paffett (Mercedes-Benz) 2010 Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz) 2011 Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz) 2011 flashback: Six Audi drivers in the points After the early win of the drivers’ championship, Audi secured the position of the runner-up in the championship and won the team classification as well on the Audi A4’s last run. With Martin Tomczyk, Miguel Molina, Mike Rockenfeller, Mattias Ekström, Timo Scheider and Oliver Jarvis in positions two to four and six to eight, six Audi racers scored points. For Miguel Molina, this marked the first podium in his still young DTM career. The decision was made right at the start, which Mercedes driver Jamie Green decided in his favor and then went on to drive a lonely race at the front of the field. The race of the two Audi drivers Martin Tomczyk and Miguel Molina that ended in positions two and three was similarly solid. Track info Track length: 4.574 km Race distance: 42 laps = 192.108 km DTM qualifying record on this track: Mattias Ekström (Audi), Oct 25, 08, 1m 32.244s = 178.509 km/h DTM race record on this track: Paul Di Resta (Mercedes-Benz), Oct 26, 08, 1m 33.576s = 175.968 km/h Pole position, season opener 2012: Mattias Ekström (Audi), Apr 28,12, 1m 34.680s (173.900 km/h) Fastest lap, season opener 2012: Jamie Green (Mercedes-Benz), Apr 29, 12, 1m 34.901s (173.511 km/h) Turnout 2011: 120,000 TV live rating 2011: 1.26 million / 9.3 % market share (source: ARD) Mattias Ekström about the Hockenheimring: "The mix of turns makes the track particularly interesting. There are some very slow corners, such as turn 2 or the hairpin, as well as some very quick bends such as turn 1 or the entrance to the Motodrom. Ever since the track was modified ten years ago I’ve been particularly fond of the layout. In the Parabolica turn that was introduced back then, you can perfectly prepare for overtaking maneuvers. In the past, we used to measure the gaps at Hockenheim in terms of half-seconds. This was reduced to tenths over the years. And with the new vehicle generation as of 2012 we’ve got to start searching in the range of hundredths to recognize the differences. The atmosphere at Hockenheim is particularly nice. A large crowd flocks to the venue for the finale year after year." Timetable Friday, October 19 09:45-10:15 Roll-out 10:15-10:20 Starting practice 13:40-15:30 Free practice 1 15:30-15:35 Starting practice Saturday, October 20 09:00-10:50 Free practice 2 13:40-14:50 Qualifying Sunday, October 21 10:20-10:50 Warm-up 14:00 Race TV schedule ("Das Erste" live) Saturday, October 20 13:25-15:00 Qualifying Sunday, October 21 13:45-15:45 Race Audi Sport.

Porsche Motorsport around the world

Porsche Motorsport around the world.

Stuttgart. The Motorsport Newsletter regularly provides information on Porsche Motorsport around the world. More detailed information and additional photographs are available for accredited journalists from the press database.

World Endurance Championship: Win and third place for Porsche in Bahrain
Second win of 2012 for the Porsche team Felbermayr-Proton: Christian Ried, Gianluca Roda and Paolo Ruberti won the GTE Am class in the 911 GT3 RSR at round six on the Bahrain International Circuit in Sakhir (29 September). In the GTE Pro class, Porsche works drivers Marc Lieb and Richard Lietz scored third in the sister Felbermayr-Proton Porsche, repeating their result from race five in Sao Paulo.

International GT Open: Marco Holzer and Nick Tandy head to final as pursuers
After scoring a third and a fifth place in Monza (29/30 September), seven points now separate factory pilot Marco Holzer and his teammate at Manthey-Racing, Nick Tandy, from the leading Ferrari team. The title will be decided at the finale in Barcelona (2/4 November). Raymond Narac and factory driver Patrick Pilet celebrated their first victory of this season with the 911 GT3 RSR fielded IMSA Performance Matmut.

Works driver: Timo Bernhard puts in brilliant drive at national rallye
Following his successful comeback on the race track, Timo Bernhard is also back to contest the German Rally Championship. At the Saarland Rally (21/22 September) he clinched six best times with his co-driver Klaus Wicha in the private 911 GT3 Cup. Tyre damage prevented him from yielding a better result than sixth place.

Grand-Am GT: Brumos and Porsche Motorsport Special Edition 911 GT3 Cup
In late September, Porsche Motorsport North America and Brumos Porsche delivered five very special race cars to customers. The “Porsche 911 GT3 Cup Commemorative Edition” is a replica of the vehicle with which Brumos won the team, driver and manufacturer titles in the 2011 Grand-AM GT. For the Grand-Am, the Cup-911 features most notably a four-litre engine and an automatic throttle-blip function. The handover of the five Porsche flying the distinct blue, red and white colours of Brumos took place at the team race shop in Jacksonville, Florida.

ADAC GT Masters: Swen Dolenc wins amateur classification
With a lights-to-flag victory at the penultimate race of the year (29 September) on the Hockenheimring, Swen Dolenc clinched the amateur championship in the Porsche 911 GT3 R of Fach Auto Tech. Christian Engelhart had to bury his hopes of an overall victory after receiving a time penalty at the last race (30 September). He concluded the year as the vice-champion in the 911 GT3 R run by Geyer & Weinig – Schütz Motorsport.

British GT Championship: Porsche drivers champion and runner-up
After the tenth and final race in Donington Park (30 September), Michael Caine and Daniele Perfetti are the new champions. In the 911 GT3 R fielded by Motorbase, Caine managed to salvage fourth place, despite being hit by competitors, and continued with damaged steering. At the beginning of the season, the Motorbase squad switched from the Carrera Cup Great Britain to contest the GT Championship. Vice championship honours went to David Ashburn, who had won the series in 2010 at the wheel of a Trackspeed Porsche.

French GT Championship: Hassid and Beltoise travel to final as favourites
Henry Hassid and Anthony Beltoise are still on course for the title in the 911 GT3 R of Pro GT by Almeras after the penultimate race weekend (29/30 September) on the permanent Bugatti track in Le Mans with a second and a fourth place at the one hour races. Heading to the final round on 27/28 October in Paul Ricard, the Almeras pilots lead the championship pursued by a Ferrari and a McLaren team.

Japanese Super GT: Second win puts Kageyama and Fujii at the top
Victory number two handed Masami Kageyama and Tomonobu Fujii the points’ lead at race six of eight in the Japanese Super GT Championship on the Fuji Speedway (9 September). Taking off from second on the grid, the pair won the 300 kilometre race in the 911 GT3 R of Hankook Racing.

Porsche Cup: Nick Tandy ahead of Raymond Narac and Andy Lally
The fight for the Porsche Cup awarded to the most successful Porsche private driver is coming to a head. With just six weeks left to earn points (15 November), Britain’s Nick Tandy ranks first ahead of Frenchman Raymond Narac, with America’s Andy Lally trailing further behind. Tandy and Narac earn victories and points predominantly in the International GT Open. Lally is one of the top drivers in the Grand-Am GT Championship. More information: www.porsche.com

US Racing: MacNeil, Johnston & Benitez – victorious youngsters
Scoring his second win of the season, 20-year-old Cooper MacNeil secured the ALMS GTC Championship title in the 911 GT3 Cup run by Alex Job Racing at the four hour race on the Virginia International Raceway (15 September). And youngsters are also dominating the IMSA GT3 Cup Challenge by Yokohama: 21-year-old Sean Johnston took home Platinum Cup honours after his debut racing season in the 911 run by Wright Motorsports prior to the season finale (18/20 October). 23-year-old Angel Benitez Jnr. is the clear winner of the Gold Cup for Ansa Motorsports.

Porsche Juniors: In lederhosen at the Cannstatter Wasen funfair
At the traditional Stuttgart Cannstatter Wasen funfair, the Porsche juniors Klaus Bachler and Michael Christensen swapped their fire resistant overalls for geniune lederhosen. With their coach Sascha Maassen, the head of the junior programme Jonas Krauss and Carrera Cup manager Andrea Hagenbach they spent the evening among journalists.

Race notes: At the invitation of the ALMS, the European Le Mans Series contests its final round at the “Petit Le Mans” in Atlanta/Georgia (18/20 October). Anthony Pons, Nicolas Armindo and Raymond Narac compete with a 911 GT3 RSR run by IMSA Performance Matmut. +++ Guest driver Craig Baird wins the ninth round of the SC Global Carrera Cup Asia as support to the Formula 1 race in Singapore (21/23 September). +++ After clinching a first and a second place each at the Carrera Cup Deutschland races in Oschersleben (15/16 September), the title decision is now down to points’ leader René Rast and his teammate Sean Edwards at the finale in Hockenheim (19/21 October). +++ With his victory at both rounds in Navarra (8/9 September), Jean Karl Vernay shunts his rival Come Ledogar off the top of the points’ table of the Matmut Carrera Cup France. Christophe Lapierre wins the B-category heading to the final round in Le Castellet (27/28 October). +++ Front-runner Craig Baird wins all three races of the Carrera Cup Australia in Bathurst (7/8 October) and extends his lead over closest rival Alex Davison. +++ With a win at the 18th race of the Carrera Cup Great Britain in Silverstone (7 October), Michael Meadows secures the championship title with two races left on the calendar. Ahmad Al Harthy wins the Pro-Am 1 title. On Friday before the race, the Carrera Cup Great Britain celebrates its tenth anniversary. +++ In the Italian Carrera Cup, Edoardo Piscopo and Enrico Fulgenzi win in Mugello (22/23 September). Points’ leader Vito Postiglione retires. Monza hosts the title decider on 20/21 October. +++ Fifth straight win for Ryo Hirakawa at race eight of the Carrera Cup Japan on the Fuji Speedway (8 Sept.). +++ Clinching his fifth win of the season, René Rast secures the title in the Porsche Mobil 1 Supercup (9 September) for the third time.


Communication Porsche AG
Motorsport Press
Oliver Hilger

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Audi looks forward to Japan premiere ·         World Endurance Championship takes Audi to Japan for the first time ·         Battle for title remains open after one-two victory in Bahrain ·         Four Audi drivers with long-standing ties to Japan Ingolstadt, October 5, 2012 - After the fifth victory of the season in the FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC), Audi is traveling to Japan with eager anticipation. At the seventh of the season’s eight rounds on October 14, the factory team will be celebrating its racing debut in the Asian island state. The challenging Fuji circuit southwest of Tokyo is the venue for the next battle of the Audi factory drivers who are in contention for the drivers’ championship. The Le Mans winners Marcel Fässler/André Lotterer/Benoît Tréluyer enlarged their advantage over Tom Kristensen/Allan McNish by 6 to 13.5 points in the Bahrain heat race. With that, a title decision would be possible as early as in Japan but, with 52 points yet to be awarded, does not seem likely before the season’s finale at Shanghai. After coping with air temperatures of more than 35 degrees in the Sakhir desert, the five drivers, in the middle of October, will be in for more or less changeable weather conditions at the venue that is within a viewing distance of Mount Fuji. Rain and clearly lower temperature are often on the agenda in the region at this time of year. With its unusually banked turns and rather untypical radii, the 4.563-kilometer track poses a special challenge. André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer are the drivers who are most familiar with the Fuji circuit. The German relocated his career to Japan in 2003 and the Frenchman has spent as many as twelve years of his life as a racer in the Far East. Tom Kristensen spent several seasons driving in the Land of the Rising Sun in the nineties and Allan McNish has a large number of test and race kilometers there under his belt as well. Only Marcel Fässler has never been to Japan. Both squads are again relying on the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. The heat in Bahrain was deemed to be the ultimate thermal test for Audi’s first hybrid sports car. The third victory of the season clinched by the innovative prototype a week ago clearly underscores the fortes of its engineering design. To the delight of many sports car fans, Toyota has evolved into a particularly strong opponent in the World Endurance Championship since June and is competing on its home track at Fuji. Audi, on the other hand, has never competed in Japan with a factory-level commitment. The brand with the four rings enjoys growing support by Japanese racing fans nonetheless. They accompanied a race of the Goh privateer team at Suzuka in the 2002 season with the legendary Audi R8 LMP sports prototype and have been turning out for customer-level commitments with the Audi R8 LMS GT3 sports car since the past season. On television, fans can watch the last 90 minutes of the race on Sunday from 8:30 a.m. (CEST) on Eurosport. Like at all WEC rounds, Audi is offering comprehensive coverage to the spectators at home: www.audi-liveracing.com will broadcast the race for six hours on the internet and also offer cockpit camera perspectives, telemetry data and summary reports of the race. The Audi Sport iPhone and Android apps provide WEC coverage on smartphones with live tickers, news, pictures and results. In addition, Audi’s racing fan community is kept up to speed on Facebook and Twitter. Topics of the weekend -Will Audi manage to clinch its sixth victory of the season on its Japan debut? -Will the long-standing Japan racers André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer have a track advantage? -How strong will be the response of Japanese fans to the WEC debut in their country? -Will the decision in the battle for the drivers’ World Championship be made as early as at the penultimate round? Quotes by the officials Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich (Head of Audi Motorsport): "We’re looking forward to the race at Fuji. It’ll be held in completely different conditions than the past round. Instead of the high temperatures and desert sun I’m expecting around ten degrees less and changeable conditions. Two of our drivers - André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer - have an enormous wealth of experience at Fuji. I’m hoping for us to be able to show a similarly strong performance in Japan as in Bahrain." Ralf Jüttner (Technical Director Audi Sport Team Joest): "Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer are traveling to Japan with a relatively comfortable advantage. If our cars had finished in reverse order in Bahrain our two driver squads would only have been separated by half a point. The battle remains thrilling. André and Benoît know the track well because they’ve got many years of experience in Japan. I’m looking forward to a nice battle between our cars and a fierce competition with Toyota." Facts and quotes by the Audi drivers Marcel Fässler (36/CH), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 -Celebrated his third victory of the season in Bahrain together with his team-mates "I’ll be competing in Japan for the first time and have heard a lot about the country from my team-mates. I only know the race track from the simulator though. My team-mates André and Ben have a large Japanese fan community. I’m very much looking forward to the ambience and the Japanese culture." André Lotterer (30/D), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 -Has been racing in Japan since 2003 and lives in Tokyo -Is the leader of the standings together with his team-mates "Fuji is almost a home round for me because I’ve been racing in Japan for nearly ten years and am still competing in Formula Nippon there. My team-mate Benoît Tréluyer and I’ve got a large number of fans in Japan. Japanese spectators love endurance racing. The fact that Ben and I were always running there as rivals and are now competing together for Audi makes for a very special situation. The race will be a real humdinger." Benoît Tréluyer (35/F), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #1 -Spent twelve years of his racing career in Japan "I’m really excited about Japan. I’ll be arriving a little earlier in order to meet many friends and acquaintances from my days as a racer in Japan. I celebrated a large number of victories at Fuji and even lived very close to the track for two years. Now I can hardly wait to be back again." Tom Kristensen (45/DK), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 -Celebrated his sports car debut in Japan 20 years ago -Spent several years of his career in the Land of the Rising Sun "I love being in Japan. I spent an important part of my career there. From 1992 to 1995, I was regularly driving in Japan and sporadically again in 1996. I celebrated my sports car debut there as well, as team-mate to Eddie Irvine and Jacques Villeneuve. And I also won the Le Mans 24 Hours for the Japanese Team Goh once. I’ve got very close ties to the country and its people and owe them a lot. Now I’m returning to Japan with Audi and Audi Sport Team Joest. Back in those days I was living in Gotemba and now we’re racing at Fuji, just a few kilometers away from there. I’m basically familiar with the track but the modified final section is new to me too." Allan McNish (42/GB), Audi R18 e-tron quattro #2 -Most recently set the fastest time in qualifying in Bahrain -Has run several times in Japan during his career "I’ve spent a lot of time in Japan as a racer, for instance as a Formula 1 test driver in the nineties, then as a sports car driver and again in Formula 1. I’m expecting the fans to show a really positive response to the Fuji 6 Hours. I’m familiar with the new track layout which I came to know at the wheel of an Audi R8 V10. The circuit has retained a lot of its traditional characteristics. The first part is fast and fluid and the last one very technical and difficult with a lot of camber change and general elevation change as well. This section of the track can heavily influence the race result, both due to the vehicle set-up and the time loss when lapping other cars. The weather at Fuji is unpredictable in October. When it rains in this mountain region it pours." The Audi drivers at Fuji Marcel Fässler (CH): *May 27, 1976 in Einsiedeln (CH); residence: Gross (CH); married to Isabel, four daughters (Shana, Elin, Yael and Delia); height 1.78 m; weight 78 kg; Audi driver since 2008; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 6; WEC victories: 3; WEC pole positions: 0; WEC fastest laps: 1; best result Fuji: - Tom Kristensen (DK): *Jul 07, 1967 in Hobro (DK); residence: Monaco (MC); single (partner: Hanne), two sons (Oliver and Oswald) and one daughter (Carla Malou); height: 1.74 m; weight: 72 kg; Audi driver since 2000; Le Mans victories: 8; WEC races: 6; WEC victories: 1; WEC pole positions: 0; WEC fastest laps: 0; best result Fuji: - André Lotterer (D): *Nov 19, 1981 in Duisburg (D); residence: Tokyo (J); single; height 1.84 m; weight 74 kg; Audi driver since 2010; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 6; WEC victories: 3; WEC pole positions: 2; WEC fastest laps: 1; best result Fuji: - Allan McNish (GB): *Dec 29, 1969 in Dumfries (GB); residence: Monaco (MC); married to Kelly, one son (Finlay), one daughter (Charlotte); height: 1.65 m; weight: 60 kg; Audi driver since 2000; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 6; WEC victories: 1; WEC pole positions: 2; WEC fastest laps: 0; best result Fuji: - Benoît Tréluyer (F): *Dec 07, 1976 in Alençon (F); residence: Gordes (F); married to Melanie, 1 son (Jules); height 1.78 m; weight 68 kg; Audi driver since 2010; Le Mans victories: 2; WEC races: 6; WEC victories: 3; WEC pole positions: 1; WEC fastest laps: 0; best result Fuji: - All Fuji winners 2007 Noda/Yamazaki (Zytek) Track info Track length: 4.563 km Race duration: 6 hours Qualifying record on this track: Daisuke Itou (Courage), Jun 1, 2007, 1m 31.065s (180.385 km/h) Race record on this track: Shinsuke Yamazaki (Zytek), Jun 2, 2007, 1m 33.117s (176.410 km/h) Pole position 2011: - Fastest lap 2011: - André Lotterer about Fuji: "At first glance, Fuji looks easy, but it’s not easy to drive at all. For the 1.5-kilometer straight, you need only little aerodynamic drag and a lot of downforce for the fast corners. The first right-hand turn is very narrow. It’s followed by a fast left-hander - the A-Corner - which is a real challenge. This section merges into the long 100 R where various lines and apices are possible. It’s fast and you’ve got a view of Mount Fuji. Next is a hairpin. You’ve got to do a good job of accelerating out of this turn onto the long, slightly bent uphill straight up to a narrow chicane. The most challenging section comes last: an off-camber right-hand turn, followed by two left-handers with hard to find apices, and then there’s another right-hander. I like the track. Slipstream often plays a major role there." WEC drivers’ standings after 6 of 8 rounds 1 Fässler/Lotterer/Tréluyer, 139.5 points; 2 Kristensen/McNish, 126; 3 Capello, 77; 4 Jani/Prost, 74.5; 5 Dumas/Duval, 67; 6 Gené, 49; 7 Kane/Leventis/Watts, 48; 8 Potolicchio 46.5; 9 Belicchi/Primat, 44.5; 10 Lapierre/Wurz, 44. WEC manufacturers’ standings after 6 of 8 rounds 1 Audi, 173 points; 2 Toyota, 44. Schedule (local times; CEST -7 hours) Friday, October 12 11:00-12:30 Free practice 1 15:30-17:00 Free practice 2 Saturday, October 13 09:25-10:25 Free practice 3 14:00-14:20 Qualifying LMP1 & LMP2 14:30 FIA WEC press conference Sunday, October 14 07:55-08:15 Warm-up 11:00-17:00 Race 17:15 FIA WEC press conference Audi Sport.

ADAC GT Masters Hockenheim MRS satisfied with the final

With huge expectations and a more favorable car classification, the MRS team traveled last weekend to the ADAC GT Masters finale to the Baden Motodrom in Hockenheim. The team from Lonsee wanted again to reach a good result with the drivers Philipp Eng (A) and Fredy Barth (CH). Already the qualifying showed that the hopes were not completely unjustified. In qualifying 1 indeed the Swiss Fredy Barth had to cancel his fastest lap because of a yellow flag, but the driven laps were enough for a starting position in the seventh row. The time gap to the top was so short, that already one-tenth would have been enough for a qualification in the Top6. It went better in the second qualifying for Philipp Eng; straightaway the young Austrian could qualify himself with the MRS McLaren on P6 for the race on Sunday. The race on Saturday went very good for Fredy Barth; after a good start the Swiss could drive the lap times of the top. Unfortunately the forward thrust of Fredy Barth was limited by a drive through penalty, the Swiss had driven his fastest sector under yellow flag. This drive through penalty threw the MRS McLaren back on P18, at the mandatory pit stop Philipp Eng took over the McLaren. Philipp Eng also convinced with fastest laps and finally finished the race as good tenth. On Sunday morning the MRS team again placed a highlight at the warm up, as one of only four cars of the whole weekend Philipp Eng drove a time under 1min 40sec and reached a third position, only separated by some thousandths from the pole. This was again a proof that the McLaren is absolutely able to drive around the top positions, when the classification, the “balance of performance”, fits. With this confidence the MRS team was looking forward to the second race on Sunday. But just before the start the team reached an announcement that the McLaren was banished to the last row. “In the qualifying we drove too much laps. The maximum number of laps is determined in the regulations, of course the penalty for this is very hard”, said a disappointed Philipp Eng before the start. Also the second race should demonstrate how competitive car and drivers are, at the driver change Philipp Eng passed the car on P17 to Fredy Barth. As if there had not been enough penalties at this weekend for the MRS team, Fredy Barth again received a stop and go penalty; the pit stop, which minimum length also is defined in the regulations, was two seconds too short. Despite this penalty Fredy Barth was able with an extremely good performance to finish the race on P14. Karsten Molitor (team leader): „It was still not really easy for us this season. With the new car we had the entire season the problem that the car was not really well classified. As much as we struggled to adjust and prepare the McLaren, it always missed a little bit of performance, so we never had a real chance to fight for the position at the top with our own means. Now, after the classification fit, we could clearly see how fast our drivers are. Even if we could not reach a top result at this weekend because of some penalties, we are still satisfied. The car was really perfect, there were no technical problems at all and the good set-up work of our engineers effected positively in very good lap times. We are very proud of our performance at the warm up, where we were off the cuff able to drive top lap times in only two laps. That makes us very confident that we can talk about the awarding of the championship next year. At this point I want to thank our whole team, our partners and friends, who were always highly motivated during this project. Especially I want to thank our engineers, who in spite of difficult circumstances again and again pushed to their limits. A special thank to the team of McLaren GT for their very good support.” Your MRS Team   Partners

International GT Open, races 13 and 14 in Monza/Italy Porsche customer teams victorious again in final sprint

International GT Open, races 13 and 14 in Monza/Italy

Porsche customer teams victorious again in final sprint

Stuttgart. In the Royal Park of Monza, the international Porsche customer teams have again scored victories. At race 13 of the International GT Open on Saturday, Porsche works driver Patrick Pilet and his French compatriot Raymond Narac (IMSA Performance Matmut) claimed their first win of the season in the Porsche 911 GT3 RSR under extremely challenging track conditions. Factory pilot Marco Holzer (Germany) and his British teammate Nick Tandy clinched position three in the 911 GT3 RSR fielded by Manthey-Racing – and temporarily moved to the top of the points’ table. And the Autorlando Sport squad also celebrated a victory in the GTS class with the 911 GT3 R on Saturday at their home race. At race 14 on Sunday, Holzer/Tandy scored fifth ahead of Pilet/Narac in sixth. In the GTS class, Autorlando again achieved a podium result.

Especially the 70-minute race on Saturday on the 5.793 kilometre high speed circuit of Monza turned into a real thriller – not least due to the fact that the race started on a wet track, the ideal line then almost dried, only to have rain set in just before the finish. Raymond Narac had taken off from fifth on the grid and handed the wheel of the IMSA-Performance 911, now fitted with slicks, to Patrick Pilot running eighth after an immaculate stint. “That was really difficult, particularly at the beginning of my stint,” said Pilet. “We’re not permitted to pre-heat the tyres in the GT Open – and the track was terribly slippery. But our strategy was perfect. We changed at exactly the right time. During my first lap I got everything I could out of myself and the car. And that’s how I could fight for the lead. When it started raining again towards the end I had to throw my full concentration into my effort. The key to success was the excellent traction of our 911 GT3 RSR on the extremely slippery circuit.” On Sunday, the French duo took off into the 14th race of the season from pole position, but in the dry their rivals proved uncatchable. “The balance of our 911 was good but we didn’t have the top speed on the long straights,” said Pilet.

The Manthey-Racing squad were over the moon with their podium result on Saturday. “We made a mistake in qualifying with our tyre choice,” explained Marco Holzer. “We thought the track would dry quickly.” This put Tandy down on the eleventh grid spot. In an all-out effort, the reigning champion of the Carrera Cup Deutschland moved into fifth, only to slide into a spin and slot back into 14th. By the time Tandy came in for the mandatory driver change he was running tenth. With Marco Holzer at the wheel of the yellow and green Manthey 911, the suspense continued. The German clocked stunning lap times and lay within striking distance of Ferrari, the main rival in the fight for the drivers’ title, when he was also hampered by a minor slide when rain set in. Again, Holzer went on the hunt for the last podium spot - and grabbed it when the Ferrari pilot spun in the final lap. “That was a brutal race – I was always at 120 per cent effort,” said Holzer grinning. “Nick told us via radio that we should switch to slicks for my stint. But the track was still really damp, it was truly a gamble. That we’ve yielded a podium result is good for the driver’s classification.” With third place, Holzer and Tandy temporarily moved back into the lead of the overall classification.

Already in the first chicane a damper was put on any ambitions for Sunday’s race, which Holzer started from second. “It was incredibly tight, I had to run wide otherwise it would have resulted in a collision,” said Holzer. “This caused me to drive on the kerbs and it damaged the front splitter of the 911. This affected the aerodynamics and the top speed. We’re seven points off the points’ leaders heading to the finale and that’s not much.”

For the Italian Autorlando team, the races on their home circuit concluded with a win and a second place in the GTS Class. Matteo Beretta and Marcello Puglisi (both Italy) won on Saturday. With a spirited overtaking manoeuvre, they moved to the front of the GTS category with their 911 GT3 R shortly before the flag and scored their second win of the season. Bad luck, however, hampered their team colleagues Archie Hamilton (Great Britain) and Marco Mapelli (Italy). The pair led the GTS class in both Saturday’s and Sunday’s race over almost the entire distance. This was particularly exceptional because on Saturday afternoon the front splitter of the 911 had been shunted in the melee of the race and the car gradually lost more and more plastic parts. Mapelli had to pit with a damaged tyre, and was finally flagged off as fourth. On Sunday as well, Mapelli/Hamilton looked set to bring home the GTS victory, only to have tyre damage in the last lap rob them of their dreams. Hamilton salvaged position two, with team colleagues Beretta/Puglisi scoring fourth in the GTS class.

Result race 13
1. Narac/Pilet (F/F), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, 1:10.24.578 hours
2. Ramos/Giammaria (P/I), Chevrolet Corvette C6R, + 23.096 seconds
3. Holzer/Tandy (D/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 42.188
4. Bruni/Leo (I/I), Ferrari 458 GT Italia, + 44.030
5. Lopez/Montermini (ARG/I), Ferrari 458 GT Italia, + 45.293
8. Beretta/Puglisi (I/I), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 1:23.676 minutes
13. Mapelli/Hamilton (I/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 1 lap

Result race 14
1. Malucelli/Barba (I/E), Aston Martin Vantage, 50:52.490 minutes
2. Bruni/Leo (I/I), Ferrari 458 GT Italia, + 6.062 seconds
3. Lopez/Montermini (ARG/I), Ferrari 458 GT Italia, + 7.836
4. Ramos/Giammaria (P/I), Chevrolet Corvette C6R, + 27.343
5. Holzer/Tandy (D/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 33.792
6. Pilet/Narac (F/), Porsche 911 GT3 RSR, + 47.652
9. Mapelli/Hamilton (I/GB), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 1.41.769 minutes
11. Beretta/Puglisi (I/), Porsche 911 GT3 R, + 1.41.891

Points’ standings after 14 of 16 races
Drivers
1. Leo, Bruni, Ferrari, 177 points
2. Holzer, Tandy, Porsche, 170
3. Barba, Malucelli, Aston Martin, 155
4. Montermini, Lopez, Ferrari, 135
6. Narac, Pilet, Porsche, 124

Drivers GTS
1. Zampieri, Dalle Stelle, Ferrari, 76 points
2. Bizzari, Ferrari, 71
3. Hamilton, Mapelli, Porsche, 70
4. Rizzoli, Ferrari, 53
5. Beretta/Puglisi, Porsche, 43

Teams Super GT
1. AF Corse, Ferrari, 78 points
2. Manthey-Racing, Porsche, 74
3. Villois Racing, Aston Martin, 66

Teams GTS
1. Autorlando Sport, Porsche, 113 points
2. Kessel Racing, Ferrari, 112
3. AF Corse, Ferrari, 81

The season final of the 2012 International GT Open takes place with races 15 and 16 on 2 to 4 November in Barcelona/Spain.

This is the International GT Open

Inaugurated in 2006, the International GT Open features two races per weekend with identical points’ allocation – the first race on Saturday runs over 70 minutes, the second on Sunday over 50. Two drivers share the cockpit. A handicap system ensures more suspense at the head of the field. The top three drivers of each race are handed a 15, ten or five second penalty respectively for the following race. The calendar of the race series includes eight races on selective circuits like Silverstone, Spa-Francorchamps and the Nürburgring.

One of the keys to success in the International GT Open is the stable technical regulations and the capping of costs, for instance through control tyres. The grid is divided into two classes, the stronger Super GT category and the GTS class.

Super GT: This class is based on the FIA GT2 regulations - the 911 GT3 RSR competes here. The particularly efficient six-cylinder boxer engine in the International GT Open version delivers significantly more than 500 hp.
GTS: Based on the FIA GT3 regulations. The Porsche 911 GT3 R is fielded here, now delivering 500 hp after the new model year underwent improvements.

In 2007, Autorlando Sport won the overall classification for drivers and teams with Porsche works driver Richard Lietz (Austria) and Joel Camathias from Switzerland.

Communication Porsche AG
Motorsport Press
Oliver Hilger