By Johan Laubscher The 2013 Nürburgring 24 Hours weekend has arrived. To kick off the weekend let us have a look at this legendary track during the darkness of the night. The video below features an Audi R8 LMS competing during the night in the 2009 Nürburgring 24 Hours. The video gives one a taste of the challenges of racing on this track in the dark. Phoenix Racing and Audi are the reining champions with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. This year eight Audi R8 LMS ultra are taking part in the event fielded by five different teams. A number of other Audis are also entered in the event which is set to be another great 24 Hours at the Green Hell.
For the eighth straight season Phoenix Racing will be partnering with Audi as a works entry in the DTM. In 2011 they had a magical season by winning the driver's title with Martin Tomczyk, who was driving an older specification Audi A4 DTM R14. This season the Ernst Moser managed squad is aiming high and wants to take the DTM title.
Audi Sport Team Phoenix is fielding two Audi RS 5 DTM cars this year, and they will again count on their 2012 drivers, Mike Rockenfeller and Miguel Molina.
Mike Rockenfeller has been a regular at Phoenix for many years now, both in the DTM and long distance races with the Audi R8 LMS. Last season "Rocky" finished fourth overall in the points standings, the best ranked Audi driver in a very hard season for the Four Rings. A big change for Rockenfeller this year, as he will not race with the Audi LMP1 squad in WEC and at Le Mans. He will focus solely on the DTM and try to fight for the title. Rocknefeller is driving the #19 Schaeffler supported Audi RS 5 DTM.
Miguel Molina from Spain is in his second season with team Phoenix, the fourth with Audi in the DTM, after two years at Abt Sportsline. Last year was a very hard year for him, he finished in a very disappointing eighteenth overall. The Spanish driver wants to bounce back and prove he is still fast and capable of challenging the big names in the demanding German touring car series. Molina is driving the #20 all red Audi RS 5 DTM.
Audi Sport Team Phoenix will aim to improve their position in the team's standing as well, last season they finished seventh overall.
Round 3 of the VLN Endurance Series was held yesterday, the ADAC ACAS H&R-Cup 4-hour race. Very hard conditions on track, with extreme cold weather and heavy rain. Audi was victorious in the end with the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi R8 LMS ultra, driven by Marcel Fässler and Frank Stippler.
A full field of GT3 cars (SP9) entered the event, the final VLN race before the demanding Nürburgring 24 Hours. Seven Audi R8 LMS ultra cars too part. Fässler and Stippler crossed the finish line victorious with a minute gap ahead of the second placed BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Schubert, third was the Timbuli Racing Porsche 997 GT3 R.
The other Audi R8 LMS ultra finished in ninth with #37 G-Drive Racing by Phoenix (Frank Biela/Roman Rusinov/Luca Ludwig), fifteenth with #44 Twin Busch Motorsport (Dennis Busch/Marc Busch), sixteenth with #15 Phoenix Racing (Johannes Stuck/Ferdinand Stuck/Michael Ammermüller, twenty-second with #11 Audi race experience (Florian Gruber/Ronnie Saurenmann), twenty-ninth with #22 Audi race experience (Marco Werner/Christian Bollrath/Dominique Bastien) and forty-sixth with #45 Belgian Audi Club Team WRT (Laurens Vanthoor/Edward Sandström/Christopher Haase).
In addition to the outright win, the Audi TT RS cars did well in the other classes. In SP4T it was the #249 Audi TT RS of team MSC Adenau e.V. im ADAC who took the class honors. In SP3T the #331 Audi TT RS of Raeder Motorsport was first. A positive second appearance for the privately built #130 Audi RS 5 GT from Dupré Motorsport, the car finished fourth in the SP8 class.
The second round of the FIA GT Series took place at Zolder this weekend. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars from Belgian Audi Club Team WRT, Phoenix Racing and Team Novadriver entered the event, as was the case at round one in Nogaro.
The big news this weekend was that the Audis were all in their 2013 specification (minus the new rear diffuser). The Audis were fast at Nogaro and it was the case again in Belgium. The R8 LMS ultra cars were near the front during all the sessions and qualified well.
Race victory was achieved during the qualifying race when Stéphane Ortelli and Laurens Vanthoor took the win. Belgian Audi Club WRT scored a well deserved result with all three cars within the top five. The Phoenix Racing entry finished eighth and the Novadriver Audi in thirteenth, after a late race penalty.
This victory also marked the first race victory for a new 2013 specification Audi R8 LMS ultra. It will certainly be the first of many 2013 spec Audi victories around the world this year.
The #11 WRT Audi started the Championship Race from pole on Sunday. The Reiter Lamborghini managed to take the lead at the start perused by the #11 and #13 WRT Audis. The Audi positions stayed consistent during the opening stages with a good battle between the Phoenix #5 and WRT #12 Audis. The top three positions were maintained during the pitstop process, however Vanthoor put in the drive of the race to catch up to the leading Lamborgini. A terrific battle for the lead was seen with a clearly faster Vanthoor behind the defending Lamborgini. Vanthoor was unable to find his way past, but raced a very intelligent race, collected very valuable points and is now leading the FIA GT Series drivers points alongside Ortelli.
The #13 WRT Audi of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler finished in third, followed by their teammates in #12 in fifth, ensuring a very good points haul for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT at their home event in Belgium.
The Belgian driver crewed Phoenix Audi R8 LMS ultra of Enzo Ide and Anthony Kumpen finished in sixth. Team Novadriver completed an excellent weekend for the Audi teams by placing in ninth. The #14 car driven by Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira completed the result so that all five Audis finished within the top ten.
The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zandvoort in the Netherlands. Photo credit:V-Images / Endurance-Info
Finishing in sixth and eighth place in the gigantic field of 60 GT3 sports cars Phoenix Racing experienced a strong start into the new season of the Blancpain Endurance Series (BES). In the Royal Park at Monza GT1 World Champions Markus Winkelhock (D) plus the Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide in the Audi R8 LMS ultra – car number 16 – saw the chequered flag in sixth place, in the number 6 sister car Harold Primat (CH), Oliver Jarvis (GB) and title defender Christopher Haase (DE) were classified in eighth place at the end of the three-hour race.
This successful result had not been on the horizon after qualifying, which at this compact two-day event is not held until Sunday morning. Ide/Kumpen/Winkelhock did not get beyond grid position 19 while Primat/Jarvis/Haase even had to settle for position 34. On the four long straights of this 5.793-kilometre high-speed circuit the R8 cars were visibly outperformed in terms of top speed.
In the race the Phoenix drivers had to fight their way through enormous traffic and managed to make up so many places only thanks to a flawless performance and the high consistency they showed. “After a good start I immediately gained a few places before, on lap two, another car was standing in front of me in the chicane and I lost positions again. So I started making up ground once more. In the end, I had a slow puncture and had to pit earlier than planned, which ultimately didn’t cost us too much though,” said Enzo Ide, describing his first stint in car number 16. “My middle stint was okay but the considerable amount of traffic with cars that were slower on the whole but very fast on the straights made life pretty difficult for me in the cockpit. That’s what makes fifth place in the Pro Class and sixth overall even sweeter for me,” added his compatriot Anthony Kumpen. Another happy campaigner was Markus Winkelhock, who successfully continued the recovery in the #16 Audi through to the finish. “Starting from 19th on the grid and then finishing in sixth place is absolutely acceptable. Our R8 felt good right from the beginning even though not everything was perfect yet. If at the next races the straights aren’t this long anymore we’ll definitely be in a better position.”
Primat/Jarvis/Haase were able to recover even more places than Kumpen/Ide/Winkelhock. “After the start I just tried to stay out of any battles. At times it was very close but I didn’t want to take any unnecessary risks. Still, I made up a number of places,” said Harold Primat. “This being my third race in my new GT career it was all very exciting and anything but boring. In any case, it was a positive start into the new season.” This view was shared by Oliver Jarvis, who previously drove in the DTM with Phoenix: “We knew that from grid position 34 it would be a tough race. I’m pleased with my stint, especially since I wasn’t feeling well the days before. The Phoenix team did an excellent job and we’re taking a lot of positive things with us to the next race.” Like his Phoenix team-mates Christopher Haase was struggling with the large number of cars on track. Ultimately 46 of the 60 GT3 sports cars that had started into the race finished. “It wasn’t easy with the intense traffic. Across the distance we were pretty good and still consistently quick in the end. We scored valuable points for seventh place in the PRO class today and took eighth place overall. That’s a good starting base for the next races.” Primat/Jarvis/Haase finished in ninth place but were classified in eighth overall after a penalty was imposed on a rival.
“An incredibly thrilling opener of the Blainpanc Endurance Series with a gigantic field of entrants. That was fascinating motorsport which TV viewers probably enjoyed too, in Germany on RTL Nitro and soon on Eurosport as well,” said an impressed Phoenix Team Director Ernst Moser. “For Phoenix Racing the opening round had a happy ending, with positions six and eight we made the best of the weekend after our modest qualifying.”
Round two of the Blancpain Endurance Series will be held at Silverstone in the UK on 18 June
The season opener of the Blancpain Endurance Series was held today. A great field of 60 GT3 cars hit the track at the "Temple of Speed" Monza. The Audi squad did quite well on a very penalizing track for the R8 LMS ultra. Three cars finished within the top 10.
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT entered three Audi R8 LMS ultra cars, all of them in the top Pro-Cup class. The #13 car shared by Edward Sandström, Frank Stippler and Christopher Mies finished in a very strong fourth overall. Sandström had a very heroic stint resisting, with an "inferior" car, multiple charges from a much faster McLaren MP4-12C. Unfortunately he lost the podium place at the finish line, by a mere 0.028 seconds. The other cars from the team had a much harder race. #1 car of Stéphane Oretlli, Laurens Vanthoor and René Rast was out of race winning contention after a very early puncture, and were classified in twelfth. The third car had to race through the field starting from back of the pack, Rahel Frey, Matt Halliday and Mayr Melnhof finished in seventeenth.
The Phoenix Racing cars had very positive performances. #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Enzo Ide, Anthony Kumpen and Markus Winckhock was sixth. The sister #6 car of Oliver Jarvis, Christopher Haase and Harold Primat ended in ninth. It was a much harder race for Sainteloc Racing, their cars were classified in 44th with car #42, 51st with car #41 and 60th with car #40.
The next round of the Blancpain Endurance Series will be at Silverstone.
The first race of the 2013 VLN Endurance Championship was held at the Nürburgring Nordschleife today. In actual fact this was the second round of the season, as round 1 was cancelled two weeks ago, due to the bad weather. Three Audi R8 LMS ultra entered the four-hour event with very mixed results.
The best ranked Audi R8 LMS ultra car was the #44 Twin Bisch Motorsport driven by Dennis and Marc Busch. They come home in eight overall. The two other R8 LMS ultra cars faced troubles. The #14 Prosperia-C. Abt Team Mamerow entry, shared by Christian Mamerow and Thomas Mutsch, failed to make it to the finish line. The same fate befell the #15 Phoenix Racing entry in the hands of Johannes Stuck, Ferdinand Stuck and Luca Ludwig. The race results come after a very hard qualifying session, where it was quite obvious that the Audis would not battle for the win.
Race victory went to the factory supported #19 BMW Z4 GT3 from BMW Team Schubert, with drivers Jorg Müller, Dirk Müller and Augusto Farfus ahead of the #35 Porsche 997 GT3 R of Timbuli Racing, third was the #20 BMW Team Schubert Z4 GT3.
It was a far better race for the Audi TT RS and TTS cars in the SP3T class, with a fine 1-2-3 win. The #331 TT RS car from Raeder Motorsport took the class honours and nineteenth overall. The VLN round 2 saw the debut of the Audi RS 5 quattro in SP8 class, more about this car here.
The 2013 Blanpcain Endurance Series will kick off at Monza this weekend. The Audi squad will be represented by eight R8 LMS ultra cars from three different teams. No less than six cars will fight in the top Pro-Cup class, in what is now the largest and best GT series in Europe.
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT
Belgian Audi Club Team WRT are the 2011 and 2012 series champions. The Belgian team will field three cars this year, all of them in the Pro-Cup class, and with very strong driver lineups. The team is welcoming Rahel Frey, the Swiss Audi factory drivers who spent the last two years in the DTM.
#1 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Stéphane Ortelli - Laurens Vanthoor- RenéRast #2 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Edward Sandström - Frank Stippler - Christopher Mies #13 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Rahel Frey- Niki Mayr Melnhof - Matt Halliday
Phoenix Racing
Phoenix Racing will debut in the Blancpain Endurance Series as full season competitors. Last year the German team won the stellar event of the series, the Spa 24 Hours with an Audi R8 LMS ultra, as well entering the Nurburgring round. Two cars will be entered in the Pro Cup class.
#6 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Oliver Jarvis - Christopher Haase - Harold Primat #16 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Enzo Ide- Anthony Kumpen - Markus Winkelhock
Sainteloc Racing
The French privateer Audi team is returning to the series. Sainteloc will field three cars, one in each of the three classes: Pro-Cup, Pro-Am Cup and the Gentlemen Trophy
#40 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Cup): Grégory Guilvert - #41 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Gentlemen Trophy): Pierre Hirschi- Marc Sourd - Claude-Yves Gosselin #42 Audi R8 LMS ultra (Pro-Am Cup): Ronnie Latinne Latinne - David Hallyday - Romain Monti
The three hour race is set for Sunday afternoon, a live stream for the event will be available on the official Blancpain Endurance Series website.
Audi Sport "factory" driver Oliver Jarvis will contest the 2013 Blancpain Endurance Series (BES) for the German Phoenix Racing team at the wheel of an Audi R8 LMS ultra sportscar.
Jarvis, from Burwell near Newmarket, partners BES title defender Christopher Haase (D) and Harold Primat (CH) in the five-race race series that begins in Italy next Sunday (14 April).
"It's great to be able to continue to race the R8 again alongside my Audi Sport sports-prototype commitment," commented Jarvis. "Racing for Phoenix this year is like returning home as I spent two great years with the team driving an Audi A4 at the start of my DTM career (2008-09). So I know the majority of the team well and know that they will provide my team-mates and I with an extremely competitive car."
Jarvis has a further two scheduled races in the Audi R18 e-tron quattro. He shares a hybrid-diesel sports-prototype with Marc Gené (E) and Lucas di Grassi (BR) in the Spa Six Hours (4 May) and Le Mans 24 Hours (22-23 June).
Oliver won GT class honours in the Daytona 24 Hours (January) in a R8 GRAND-AM and then scored an outright victory in the Sebring 12 Hours on his race debut in a R18 e-tron quattro.
Jarvis continued: "It will be my first full BES season and I am really looking forward to being part of the championship. An added bonus is I get the opportunity to race at Silverstone for the first time since finishing third in a British Formula Three Championship race in 2006. It will also provide me with the opportunity to race at the legendary Monza track in Italy which I have always wanted to do."
Phoenix Racing achieved two fourth places in the new FIA GT Series’ inaugural event at Nogaro, France. In the qualification race on Easter Sunday and in the main race on Easter Monday, the Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide in the Audi R8 LMS ultra just barely missed the podium. In addition, Phoenix Racing was able to celebrate victory in the pit stop competition.
“The drivers and the team have to gel first after all a lot of things are new, including the racing series and the Pirelli tyres. The learning curve was very steep in the inaugural event. Fourth row on the grid after qualifying and fourth place at the end of both races – that’s really good we can build on that,” said Team Director Ernst Moser, positively summing up the outcome.
In the super pole across two fast laps as the third qualifying segment, Anthony Kumpen set the eighth-best time and put the red-white Phoenix R8 designated as car number five on the fourth row of the grid. In good conditions and in front of a remarkable crowd, Ide and Kumpen, after the mandatory pit stop, step by step advanced to fourth place, which at the same time amounted to third place in the Pro class. The main race on Monday, also held for one hour, took place in pouring rain though and was started behind the safety car. Kumpen and – subsequently – Ide did not take any more risks than necessary and were nonetheless heading for a podium finish up to the last lap before a competitor surprised Ide with his attack.
“We’re happy about the results. Given that this was our first joint race, the outcome was more than respectable. In three weeks from now we’re travelling to Zolder, which is Enzo’s and my home track. That’s where we aim to make the next step forwards,” Anthony Kumpen summed up the event. “The team did a great job right from the outset, as winning the pit stop competition confirmed too,” added Enzo Ide.
In the aggregate of the two pit stops on Sunday and Monday, Phoenix Racing was clearly the front runner. “Everything fit together: the perfect entry and exit by the drivers and the quick work of the mechanics,” said a pleased Ernst Moser.
The Phoenix team boss had even more reasons to be pleased: “This was a promising premiere of the FIA GT Series with 24 sports cars, an impressive variety of brands, an international field plus nice and thrilling races. Including the comprehensive TV coverage, including live airing of the event on RTL Nitro, it was brilliant
The Audi teams continued their good form at Nogaro today. The first FIA GT Series main Championship Race of the year yielded very good results, in what was eventually coined as an Audi procession.
The main Championship Race got underway in wet condition on Monday afternoon. Sebastian Loeb lead the field in his McLaren closely followed by Nikolaus Mayr-Melnhof in the #12 WRT Audi, who remained in contention during the entire first stint.
During the pitstops Rast was able to leapfrog the Loeb entry which was then driven by Parente. A battle ensued which saw Parente touching Rast into a half spin. Rast recovered and began chasing down the leading McLaren. Parente was eventually called into the pits due to a pitlane infringement. This left Rast out in the lead with plenty still happening behind him.
Sandström in the #13 Audi muscled his way into second place and in doing so took the lead of the Pro class, as the #11 was the overall and pro-am leader. A battle for third had developed between the #5 Phoenix Racing Audi of Ide and Kumpen and a Mercedes-Benz. Vanthoor put on what could be described as the drive of the race as he caught the third place battle and passed both cars to claim third place. This resulted in a WRT 1-2-3 which was held to the line. This result saw WRT winning both classes with Phoenix Racing finishing fifth overall and Team Novadriver claiming second in the Pro-Am class, a 1-2 finish for Audi in the two classes.
However, following the race the #11 WRT car of Rast and Mayr-Melnhof received a thirty second penalty, dropping them to eighth overall and second in class. The penalty was given due to their engine not having been switched off during the entire re-fueling process. The overall and pro class race winners were thus the #13 WRT entry of Edward Sandström and Frank Stippler. The penalty also promoted the Team Novadriver Audi to the pro-am victory with drivers Cesar Campanico and Carlos Vieira.
The next round of the FIA GT Series will take place at Zolder in Belgium. Championship Race results can be seen HERE. Photo credit: Laurent Chauveau/Endurance-Info/86400.fr
An action packed qualifying race at Nogaro has started the 2013 FIA GT Series. The five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars who all qualified well yesterday faced different fates today.
The #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgian Audi Club Team WRT finished in a very strong second place after titanic battles for race lead with the winning McLaren MP4-12C of Sebastien Loeb Racing. The car shared by fast Rene Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof started from pole position. Rene Rast had a great start and battled hard with McLaren factory driver, Alvaro Parente, in some of the most exiting battles in recent years of GT racing. After the wave of pit stops the Belgian team was able to send Niki Mayr-Melnhof out in front ahead of Sebastien Loeb. The Austrian Audi driver held onto his lead for many laps, as he resisted the WRC legend, before ultimately loosing the lead. Not bad for a car listed as a Pro-Am car. Phoenix Racing #5 Audi R8 LMS ultra of Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide finished in a strong fourth place. The Portuguese #14 car of Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera were right behind in fifth. The #11 WRT car of Laurens Vanthoor and Stépahne Ortelli were a lap down in sixteenth, due to contact for Vanthoor with a BMW Z4 in the first lap. Later a tire issue sent Stéphane Oretlli's R8 into the gravel trap. The #13 machine of Edward Sandstrom and Frank Stippler had a very disappointing DNF.
The Championship race is set for tomorrow afternoon. The starting order will be the same as in today's championship race standings. Fingers crossed for the three Audi customer teams.
The new FIA GT Series starts this weekend in France at Nogaro. Five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars are there and things started very well for the Audi squad. A sensational pole position for Belgian Audi Club Team WRT and Rene Rast.
All the five Audi R8 LMS ultra cars were with "old" 2012 specifications. The brand new 2013 upgrades are not homologated yet by the FIA. Still the Audi squad did really great in a very close qualifying session. The Belgian Audi Club Team WRT put their three cars in the top five. Even better, the outright pole was from a Pro-Am car, the #12 Audi R8 LMS ultra of René Rast and Niki Mayr-Melnhof. Rast the double Porsche Supercup champion was able to beat the quick pair of McLaren MP4-12C cars from Sebastien Loeb Racing. Frank Stippler and Edward Sandstrom ended in fourth with the #13 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Stéphane Oretlli the 2012 Blancpain Endurance Series champion and Laurens Vanthoor the new Audi works GT driver were fifth with the #11 R8.
The other two teams did well too. The Portuguese from Team Novadriver landed in a very strong sixth with Cesar Campanico and Carlos Viera driving the #14 Audi R8 LMS ultra. Phoenix Racing entering a single R8 LMS ultra at Nogaro finished in ninth with Belgian duo Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide.
Day 1 at Nogaro was more than positive for Audi. The qualifying race is set for tomorrow with a live stream available on the official series website www.fiagtseries.com. We wish the best of luck to the three Audi Sport customer racing teams.
2013 will be a busy one for Phoenix Racing sportscar effort with the Audi R8 LMS ultra. The team confirmed their plans for both Blancpain Endurance Series and the FIA GT Series. Now the team will be back to their "home" series, the Nürburgring based VLN Endurance Series. Last year Phoenix Racing took two outright wins in VLN and a historical victory at the Nürburgring 24 Hours.
For the moment only one Audi R8 LMS ultra has been confirmed for the VLN season with some new faces. The Stuck brothers Ferdinand and Johannes sons of Audi legend Hans-Joachim Stuck will debut with team Phoenix. Last year they raced for Aston Martin with a Vantage V12 GT3 in ADAC GT Masters from Young Driver AMR The Stuck brothers will be joined at Nürburgring 24 Hours the by Audi and quattro GmbH regular Frank Stippler as well Michael Ammermüller.
Our friends at Berzerkdesign.de took charge of creating the car livery. The result is one of the most beautiful paint schemes ever on an Audi R8 LMS ultra.
Phoenix Racing will compete with two Audi R8 LMS ultra cars in the Blancpain Endurance Series (BES). The current GT1 World Champion Markus Winkelhock (D) together with the two Belgians Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide will be driving one of the two 560-hp GT3 sports cars whereas the BES title defender Christopher Haase (D), the Briton Oliver Jarvis and the Swiss Harold Primat will take turns at the wheel of the second Phoenix cockpit. In addition, Ernst Moser’s team will participate in the newly formed FIA GT Series. Kumpen/Ide will be driving the Phoenix R8 at the season opener at Nogaro, France, on 01 April.
"Over the past few years the Blancpain Endurance Series has evolved into a fiercely competitive and popular endurance racing series in Europe,” says Phoenix Team Director Ernst Moser. More than 50 GT3 sports cars of all makes will be on the grid at the five rounds, causing plenty of action that RTL will now be reporting about as part of their Formula One coverage as well. “Endurance racing has always been a Phoenix domain and therefore it’s practically a must for us to run in the Blancpain Endurance Series and to take on the enormous competition in this huge field of entrants," affirms Ernst Moser.
During the two official test days at Le Castellet no less than 62 GT3 sports cars made for a lot of on-track traffic. Phoenix Racing, based at the industrial park in Meuspath, was in Southern France as well for testing with the R8 LMS ultra that Audi Sport has again subjected to further development in many details for the 2013 season and that not least thanks to a massive rear diffuser delivers notably improved aerodynamic efficiency.
“All of them are great, tradition-steeped circuits,” says Ernst Moser and adds, “At Spa, Phoenix has clinched an amazing two overall victories and at the finale in front of a home audience it would obviously be a dream to clinch a podium position.”
Phoenix Racing has entered the newly created FIA GT Series with an Audi R8 LMS ultra for Anthony Kumpen and Enzo Ide. “We want to support SRO, the organiser of this new championship, especially as we find the format with two one-hour races interesting and because RTL will not only cover the Blancpain Series but also report about the new FIA GT Series,” says Ernst Moser. “On top of this come economic considerations because thanks to the largely identical regulations and without clashing dates the cars can be entered in both the BES and the FIA GT. We’re eager to see how this new racing series will develop.”
The calendar of the FIA GT Series features six rounds. After the opening round at Nogaro (F) on 01 April races at Zolder, Belgium (21 April), Zandvoort, the Netherlands (07 July), at the Slovakiaring near Slovakia’s capital Bratislava (13 October) and at Navarra, Spain (13 October) will follow. The venue of the final round (16 or 23 November) is yet to be determined.
Phoenix Racing has been relying on the R8 ever since it made its racing debut in 2009 and has celebrated numerous successes with the customer sport race car from Audi. In 2012 alone the team based in the Eifel region won three classic endurance events: the Bathurst 12 Hour in Australia plus the two 24-hour races at the Nürburgring and at Spa-Francorchamps, Belgium.
Ever since the company was founded in 1999, putting Phoenix Racing GmbH on two supporting pillars has been part of Managing Director Ernst Moser’s business philosophy. The DTM and GT racing form these two key areas in which Phoenix has been consistently pursuing its ambitious aims with highly motivated employees.
“Phoenix is at home in the DTM and in GT racing. This is where we feel comfortable and are able to fight with the competition for victories and titles on an equal footing,” says Ernst Moser. “Our two squads, DTM and GT, by and large work autonomously and are focused on their particular tasks. In the DTM, as Audi Sport Team Phoenix with Mike Rockenfeller and Miguel Molina, we’re going to leave no stone unturned to bring the title back to Audi with the Audi RS 5 DTM. And in the GT3 the new Audi R8 LMS ultra and our seasoned campaigners give us all the prerequisites we need for clinching further successes in 2013.”
