British GT: M-Sport Racing claims first podium at Rockingham

M-Sport Press Release

M-Sport Racing drivers Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes took the team's first podium in the second round of the Avon Tyres British GT Championship at Rockingham last weekend. Thanks to a strong team effort, the pairing finished second in the two hour endurance race.

Following a good test at the venue, M-Sport Racing started well by claiming the fifth fastest time in both the first and second practice sessions. However problems with traffic and a small mistake on the final lap of qualifying saw them starting from 11th on the grid.

A strong start from Berg vaulted the team well into the top-ten and slick team work in the pits - as soon as the pit window opened - gave Hughes a clear track and fresh tyres to maximise the chance to improve the result.

An aggressive strategy on fresh tyres enabled Hughes to continue the good work and push for a podium position. A technical problem for Phil Keen enabled Hughes to climb to second, a position he held to the chequered flag to take M-Sport Racing's first podium.

In addition to taking the podium, a superb drive from Berg also resulted in the Swiss-based Dutchman taking the coveted ‘Blancpain Driver Award'.

Rembert Berg said: "It has been a great day and I am delighted to be part of the M-Sport Racing team on their maiden podium. It was a tough race, but the car has been fast and reliable and Warren did a great job to finish the job in style. Winning the Blancpain Award was a nice bonus"

Warren Hughes said: "Rem did a great job off the start to get us through the first session in a strong position. The team made a really slick pit stop to give me the best chance to push for a podium position. It was then a case of controlling the tyre wear and bringing the car home in one piece. It was great to see all the hard work the team has been doing in the past few months and the lessons learned from testing pay off with this first podium."

M-Sport Managing Director, Malcolm Wilson OBE, said: "It has been a good solid performance from all the team this weekend. Rem and Warren did a fantastic job in the car and the M-Sport Racing team supported them well over the course of the weekend. It all certainly looks to be moving in the right direction which is good. It is hard to believe the team have only been racing for six weeks!"

Photo credit: British GT

British GT: Strong second and fourth for Audi teams at Rockingham

By Tarek Ramchani

The British GT Championship had a 2-hour race at Rockingham today, the second round of the 2013 season. Three Audi R8 LMS cars took part in the event with great results in the end.

The #10 Audi R8 LMS ultra of M-Sport finished in a very strong second place overall. The Scottish run car shared by Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes finished less than seventeen seconds behind the race winning Porsche GT3 R from Trackspeed. Both drivers battled really hard on track in a very healthy and strong field of GT3 cars.

Another Audi doing well was the #25 R8 LMS ultra from United Autosports. Mark Patterson and Matt Bell finished in a positive fourth place. The United Autosports Audi started sixth on the grid. A good performance after Mark Pattersson had spun and lost several places earlier in the race.

The #11 Audi R8 LMS from PE Group Blendini Motorsport finished in nineteenth place. The car driven by Dom Evans and Tom Roche.

The next British GT Championship round will be at Silverstone. A special three-hour race format, the same format used in the Blancpain Endurance Series. More than 40 cars are expected at the "Temple of British Motorsport".

Photo credit: United Autosports

British GT: United Autosports Audi R8 LMS ultra sixth in qualifying at Rockingham

By Tarek Ramchani

The British GT Championship is at Rockingham this weekend, for the round two of the series. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars from three different teams have entered the event

As seen at Oulton Park last time out, United Autosports is clearly the leading Audi entry in the British GT. The #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012), shared by Matt Bell and Mark Patterson, qualified in a very positive sixth place for the 2-hour event tomorrow. They qualified with a time of 1.23:288, the car was only 0.711 slower than the pole setting Trackspeed Porsche GT3 R. Both Patterson and Bell are fifth in the overall points standings.

The second Audi R8 LMS ultra (2013) in the field is from M-Sport. The #10 entry of drivers Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes will start eleventh on the grid. The 2013 R8 LMS ultra, which is now fully homologated by the FIA, will able to score points.

The third Audi R8 LMS entry is E Group Blendini Motor. / Dom Evans. An older specification R16 in the hands of Dom Evans and Tom Roche. The car qualified in twenty-seventh.

The qualifying session results can be found here.

The two-hour race is set for tomorrow. The event will have very special coverage by the talented team from Radio Le Mans. We wish the best of luck to all three Audi teams

Photo credit: British GT

British GT: Three Audi R8 LMS ready to fight at Rockingham round 2

By Tarek Ramchani

The second round of the British GT Championship will be at Rockingham next monday. A healthy 30-car grid is expected for the two-hour endurance event, including three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars, from three different teams.

Leading the Audi squad will be United Autosports, the Anglo-American team had a great season opener at Oulton Park last time out. Both Matt Bell and Mark Patterson finished in a strong second place in race two with their #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra (2012 spec). In the championship points standings both drivers are fifth overall and ahead of their teammates with the McLaren MP4-12C cars.

The second Audi R8 LMS ultra is from M-Sport. The Scottish based team entered a full 2013 spec car at Oulton Park, when the car was not yet homologated by the FIA, meaning they were not allowed to score points. The team competed in an individual class, with special dispensation from the organisors, due to the non-homologated status. The drivers of the #10 M-Sport entry are Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes.

PE Group Blendini Motorsport will field the third Audi, an older specification R8 LMS. Dom Evans and Tom Roche will be the drivers of the #11 R8 LMS.

As seen at Oulton Park the British GT Championship is clearly one of the strongest national GT series worldwide. Close racing with hard battles on track for the top spots. The three Audi teams will have to fight against a very strong field from Porsche, BMW, Aston Martin, Mercedes-Benz and McLaren cars.

Photo credit: British GT Championship

Gallery: United Autosports Audi R8 LMS ultra at Oulton Park British GT round 1

By Tarek Ramchani

The British GT had its season opener at Oulton Park last weekend. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars entered the event. Fierce battles took place on track during the two races, in what is clearly one of the finest national GT series in Europe. In the end a fantastic second place finish for United Autosports with their #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra driven by Matt Bell and Mark Patterson.

Here is a selection of great photos from Oulton Park, featuring the Anglo-American R16.

Photo credit: United Autosports

Audi-powered Nigerian team sign-up to British GT campaign

British GT Press Release

The Avon Tyres British GT Championship welcomes a sixth new team to the series this year in Team Nigeria Racing Eagle, a new racing project from the African continent, fielding an Audi R8 LMS in the GT3 category.

The project is the mastermind of Ribi Adeshokan, who has a desire to engage African people into motorsport and develop motorsport into an industry for Africa. After initial plans to run a team in the A1GP single-seater championship were halted when the series folded, Adeshokan investigated alternative options for the Nigeria Racing Eagle project.

Based on a number of factors, including the popularity of super cars with Africa’s more affluent community, GT racing and in particular GT3 seemed an obvious choice. This year the team appointed Leeds-based United Autosports as their technical partner, but plan to eventually have a wholly African team engineering the R8 LMS, with a mid-season move to an R8 LMS ultra already in preparation.

Drivers for the season include 26 year-old South African, Adrian Zaugg, and 29 year-old Cameroonian, Christian Ebong. Both drivers are in preparation for the season start at Oulton Park in just over a month on the Easter Weekend (30 March – 1 April).

Zaugg is the more experienced of the pair and comes to British GT following a successful single-seater career that has seen him race in Formula BMW, Formula Renault Cup, Renault World Series 3.5, GP2 and A1GP where he clinched three wins for Team RSA. The South African former Red Bull Junior Team driver is familiar with sports cars having contested five races of the 2012 Lamborghini Super Trofeo Championship with team Bonaldi Motorsport, taking three pole positions and a win at the last round at the Navarra circuit in Spain.

Ebong has had a number of outings in a Peugeot Spider 207 supporting the Le Mans Series, and regular outings in a Seat Leon in the DTM supporting German Seat Supercopa Championship. Prior to this, Ebong was successful in the French Rallycross Championship, becoming Vice Champion in his first season in 2001, and lifting the Championship title the following year. After a short break from racing to secure finances, Ebong returns to motorsport as a key part of the Nigeria Racing Eagle team.

Quotes

Ribi Adeshokan, Team Owner:

"Our vision is to use the British GT platform to engage with people of an African origin who are emotionally attached to Africa and have a sense of belonging and pride in their country. We want to introduce these people to motorsport and show those them that there is more to the sport than Formula 1. Ultimately we want them to take pride in our team and support us like they would an African sportsperson at the Olympics.  We’re also working on bringing British GT to African television as week seek to attract corporate sponsors, including international brands with interest in Africa or those wanting to establish themselves further in Africa, helping them to promote and market their brands. We are hugely excited at the prospect of racing in British GT and are focusing all of our energy on making this year a success for Nigeria Racing Eagle and for the African people

Benjamin Franassovici, Championship Manager:

“The arrival of Ribi and the Nigeria Racing Eagle team to British GT has been in discussion for some time now. They’re a serious team with an interesting proposition and a lot of energy and desire to succeed. The Audi will allow the team to establish themselves and understand how the series works, and in Adrian and Christian they have a promising driver line-up. Having teams from overseas such as AF Corse, Vita4one Team Italy and rhinos Leipert is a compliment to what we are trying to achieve here in the UK with British GT and Nigeria Racing Eagle brings interest from one of the most diverse continents in the world, something which can only benefit us as we strive to expand awareness of the series.”

Photo credit: Racing Eagle

M-Sport Racing sign-up to British GT with Audi power

British GT Press Release

Leading WRC squad, M-Sport Racing will race in the 2013 Avon Tyres British GT Championship as it prepares itself to engineer the return of famous British brand, Bentley the following year.

The Cumbria-based team will run a single Audi R8 LMS ultra in the 2013 season with reigning British GT GT4 Champion, Warren Hughes and Dutch driver, Rembert Berg taking on driving duties. With vast experience of off-track motorsport and a solid engineering background, the M-Sport team will compete in British GT to gain real world experience of the GT racing scene.

Developed by Audi in 2008, the R8 LMS is a worthy competitor and, since launching in 2009, has taken no fewer than 157 victories from 579 races. The vehicle used by M-Sport Racing will be a 2013 'ultra' evolution boasting upgrades to the engine, brakes, chassis and aerodynamics for the new season.

According to an article in Autosport magazine today, the team are due to receive the car this week ahead of a first test next week at Oulton Park. Reportedly the team has another day of testing planned at Oulton Park before the season opener at the same circuit over the Easter weekend (30/3 - 1/4).

Quotes
Warren Hughes, Driver: "I'm delighted to be joining M-Sport Racing and I am more excited about this programme than I have been for a long time. The people and facilities at M-Sport give this project fantastic potential and my aim will be to impress as I look forward to what may hopefully lead to a successful partnership. I'm also really looking forward to working with my new team mate, Rembert Berg, and hoping that we will make a very good team."

Malcolm Wilson OBE, M-Sport Managing Director: "Since the announcement at the end of last year that M-Sport will make a new venture into circuit racing, the team has been working tirelessly to ensure that we are as fully prepared as possible for this new project. Running the Audi R8 LMS in the British GT Championship will allow the team to gain a wealth of knowledge and experience and be as fully equipped as possible for the exciting challenges ahead."

Photo credit: Audi Media

Revised calendar and rules create exciting 2013 British GT Series

British GT Press Release

Following the success of the 2012 Avon Tyres British GT season, series promoter Stephane Ratel Organisation (SRO) has today announced a revised calendar for the upcoming season, an exciting overseas event, changes to driver grading adjustments and the introduction of live TV coverage at a minimum of two race weekends, in a bid to further develop the exciting Pro-Am national GT series.

Following the tradition of a British GT ‘away race’ where the series visits a top European circuit, in 2013 British GT will travel to the Netherlands for the Trophy of the Dunes at the Circuit Park Zandvoort. The Trophy of the Dunes is a highly coveted event held by the Zandvoort organisers for over forty years, and British GT will feature top billing over the weekend with Dutch GT. The Sunday action will receive live coverage on Motors TV, bringing the popular British series to the increasing audience back home.

The 2.7 mile Dutch track is steeped in motorsport history and is home to the exciting Tarzan hairpin which is often the scene of spectacular overtaking manoeuvres. Set on the North Sea coastline of the Netherlands, the circuit will play host to two 60-minute sprint races at round six in September. In an additional bonus for the British GT teams, they will be located in the garages at the Trophy of the Dunes, making the event somewhat of a home from home.

In addition to Zandvoort, the 2013 Championship will also travel to six of the top circuits in the UK. As is now customary, the season will begin at Oulton Park (Little Budworth, Cheshire) over the Easter Weekend for two 60 minute sprint races, before moving to the super fast Rockingham circuit (Corby, Northamptonshire) in early May for an endurance race; Silverstone’s (Towcester, Northamptonshire) now annual jewel in the crown event will take place on the final weekend in May. Snetterton (Norfolk) plays host to another sprint double header weekend in Mid-June, before the series moves to the drivers favourite Brands Hatch GP Circuit (Fawkham, Kent) for the third endurance race of the year. Donington Park will once more close the season with an endurance battle over the first weekend of October.

After the introduction of several Silver/Silver driver pairings in 2012, SRO has switched to a weight adjustment to balance the pairing, bringing it in line with the other adjustments in the Championship. The series organiser has also decided to increase the severity of the adjustment applied to such pairings in 2013 in a bid to further underline the Pro-Am roots of the series in GT3.

As the series seeks to further bolster its ever-increasing fan base, the addition of live television coverage is a critical addition to British GT in 2013. Two race weekends during the new season will feature live broadcasts on Motors TV across the UK, with more details on which rounds set to follow in the approach to the season.

Revised 2013 Calendar:
Media Day - TBC March – Silverstone (GB)
1 Oulton Park (GB) - 30 March (Sat) 1 April (Mon) - Sprint Races
2 Rockingham (GB) - 5 & 6 May – Refuelling Race
3 Silverstone GP (GB) – 25 & 26-May - Refuelling Race
4 Snetterton 300 (GB) – 15 & 16-Jun - Sprint Races
5 Brands Hatch GP (GB) – 10 & 11-Aug - Refuelling Race
6 Zandvoort (NL) – 6, 7, 8-Sep - Sprint Races
7 Donington Park (GB) - 56-Oct - Refuelling Race

Photo credit: United Autorsports