British GT: Audi teams eager to do well at Silverstone 500

By Tarek Ramchani

Silverstone is hosting the third round of the British GT Championship this weekend. A very special 3-hour endurance event and an impressive entry list. Three Audi R8 LMS and ultra cars will be there aiming to do well.

United Autosports drivers Mark Patterson and Matt Bell, the drivers of the #25 Audi R8 LMS ultra, are now second overall in the points standings. The two drivers have 42.5 points, only half a point behind the series leaders David Ashburn and Nick Tandy, with the Trackspeed Porsche. Last time out at Rockingham Patterson and Bell ended in a strong third place after the two-hour race.

The second Audi R8 LMS ultra car is from M-Sport. The World Rally Championship specialists had a very strong Rockingham round. Rembert Berg and Warren Hughes finished the race in second with their #10 Audi. At Silverstone the Scottish based team will again fight for strong points. Rembert and Hughes are now fifth overall with 27 points, not bad as they were not classified for points in the first round at Oulton Park.

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. At Rockingham they finished in seventeenth place.

The Silverstone 500 event will have live coverage on Motors TV. No less than 48 cars will enter the race, with a format similar to the one used in the Blancpain Endurance Series. As was the case in the first two rounds, the Audi squad will have to fight hard against a great quality field of GT3 cars. The Trackspeed Porsche 997 GT3 R cars will be the ones to beat.

Photo credit: British GT Championship

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: 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

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