Italian GT: Audi Sport Italia very hard race 2 at Misano

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi Sport Italia had a very unlucky race 1 at Misano today. Race 2 was a kind of deja vu. A very frustrating season opener for the official Audi Italia dealer team.

Johan Kristoffersson and Alex Frassineti, who shared the #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra, finished in seventh place. They started from the back of the field, just as in race 1, and had to make an unscheduled pit-stop due to a puncture. The sister #4 car of Dindo Capello and Andrea Sonvico was ninth, a lap down. Andrea Sonvico faced brakes problems in his stint, after taking over the car from Dindo Capello.

Race victory went to the #77 Porsche GT3 R of Antonelli Motorsport, second was the #41 Ferrari 458 of MP1 Corse, and in third another Porsche GT3 R the #44 of Ebimotors. Race 2 results are here.

The next round of the Italian GT Championship is set for June, at the Red Bull Ring in Austria.

Photo credit: Audi Sport Italia

Italian GT: Unlucky race 1 for Audi Sport Italia at Misano

By Tarek Ramchani

The first race of the 2013 Italian GT Championship took place this morning. Audi Sport Italia had a very unlucky race with their two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars.

The #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra shared by Johan Kristoffersson and Alex Frassineti finished in sixth place, they started from far behind, after failing to complete a flying lap in qualifying. Both Kristoffersson and Frassineti bounced back and gained a lot of positions. Their teammates Dindo Capello and Andrea Sonvico started sixth, but finished eighth in the end. The #4 Audi R8 LMS ultra was hit by a drive through penalty just after Capello took over from Sonvico, for contact with a Ferrari 458. A very big shame as the car was battling for the podium and third place. Ahead the two Porsches were flying on track and untouchable, victory went to the #44 997 GT3 R of Ebimotors ahead of the #77 from Antonelli Motorsport.

Race 2 is set for later today, fingers crossed for Audi Sport Italia and their drivers.

Photo credit: Italian GT

Italian GT: Dindo Capello and Audi Sport Italia qualified sixth at Misano

By Tarek Ramchani

Misano is hosting the first round of the 2013 Italian GT Championship this weekend. Audi Sport Italia is entering the series for the fifth straight year with a two-car team.

Dindo Capello, after retiring from the full factory Audi Le Mans squad, will take part in the full season in Italian GT, sharing the #4 R8 LMS ultra with Andrea Sonvico. The sister #5 Audi will be driven by Alex Frassineti and the 2012 Superstars Series champion, Johan Krostoffersson.

The qualifying session, which was held this afternoon, was very difficult for Audi Sport Italia. Andrea Sonvico only managed to finish in sixth place. It was worse for the other Audi driven by Johan Kristoffersson, the Swedish driver had contact very early in the session and was not able to finish a flying lap. The #5 Audi will have to start from the back of the pack.

Pole position went to the Porsche GT3 R of Ebimotors, in second another Porsche from Antonelli Motorsport, and third the Lamborghini Gallardo of Imperiale Racing. The qualifying results are here.

The two races are set for tomorrow. We hope that Audi Sport Italia drivers will be able to recover on track and fight for the race wins.

Photo credit: Italian GT

Italian GT: Audi Sport Italia back with Dindo Capello and two Audi R8 LMS ultra

By Tarek Ramchani

Audi Sport Italia will enter the 2013 Italian GT Championship with two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, and a strong driver line-up. The team will aim for the 2013 title, after the dramatic finale at Monza last year.

Andrea Sonvico missed the title by only a single point, loosing the title to the BMW drivers. Sonvico is back with the team and will share the first Audi R8 LMS ultra with Dindo Capello. The Italian Audi legend will compete in the Italian GT as a full season competitor for first time in years, after focusing on the Le Mans effort with the factory Team Joest. The second car will be in the hands of Alex Frassineti, who also drove for the team last year, and the 2012 Superstars Series champion, Johan Kirstoffersson. The Swedish driver had a great 2012 by winning the Superstars Series, the Scandinavian Touring Car Championship and the Porsche Carrera Cup Scandinavia. He is not stranger to Audi Sport Italia, the team who built his Audi RS 5 quattro, which entered by his father's team KMS.

The first round of the Italian GT Championship is set for next weekend at Misano. No doubts that Audi Sport Italia will be among the big favorites for the title hunt.

Photo credit: Audi Media