The 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and at Spa in Belgium (July 30-July 31) are the season’s pinnacle events in European GT3 racing. Audi has won both of these iconic races three times and is supporting two teams this year that will be competing with powerful driver squads. That commitment marks a reeling back in of commitment as VAG companies continue to respond to the necessity to tighten the corporate belts in the wake of the VW-Gate emissions scandal.
Three of last year’s winners from Audi will be on the grid in the Eifel again. Christopher Mies, DTM driver Nico Müller and Laurens Vanthoor are competing for Audi Sport Team WRT. Pierre Kaffer is added to that driver lineup, a three times podium finisher in the race.
Audi Sport Team Phoenix will field four former winners of the endurance race: Christopher Haase, René Rast, Frank Stippler and Markus Winkelhock will be taking the wheel of the Audi R8 LMS fielded by Ernst Moser’s squad.
For the first time, the television channel RTL Nitro will be covering the race for 25 hours, the longest live television broadcast to date. In addition, the parent channel, RTL, will be joining the broadcast from the Grand Prix in Monaco.
Two months later, at Spa, Mies is going to share the GT3 race car in Audi Sport Team Phoenix with Stippler and Winkelhock, two former winners.
At its home round, Audi Sport Team WRT will be relying on the former winners Rast and Vanthoor, who are going to race together with Müller.
“At both rounds, we’ll be meeting with strong competitors and feel that we’re well set with these teams and drivers,” says Romolo Liebchen, Head of Audi Sport customer racing.
Beyond these lineups backed by Audi, the brand, as in recent years, is again expecting several privateer driver teams and outfits relying on the Audi R8 LMS to compete in both races.
55 examples of the new Audi R8 LMS GT3 will have been delivered by April.
Nürburgring 24 Hours (May 28-29)
Audi R8 LMS (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
Christopher Haase/René Rast/Frank Stippler/Markus Winkelhock
Audi R8 LMS (Audi Sport Team WRT)
Pierre Kaffer/Christopher Mies/Nico Müller/Laurens Vanthoor
Spa 24 Hours (July 30-31)
Audi R8 LMS (Audi Sport Team Phoenix)
Christopher Mies/Frank Stippler/Markus Winkelhock
Audi R8 LMS (Audi Sport Team WRT)
Nico Müller/René Rast/Laurens Vanthoor
