History of Audi at Macau

By Johan Laubscher

Macau 2011

The streets of Macau are famous for hosting the prestigious Grand Prix of Macau. The Audi R8 LMS ultra will debut at Macau this year looking to defend the GT Cup title. Edoardo Mortara was victorious at the 2011 Macau GT Cup in his #66 Audi R8 LMS from Absolute Racing. The victory marked the third event victory at Macau for an Audi. Various Audis have entered events at Macau in the last two decades. We have included a brief history of the four rings at Macau below.

Macau 1993

The famous Macau Guia Race (touring car event) was the scene for the first four Audi appearances. The first Audi to take to the streets at Macau was an Audi V8 DTM entered by a Belgian team in 1993, driven by Bernard Winderickx. 

Macau 1996

Following the debut in 1993 there were entries of Audi A4 STW teams at Macau in 1996, 1998 and 1999. 1996 saw Frank Biela take the overall victory ahead of Brad Jones from Australia for an Audi 1-2 overall finish. 

Macau 1998

After missing the 1997 event, Audis returned to the streets in 1998 with the Australian Audi team consisting of Brad Jones and Frank Biela. Jones achieved a third place overall finish. 

Macau 1999

The 1999 Macau Guia race had the most Audis ever entered. A total of four Audis were entered by Phoenix Racing and Mayer Motorsport. It was a dominant display as Michael Bartels stormed to the second Audi victory at Macau.

Macau 2010

After the 1999 victory the Audi brand would not be seen at Macau for over a decade. The drought finally came to an end with the introduction of the Audi R8 LMS in 2009. At the end of 2010 the FIA GT3 specification racer from Audi made its Macau debut with United Autosports and Absolute Racing. The cars were competing in the Macau GT Cup. It was a successful debut with two podium places.

Macau 2011

In 2011 the victory was the clear goal, and Mr Macau, Edoardo Mortara, did not disappoint. Absolute Racing and Mortara were untouchable on their way to victory. Along with the victorious #66 Audi R8 LMS two more Audi entries came from United Autosports and Hitotsuyama Racing.

Macau 2012

The entry list for the 2012 Macau GT Cup includes the GT Asia competitors. There will be three Audis on the grid. Two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from the Audi R8 LMS Cup team have been entered, which includes Edoardo Mortara. The third Audi R8 LMS ultra is the Team Hong Kong Racing entry of Phillip Ma. The 59th running of the Macau Grand Prix is set for 18 November 2012.

Below are videos from all the above mentioned Macau events where Audis have been entered. 

 1993 1996 1998 1999 20102011

Images: Audi R8 LMS images from the Absolute Racing FB page (LINK), touring car images are screenshots from the included videos. 

Audi set to defend Macau GT Cup crown

Audi R8 LMS Cup Press Release

·         Audi DTM ace Edoardo Mortara looks to defend Macau GT Cup title with Audi customer racing China

·         Audi R8 LMS Cup Amateur Cup champion Jeffrey Lee competes as part of GT Asia Series season finale

·         Thrilling finale at Macau Grand Prix caps superb Audi customer racing China season

Macau, November 14, 2012 – Having dominated the Macau GT Cup last year, Audi DTM ace Edoardo Mortara is set to defend his crown at this week’s 59th Macau Grand Prix. Known as “Mr. Macau”, Mortara will race for team Audi R8 LMS Cup. The team will also field newly-crowned Audi R8 LMS Cup Amateur Cup champion Jeffrey Lee in the prestigious race on the 6.2km Guia street circuit.  Both drivers will be at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS ultra.

Mortara is the only man ever to have won two Formula 3 Macau Grands Prix and the current lap record holder. The Italian arrives in Macau from his Formula 1 test in Abu Dhabi, and two victories in Shanghai in the season finale of the Audi R8 LMS Cup at the weekend. Mortara finished fifth overall in this year’s DTM series, the German Touring Car Championship.

Lee, meanwhile, comes to Macau having clinched the Amateur Cup title in this year’s inaugural Audi R8 LMS Cup at the weekend.  The Macau GT Cup also counts as the final round of the GT Asia Series, and Lee will be looking to climb the leaderboard, where he currently lies third, before the final chequered flag of the season.

The two entries in the Macau GT Cup are part of the expanding reach of the Audi China motorsport programme. This year saw the debut of the first-ever Audi one-makes championship – the Audi R8 LMS Cup. Competing in identical Audi R8 LMS Cup cars, the field of 16 battled it out over 12 rounds. Marchy Lee of Hong Kong made history last weekend when he was crowned the world’s first Audi R8 LMS Cup champion.

In the GT Asia Series, the official Audi R8 LMS Cup entry showcases Audi ultra lightweight technology and the Audi customer racing programme to audiences in Malaysia, across Japan and now Macau. Audi China offers sportscar experience and race experience programmes as well as racing licence courses to motorsport enthusiast in Asia.

Commented Director of Audi Sport customer racing China, Rene Koneberg: “Following the successful season finale of the debut Audi R8 LMS Cup last weekend, we are delighted to close the year by competing this weekend at the 59th Macau Grand Prix. We look forward to defending our Macau GT Cup title with Edoardo Mortara, and to putting in a strong performance with our new Audi R8 LMS Cup Amateur Cup champion Jeffrey Lee.”

A third Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Hong Kong’s Philip Ma with Team Hong Kong Racing completes the three-strong Audi line-up.

Practice for the Macau GT Cup at this year’s 59^th Macau Grand Prix is set for Thursday, with qualifying sessions on both Friday and Saturday.  The Macau GT Cup will take place on Sunday.

Audi R8 LMS Cup Official Website at: www.audir8lmscup.com

Video: Closer look at Phoenix Racing

By Johan Laubscher

Phoenix Racing have always been one of the top German race teams. In recent years they have been closely associated with Audi by running factory Audi teams in the DTM and GT racing. The team is very professional and operates with two types of car, the DTM Audis (A4 and A5 DTM) and the R16 (R8 LMS and ultra). During 2011 Motorvision, a German television network, visited the headquarters of Phoenix Racing and produced a video feature. They have just uploaded this video onto their official YouTube channel. We included the embedded video below. It is a great watch, but it is unfortunately only available in German. Luckily the images speak a universal language as they allow us a glimpse into the operations of this Audi team, the video is well worth the watch.

The all new Aventador Roadster (Pictures + Video)

Automobili Lamborghini presents the new Lamborghini Aventador LP700-4 Roadster: the most exciting series production Lamborghini ever built and the new benchmark in the world of open-top luxury super sports cars.

On the heels of the successful coupe introduced in Summer 2011, and with over 1,300 units already delivered to customers, the House of the Raging Bull is now offering the convertible version of the Aventador, a vehicle that perfectly balances the ultimate driving experience with the ultimate in sports car sophistication.

The new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster can immediately be recognized by the unique profile of its upper area, which extends along newly designed geometric lines from the removable roof to the engine hood.

The Roadster's design is the result of a careful study into the best way of combining performance, elegant style, ease of use and a driving experience that excites all five senses.

The two-piece roof is made entirely from carbon fiber using various technologies such as RTM and Forged Composite®. These technologies guarantee maximum aesthetic performance and stiffness although each component is extremely light, weighing less than 6 kg. These two parts are removable, easy to handle, and being lightweight and simple to attach, can be stored in the front luggage compartment. In just a few seconds the Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster can be admired in all its luxurious beauty.

The rear pillar has been redesigned to offer total support for the removable roof, accommodate an automatic protection system for passengers, and provide the engine compartment with ample ventilation.

Right at first glance, it’s noticeable that the engine hood on the Roadster differs from the hood on the coupé because of its central “spinal column” with two pairs of hexagonal windows connected at the sides as if they were hyper-tech armor plates. Their purpose is to cool the engine, drain off rain water properly and, of course, allow the beauty of the V12 power unit to be admired.

The driver of the Aventador Roadster and his passenger can decide for themselves how intensely they would like to enjoy the driving experience. The powered rear windshield not only influences the flow of air in the vehicle, but also controls the experience of the sound from the twelve-cylinder engine. The wind deflector, on the other hand, delivers almost complete calm inside the car, even at high speed. It rests on the front windshield frame and can likewise be stored in the luggage compartment when not in use.

The Aventador Roadster is also equipped with door windows with chamfered edges, which always ensure a perfect fit into the hard-top seal, and underline the sharp side profile of the car.

The body of the new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster sports a two-tone finish, as the windshield pillar, the two roof sections and the rear window area up to the “fins” are painted in gloss black. The visual effect is that of a completely open vehicle with sleek lines combining perfectly balanced sportiness and elegance.

The range of colors available for the Roadster has been supplemented with a very light, metallic blue color, Azzuro Thetis, whose tone varies with the angle of the light. This color recalls the shade of the extraordinarily beautiful 1968 Miura Roadster, and both highlights and reinforces the lines of the vehicle by adding strength and dynamism.

Even the interior has a new look. The use of leather called Sabbia Nefertem highlights the superb hand-made craftsmanship of the upholstery from Sant' Agata Bolognese and is a perfect match for the exterior in Azzuro Thetis. Finally, the new Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster also features new Dione 20”/21” rims with a daring, aggressive look. Crafted in light forged aluminum, they lower the weight of the vehicle by 10 Kg as compared with the standard set of rims.

The new Aventador LP700-4 Roadster boasts record performance. It accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in only 3 seconds flat and has a maximum speed of some 350 km/h.

These numbers, combined with a drive train featuring a centrally located, 6.5 liter aspirated V12 generating 700 hp, an ISR 7-speed gearbox and push-rod suspension make the new Aventador Roadster a unique super sports car with no direct competition.

Of course the Roadster's V12 also includes a cylinder deactivation system when the engine is working at partial capacity, while the innovative, instant Stop & Start system includes high-performance capacitors known as supercaps to awaken the engine. This is an absolute first in the super sports car segment.

The new Lamborghini Aventador LP 700-4 Roadster is a dream that can be realized and ordered at any Lamborghini dealer in the world!

Enjoy the photos, to order your Aventador Roadster please call us today at 888.564.5020!

Video: Daytona inside an Audi R8 LMP

By Johan Laubscher

The Audi R8 was and always will be a legend. Much of its success was achieved on race tracks in North America, however there was one legendary race track which alluded the Audi R8 during its official race career, Daytona. Thanks to the vagrancies of North American sportscar racing the series wherein the R8 competed never visited Daytona and thus the R8 never raced there, or at least not until after the car was retired. Since then various Audi R8s have been seen on the banking of Daytona in Historic racing events. The annual Daytona Continental Historic Races were held last weekend. Rogers Motorsport entered one of their two Audi R8 cars in the event, chassis #405 wearing its 2000 Le Mans #9 livery in which it finished second at the 2000 24 Hours.

Here is an onboard video from the latest event featuring Audi R8 #405 being driven by Doug Smith at Daytona. This V8 engine has always been a favorite among Audi fans, enjoy.

Photos by Robyn Pass Handy from SascoSports

Video: Audi TT RS at the Targa High Country

By Johan Laubscher

A very special Audi TT RS was back in action this weekend. The car of Matt and Casey Close suffered a large crash earlier in 2012, but luckily the driver pairing was unharmed and back on track this weekend. They competed at the Targa High Country event, and they did not disappoint. The TT RS had a few upgrades which included a new S-Tronic gearbox and a new livery.

The Close TT RS faces some formidable competition in the Targa series which includes a Lamborghini, Nissan GTRs and a host of Porsche 911 cars. Despite the though competition the TT RS armed with quattro and its five cylinder turbo engine was able to finish second in this event. Below we have included the three highlights videos, featuring the prologue and the two days of competition.  

More information:

Other Side Productions
Targa News

Weekend Round Up - Audi Motorsport Blog (10-11/11/2012)

By Johan Laubscher

1. The Weekend

Focussing this week on the weekend of 10 - 11 November 2012

2. The Events

•           Audi R8 LMS Cup
•           HSR Daytona
•           CMRC
•           Targa

2.1. Audi R8 LMS Cup

Shanghai played host to the final round of the new Audi R8 LMS Cup in China. Sixteen Audi R8 LMS cars have been seen in the series during 2012. The final round was also the scene of the championship battle which would decide the champion of the first Audi one-make Championship. The title contenders were Marchy Lee and Adderly Fong. Alex Yoong clinched pole position ahead of Eduardo Mortara who was driving the #27 R8 LMS in the livery with which he will compete at Macau next weekend. Starting from the front row Mortara passed the pole sitter and went on to take race victory. Jeffery Lee won the Amateur Cup title in race one. The overall Audi R8 LMS Cup title came down to the final race as only five points separated Lee and Fong. Race two saw Mortara make it a double for the weekend. Behind Mortara the championship title was decided. Lee finished second in the race, but more importantly he finished ahead of Fong in third which ensured the title for Lee. Marchy Lee is the first overall Audi R8 LMS Cup champion finishing twelve points ahead of Fong with Alex Yoong in third.

Audi R8 LMS Cup website

Results

2.2. HSR Daytona

The banks of Daytona hosted the finale of the Historic Sportscar Racing series in North America this weekend. GMT Racing and Rogers Motorsport were at the event with their Audi R8 LMP race cars. One car was entered from each team, #606 from GMT and #405 from Rogers (#607 was on site but not entered). The cars qualified and raced well at the front of the grid.

SascoSports FB page

Results

2.3. CMRC

Round three of the Caribbean Motor Racing Championship (CMRC) was held at Guyana. Representing the Barbados team was Doug Maloney in his ex-Super Touring Audi A4 STW. The green machine was fast and performed well. The ABT-Audi TT-R of Doug Gore is still undergoing repairs in Germany following its crash during round 1. Doug has missed the bulk of CMRC season, but the ATL team have said that they will be back for 2013. 

GTRidez FB page

Results

2.4. Targa High Country

The Targa High Country event was held this weekend, round two of the 2012/2013 Australian Targa Championship. After a heavy crash earlier in the year the Close Audi TT RS with Matt and Casey Close was back. The TT RS had some new upgrades which included a new S-Tronic gearbox and a new livery. There were two Audis on the entry list, the TT RS and an Audi S2.

Targa News FB page
Results

2.5. Other Audi News

VMP Motorsport has been very busy this week. Despite the 2012 Production Car Championship having come to a close in South Africa the team is well underway with their plans for 2013. They were seen testing at Zwartkops during the week and have more test scheduled for next week.

Gennaro Bonafede on twitter

The Macau Grand Prix is next weekend. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars will take part in the Macau GT Cup, including the defending champion, Edoardo Mortara. The annual Macau Supercar Show was held this weekend and all three of the Audi cars were on display. The #1 Audi R8 LMS ultra to be driven by Mortara was displayed with a white dragon themed livery, the same livery with which he competed in the Audi R8 LMS Cup at Shanghai this weekend. 

Marco Da Silva Rosario on FB

More details emerged this week of the first “facelifted” Audi R8 LMS ultra that has been spotted. The car is a normal Audi R8 LMS ultra which has been fitted with the new Audi R8 front and rear lights. It was seen with the 2012 Nürburgring 24 Hours #3 livery at the Audi R8 facelift press days held at Misano at the end of October. More details HERE.

bigblogg on flickr

Belgian Audi Club Team WRT have committed to yet another endurance race this season. The team will enter two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in the Vallelunga Six Hour race at the end of November. The event is the final round of the newly named Italian Endurance Champions Cup.

Belgian Audi Club website

Real Madrid stars were treated to passenger laps in an Audi R8 LMS ultra at Jarama in Spain. It was part of an Audi driving experience event. Marc Gené was on hand to drive the soccer stars. The Audi had a Real Madrid livery as well has the facelifted Audi R8 lights.

Audi Spain FB page

3. Next Weekend’s events (10-11/11/2012)

•           Fuji Sprint Cup
•           Macau
•           Brazilian GT
•           Grand Am Daytona test

All photos are hosted at their respective website which are listed within the Weekend Round Up