Joy in Portugal: César Campaniço/Carlos Vieira had traveled to the season finale of the Portuguese GT Championship at Jarama, Spain, as the leaders of the standings. In the first race, a victory for the squad of the Novadriver team followed straight away. With second place in the second race, the duo locked in their lead for good and celebrated the title win. In addition, they secured the Iberian Supercars Trophy.
The Audi Motorsport team accompanies market launch: Audi China used the WEC finale at Shanghai as an opportunity to present the Audi RS 5 on the fringes of the race. At the premiere of the coupe on the Chinese market, Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich and the five factory sports car drivers Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer, Allan McNish, Tom Kristensen and Benoît Tréluyer were guests on Saturday.
Top-class rhythms: On the fringes of the WEC finale at Shanghai, Keri Hilson performed for Audi China. Around 550 guests at the Audi Terminal alongside the Chinese race track enjoyed an exclusive concert by the American RB pop singer on Saturday night.
Action-packed program: After the end of the DTM season, two Audi factory drivers continue to be on the road for their brand. Filipe Albuquerque was in Monaco to shoot a film from Wednesday to Friday. At the wheel of the new Audi A3 Sportback, the Portuguese presented the most scenic routes for a video road-book. Adrien Tambay was on duty in the region around the principality for the same purpose on Tuesday and Wednesday. He drove the new Audi S3 and the RS 5 Cabriolet. Afterward, the participants of the Audi GT experience witnessed the Frenchman’s driving skills for four days at Le Castellet.
Prize for efficient driving: Tom Kristensen and Allan McNish received the Michelin Green X Challenge trophy at Shanghai. Two weeks earlier, the duo had won the award for the most efficient drive for the sixth time at Fuji. At Shanghai, the Dane and the Scotsman completed their award-winning streak on clinching the seventh trophy in succession. With that, they achieved first place in the final classification of the year as well, which secures the car and the team a participation in the 2013 Le Mans 24 Hours.
Victory for guest entrant: Darryl O’Young managed a brilliant debut at the ninth round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup. The race driver from Hong Kong achieved the fastest time in qualifying and won the race at Shanghai ahead of his compatriots Adderly Fong and Marchy Lee. Lee dropped from second to third place due to a sporting penalty.
Trophy presented by Head of Sport: Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich presented the winner’s trophy at the tenth round of the Audi R8 LMS Cup on Sunday. The Head of Audi Motorsport honored the winner, Adderly Fong from Hong Kong. His compatriot Marchy Lee was the runner-up and the Korean Kyong-Ouk You came third. Darryl O’Young while leading the race retired due to a puncture. Before the finale at Shanghai two weeks from now, the overall lead has changed: Adderly Fong is now at the top of the standings with a two-point advantage over Marchy Lee.
Cancellation in the Eifel: Due to bad weather conditions the finale of the VLN Endurance Championship Nürburgring on Saturday was cancelled. In the first nine rounds of the season, the Audi R8 LMS in the SP9 class for GT3 vehicles achieved three first, three second and three third places in what has been its most successful VLN season to date.
Victory at the finale: David Hallyday and Stéphane Ortelli showed their strength on taking victory in one of the events at the season finale of the French GT Championship at Paul Ricard. In the Audi R8 LMS ultra of Team Audi France, they secured first place in the second race.
A word from … Head of Audi Motorsport Dr. Wolfgang Ullrich
You’ve crowned the debut season of the Audi R18 e-tron quattro with a two-fold title win. Has this been the most challenging motorsport project so far?
It was no doubt one of the most difficult and complex projects. I think it can be compared to the first victory of an Audi powered by a diesel engine at Le Mans in 2006. That, too, was a step toward a completely new technology. In the case of the R18 e-tron Quattro, the main focus was placed on the future orientation. Audi, yet again, was the first brand to be successful with it at Le Mans.
The FIA World Endurance Championship (WEC) had its inaugural season this year. Was the debut a successful one for this new racing series?
The sports prototypes definitely deserve a world championship and the debut was successful. All of us together will be working hard on achieving further improvements. I’m very pleased with the first year.
Three years ago, you gave Marcel Fässler, André Lotterer and Benoît Tréluyer the opportunity to join Audi. Has this decision paid off?
There’s no doubt about it because the three drivers are big champions after clinching two Le Mans victories and the World Champion’s title. Such a string of successes is no coincidence. And that shows that they’re three really fantastic guys.
Coming up next week
Oct 31 Mike Rockenfeller’s 29th birthday
Nov 04 Barcelona (E), round 6, Iber GT Championship