Audi R8 LMS GT2
Six in a row: The Audi R8 LMS GT2 remained the benchmark at the third event of the GT2 European Series at Misano. The 640-hp race car has now won the first six individual races of the series. Mark Patterson and Anders Fjordbach started the first competition from eighth place and improved to second position. When leader Sehdi Sarmini spun in the KTM, Mark Patterson took the lead. At the pit stop, the American handed over his Audi to teammate Anders Fjordbach. The Dane pulled away from his nearest rival by 15.5 seconds in the second half of the race. Thus, the High Class Racing team celebrated its fourth victory of the season, followed by Stéphane Ratel/Luca Pirri and Peter Guelinckx/Bert Longin in two other Audi R8 LMS GT2 cars. In the second race, which was held at night for the first time, Bert Longin at the front withstood the pressure of his pursuer Anders Fjordbach. After the driver change, the two coupes with the four rings were in reverse formation at the front of the field. Peter Guelinckx now chased the leader Mark Patterson, overtook him with eight minutes to go and celebrated the second win of the season for Team PK Carsport with his teammate Bert Longin. In the standings, Patterson/Fjordbach increased their lead over Guelinckx/Longin by three to 26 points at Misano.
Audi R8 LMS GT4
Successful performance in Germany’s Lausitz region: Seyffarth Motorsport fielded three Audi R8 LMS GT4 cars in the third round of the P9 Challenge club racing series. Max Zschuppe won his class at the Lausitzring in the first 30-minute race with a 0.4-second lead over Tobias Erdmann, third place went to Vivien Schöllhorn. In the second sprint, the three GT4 sports cars crossed the finish line in the same order.
Audi RS 3 LMS (TCR)
Lead in the standings preserved after comeback race: Jonathan and Steven Giacon started the second event of the TCR DSG Europe where they had finished the season opener at the end of May: right at the front. However, the joy of pole position lasted only briefly for the two Italians as a puncture at Misano cost the Audi RS 3 LMS of Team Tecnodom Sport two laps already in the opening phase. The pair of brothers showed a remarkable recovery in the course of the two-hour race and still improved to second place. Third place went to Samuele Piccini/Romy Dall’Antonia in a BF Motorsport Audi RS 3 LMS. Jonathan and Steven Giacon lead the standings by ten points after two of five events.
Second best result of the season for Road Shagger Racing: Two Audi privateer drivers achieved their second podium result of the season in the IMSA Michelin Pilot Challenge. On the rainy track at Watkins Glen, four race cars battled for victory until the very end. Gavin Ernstone/Jon Morley were temporarily in front in the Audi RS 3 LMS and finally crossed the finish line in third place after the turbulent final laps. When a Honda team which was initially second received a penalty, Ernstone/Morley moved up one position. It was their second-best result of the season after winning at Sebring in March. Ernstone/Morley are fourth in the standings at the halfway point of the season in the field of 29 classified TCR driver teams.
Three trophies in Polish club racing: At the third round of the Polish racing series Wyścigowych Samochodowych Mistrzostw Polski, two Audi customer teams finished on the podium a total of three times. In the first sprint on the Poznań circuit, Franek Jakub in the Audi RS 3 LMS finished second in his class. The second sprint was won by Łukasz Stolarczyk in the Audi RS 3 LMS of the BTC Maszyny team, while Franek Jakub finished in third place.
Podium result at Silverstone: Simpson Motorsport was once again one of the best contenders in the TCR class at the fourth round of the Britcar Endurance Championship. Hugo Cook/Sacha Kakad were second best of eleven competitors in their class in the British endurance series after two hours of racing in the Audi RS 3 LMS.
Coming up next week
09–11/07 Aragon (E), round 3, FIA WTCR
09–11/07 Zandvoort (NL), round 3, ADAC GT Masters
09–11/07 Zandvoort (NL), round 3, ADAC GT4 Germany
10/07 Nürburgring (D), round 5, Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie
10–11/07 Donington Park (GB), round 3, British GT
10–11/07 Hungaroring (H), round 3, International GT Open
11/07 Nürburgring (D), round 6, Nürburgring Langstrecken-Serie